Chapter 4 - The Enemy She Trusted
Roman did not stop Evelyn from leaving.
That frightened her more than if he had.
He only looked at Vanessa and said, “You can go too.”
Vanessa blinked.
“What?”
“You wanted out. Go.”
She hesitated.
Roman’s expression hardened.
“Before I change my mind.”
Vanessa ran.
Evelyn followed her into the tunnel, still holding the encrypted drive.
Gabriel was waiting.
The moment he saw Vanessa, his hand moved beneath his jacket.
“Don’t,” Evelyn said.
He froze.
She handed him the photograph Roman had given her.
Gabriel studied it.
His face went pale.
“You met Dad the night before he died.”
“Yes.”
“You never told me.”
“Because I knew how it would look.”
“How does it look?”
“Like exactly what Roman wants you to believe.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Then tell me what happened.”
Gabriel explained.
Her father had discovered someone had compromised the Moretti organization. He suspected Roman’s father at first, but after Salvatore’s death, the theft continued.
That meant there was another traitor.
Her father had asked Gabriel to investigate secretly.
“Why disappear after he died?”
“Because someone tried to kill me three days after the funeral.”
Gabriel pulled up his shirt.
A scar crossed his ribs.
“I left because staying near you would have painted a target on your back.”
Evelyn wanted to believe him.
But she had spent four years believing Roman.
Belief was no longer enough.
“Unlock the drive.”
They went to Gabriel’s secure office.
A technician worked for two hours.
At 4:36 p.m., the encryption broke.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Financial records.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
Names.
Dates.
Evelyn sat forward.
Then she found a folder labeled:
EVELYN
Her hand stopped.
Inside was a video recorded by her father.
She clicked it.
Thomas Moretti appeared on screen.
Older than Evelyn remembered him.
Tired.
“Evie, if you’re watching this, then I failed to fix something before it reached you.”
Her throat closed.
Gabriel quietly left the room.
Her father continued.
“There are people around us who confuse loyalty with ownership. I helped build that world, and I’m ashamed of what it became.”
Evelyn wiped her eyes.
“I discovered someone has been moving money through our companies and financing operations I never approved. Salvatore Castellano was involved, but he wasn’t acting alone.”
A document appeared beside him.
“The second person uses the code name Bishop.”
Evelyn searched the files.
No identity.
Then her father said something unexpected.
“Roman came to me tonight.”
Evelyn froze.
“He believes his father was murdered because Salvatore wanted out. Roman gave me information that may prove it.”
Roman had been helping him.
Her father continued.
“I don’t trust Roman completely. But I believe he is trying to stop Bishop.”
Evelyn leaned closer.
Then the final sentence destroyed everything she thought she knew.
“If something happens to me, Evie, do not assume Roman caused it.”
The video ended.
Evelyn sat motionless.
Gabriel returned.
“You saw it.”
She nodded.
“Roman knew.”
“Some of it.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
Gabriel’s answer was immediate.
“Because Roman Castellano believes protecting someone gives him the right to control them.”
That sounded painfully true.
The office door opened.
Vanessa entered.
Her face was white.
“Someone followed us.”
Gabriel reached for his gun.
The windows exploded.
Everyone dropped.
Bullets tore through the office.
Gabriel dragged Evelyn behind a steel desk.
Vanessa crawled beside them.
Security returned fire.
Then Evelyn’s phone rang.
Roman.
She answered.
“Get out of the building,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“Because the attack isn’t meant to kill you.”
Another window shattered.
“Then what is it meant to do?”
“To force you downstairs.”
Evelyn’s blood went cold.
“Why?”
Roman paused.
“Because Bishop is waiting there.”
The fire alarm erupted.
Gabriel looked toward the emergency stairwell.
Evelyn stopped him.
“No.”
“What?”
“They want us downstairs.”
Gabriel swore.
Roman spoke through the phone.
“Roof. Now.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.”
Gunfire cracked outside.
Roman continued.
“But there’s a helicopter ninety seconds away.”
Evelyn looked at Gabriel.
“How do I know it’s yours?”
Roman gave a humorless laugh.
“You don’t.”
She almost hated him for the answer.
Because it was the first completely honest thing he had given her in years.
They ran upstairs.
On the roof, a helicopter approached.
Gabriel raised his weapon.
Evelyn saw the pilot.
A woman she recognized from Roman’s security detail.
“Lower it.”
They climbed aboard.
As the helicopter rose over Chicago, Evelyn looked down.
Black SUVs surrounded Gabriel’s building.
One man stood beside the lead vehicle.
Silver hair.
Elegant overcoat.
A familiar face.
Evelyn stopped breathing.
She had seen him hundreds of times growing up.
Her father’s attorney.
Her godfather.
Charles Vale.
Gabriel whispered, “Bishop.”
May you like
And Evelyn finally understood.
The man who had helped arrange her father’s funeral had probably arranged his death.
