Chapter 6 - WHAT ELENA KNEW
Elena Marchetti did not deny it.
That was the worst part.
She sat in the library at two in the morning with her hands folded in her lap.
Lucian stood across from her.
Talia remained near the door.
“What did you know?”
Elena looked at her son.
“Enough.”
Lucian's voice cracked like a whip.
“Enough about what?”
“Patrick Brennan.”
Talia stepped forward.
“My father?”
Elena nodded.
“He came here once.”
“When?”
“Eleven years ago.”
Talia's knees weakened.
The year he died.
“Why?”
“He was frightened.”
Elena looked at Lucian.
“Your father was helping him.”
Lucian stared at her.
“And you never told me.”
“Carlo made me promise.”
“He's dead.”
“So was Patrick.”
“Because Orlov killed them!”
Elena flinched.
Lucian immediately regretted shouting.
But he could not take it back.
Elena rose.
“Nico heard us arguing the night before your father died.”
Lucian froze.
“What?”
“He was nineteen. Angry. Reckless. He knew Carlo planned to give evidence to federal investigators.”
Talia understood first.
“Nico told someone.”
Elena's eyes filled.
“He told a man he trusted.”
“Orlov?”
“No. One of Orlov's people.”
Lucian turned away.
“He caused Dad's death.”
“He didn't know.”
“He knew enough.”
“He was nineteen!”
“So was Talia when her father died. She didn't sell him out.”
Elena's face crumpled.
Talia stepped between them.
“Where does the token lead?”
Elena looked at her.
“You know about it?”
“Nico stole it.”
“Then we have very little time.”
Elena crossed to an old cabinet and removed a wooden box.
Inside was a photograph.
Patrick Brennan and Carlo Marchetti stood beside a bank of safety-deposit boxes.
On the back was written:
LANGUAGE OPENS WHAT MONEY CANNOT.
Talia stared at it.
“A bank?”
Elena shook her head.
“A private archive beneath the old Saint Aurelia Library.”
Lucian frowned.
“That building closed twenty years ago.”
“Exactly.”
They reached the library before dawn.
The building stood abandoned between two renovated brownstones.
Inside, Talia used her father's cipher to locate a hidden basement.
The brass token opened a mechanical lock.
But Nico had arrived first.
The door stood open.
Lucian drew his weapon.
They descended.
At the bottom was a room lined with metal shelves.
Most were empty.
One safe stood open.
Nico was gone.
So was the ledger.
Talia's heart sank.
Then Lucian noticed a book on the floor.
He picked it up.
Inside was a handwritten message.
NICO DOESN'T HAVE THE WHOLE KEY.
Talia recognized the handwriting.
“My father.”
Below it was a sequence of seven words.
Russian.
Italian.
French.
German.
Polish.
Spanish.
English.
Talia smiled.
“What?”
“My father knew somebody might find the physical ledger.”
“So?”
“He encrypted it.”
“How?”
“With semantic shifts.”
Lucian stared.
“In English.”
“The words don't mean what they appear to mean unless you understand how each language borrows meaning from another.”
“Can you decode it?”
Talia looked at him.
“Eventually.”
Footsteps sounded upstairs.
Lucian switched off his flashlight.
They waited.
A shadow crossed the doorway.
Marco appeared.
“Boss.”
Lucian lowered his weapon.
Marco looked uneasy.
“What?”
“We found Nico.”
“Where?”
“He called.”
Lucian's face hardened.
“He wants to meet.”
“Orlov?”
“Not with him.”
Marco handed Lucian a phone.
Nico's voice came through.
“Lucian.”
“Nico.”
“I made a mistake.”
“You made several.”
“Orlov is going to kill Mom.”
Lucian looked at Elena.
She went pale.
“He thinks she knows the second key.”
Nico continued.
“He has men coming to the house.”
Lucian turned to Marco.
“Call security.”
Nico spoke quickly.
“There's more.”
“What?”
“The ledger has names.”
“I know.”
“One of them is inside your organization.”
Lucian's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
“I can't decode it.”
“Talia can.”
Silence.
Then Nico whispered:
“That's why Orlov needs her alive.”
Talia's stomach tightened.
Nico continued.
“But there's another name I recognized.”
Lucian waited.
Nico spoke it.
“Marco Bellini.”
Nobody moved.
Talia slowly looked at Marco.
Marco's face became completely still.
His hand moved toward his jacket.
Lucian was faster.
But Marco wasn't reaching for a weapon.
He pulled out his phone.
“Boss, listen—”
The basement lights died.
A gunshot exploded in the darkness.
Talia heard Elena scream.
Then somebody grabbed her from behind.
May you like
A cloth covered her mouth.
The last thing she heard before darkness took her was Lucian shouting her name.
