Chapter 4 - The Sister Who Knew Too Much
Isabella refused to come to Chicago.
She agreed to speak with Virgilio, but only over a secure video call. She was living in Oregon now, working at a hospital and keeping her distance from everything connected to the Marcelo family.
When her face appeared on the screen, Virgilio barely recognized her.
Her hair was shorter. There were faint lines around her eyes. She looked healthy, but her expression remained guarded.
Then she noticed Clara.
"You're Clara Reyes?"
Clara nodded.
"My mother knew you?"
Isabella took a breath.
"She saved my life."
Virgilio went completely still.
Seven years earlier, after the attack in the clinic parking lot, Isabella had been taken to a small emergency facility because the nearest hospital was temporarily overwhelmed. A woman named Elena Reyes had been working there as a volunteer medical assistant.
She had stayed beside Isabella for hours.
"She didn't know who I was," Isabella explained. "She only knew I was frightened and injured. She helped me hide from the men who came looking for me."
Clara covered her mouth.
"My mother never told me."
"She couldn't."
Isabella explained that Elena had discovered a ledger hidden in the clinic's medical storage room. It contained payments, names, and descriptions of several operations involving Virgilio's father and a rival organization.
Gabriel Reyes had been responsible for delivering copies of the ledger to an attorney who was investigating corruption.
He had not disappeared because of gambling debts.
He had disappeared because he had decided to cooperate with investigators.
"Your father was trying to get your mother and you out," Isabella said.
Clara's eyes filled.
"Then why did everyone tell me he owed money?"
"Because the people looking for him needed you to believe he had abandoned you."
Virgilio leaned forward.
"Who was the man who betrayed him?"
Isabella hesitated.
"Someone inside your organization."
The silence was immediate.
Virgilio looked toward Matteo.
"Who?"
"I don't know his current name. Back then, he was called Victor."
Matteo's expression changed.
"Victor Salazar?"
Isabella nodded.
Virgilio stood so quickly that his chair fell backward.
Victor had been one of his father's most trusted advisers. After the older Marcelo died, Victor had remained with the organization and helped Virgilio expand its influence.
He had also been responsible for arranging several of the meetings that led to Virgilio's early rise.
"Victor is dead," Virgilio said.
"No," Isabella replied. "He isn't."
Clara looked between them.
"Where is he?"
Isabella's face tightened.
"I don't know. But I know what he wanted."
She explained that Victor had been attempting to seize control of the old criminal network by using the ledger as leverage. Gabriel had discovered the plan and tried to expose him.
Victor responded by arranging the attack on Isabella.
He wanted Virgilio distracted, angry, and reckless.
It had worked.
Virgilio had retaliated against the wrong people, allowing Victor to disappear while the organization turned its attention toward a fabricated enemy.
Clara's mother had discovered the truth and helped Isabella escape.
Then Elena had died before she could reveal everything.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Virgilio asked.
"Because I didn't trust you."
The words hurt more than he expected.
Isabella continued.
"You were so consumed with revenge that you never questioned who was giving you information. I thought telling you would only make you kill more people."
Virgilio looked down.
For seven years, he had believed his violence had protected his family.
Now he understood that somebody had been directing it.
"Where is the ledger?" he asked.
Isabella shook her head.
"Elena hid it. She said only Clara would know where to find it."
Clara looked confused.
"I don't know anything about a ledger."
"Your mother left you something," Isabella said. "A small silver box. Do you remember it?"
Clara's breath caught.
She remembered the box.
It had been in her mother's bedroom, beneath a loose floorboard. After Elena died, Clara had searched for money and documents but found only an old necklace and several photographs.
She had taken the box with her when she fled.
It was still in her bag.
Clara opened it carefully.
Inside lay the necklace, a photograph of her parents, and a folded piece of paper.
Virgilio examined the paper.
It contained a bank locker number and the name of a branch in Texas.
But beneath the number was a handwritten warning.
IF VICTOR IS STILL ALIVE, DO NOT TRUST THE MAN WHO STANDS BESIDE YOU.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Matteo slowly looked toward the office door.
Virgilio noticed.
"What?"
Matteo's hand moved toward his jacket.
Before he could answer, the lights went out.
A gunshot shattered the silence.
Clara screamed.
When the emergency lights came on, Virgilio was standing in front of her.
May you like
Matteo was gone.
And the office door was open.
