Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Was Supposed to Know Nothing
Daniel survived.
The bullet passed through his shoulder without striking an artery.
By sunrise he was inside a private clinic controlled by Roman.
Tessa did not sleep.
She sat beside Walter in Roman’s library while her father’s documents covered an enormous table.
Roman entered carrying coffee.
Black for himself.
Cream and one sugar for her.
Tessa noticed.
“You remember.”
“I remember everything you tell me.”
That answer sat between them.
She accepted the cup.
Roman had changed into a clean shirt.
His knuckles were bandaged.
“You should sleep,” he said.
“So should you.”
“I don’t.”
“I’ve noticed.”
For several minutes they worked quietly.
Then Tessa discovered her mother’s name on a bank record.
Claire Quinn had received $4,000 every month for twelve years from a shell corporation.
Tessa stared.
“My mother told me we were broke.”
Roman examined the document.
“She may not have known.”
“The payments went into an account under her name.”
Tessa called her.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Roman sent men to Claire’s house.
They found the front door open.
No Claire.
No struggle.
Only a note on the kitchen table.
Tell Tessa I’m sorry.
Tessa read the photograph of the note.
Her eyes filled.
“She knew.”
“We don’t know that.”
“Stop protecting me from conclusions.”
Roman fell silent.
“You keep doing that.”
“Doing what?”
“Deciding how much reality I can survive.”
His face tightened.
“I watched your father die.”
Tessa stopped.
Roman had never said that.
“He was alive?”
“For eleven days, apparently. But I saw him after the crash. Matteo told me he died before reaching the hospital.”
Roman looked down at his hands.
“I was twenty-four. Patrick was bleeding. He grabbed my shirt and made me promise that if anything happened to him, I would make sure you and your mother were protected.”
Tessa’s anger weakened.
“That’s why you hired me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Because you smiled.”
She stared.
Roman looked almost embarrassed by the admission.
“You walked into my office carrying a cheap portfolio and apologized because the bus made you four minutes late. Then you argued with me about overtime laws during the interview.”
“I did not argue.”
“You cited statutes.”
“You were wrong.”
“I know.”
His mouth almost curved.
Then the humor disappeared.
“You had built a life outside this. I couldn’t drag you into your father’s grave.”
“You did anyway.”
“Yes.”
The regret in that one word disarmed her.
Roman turned away.
Tessa reached for his hand.
He froze.
Her fingertips touched the bandage across his knuckles.
“You came alone.”
“Yes.”
“That was stupid.”
“Yes.”
“You could have died.”
“Yes.”
“Stop agreeing with me.”
Roman looked at her.
“Then stop being correct.”
She laughed unexpectedly.
The laugh became a sob.
Roman moved forward and stopped himself before touching her.
Tessa noticed.
“You can.”
His eyes searched hers.
She stepped into him.
Roman wrapped his arms around her.
Nothing about the embrace was romantic at first.
It was simply safe.
Tessa pressed her forehead against his chest and cried for everything she had learned in twelve hours.
Roman held her without speaking.
Eventually she whispered, “I’m terrified.”
“I know.”
“What happens now?”
“We find your mother.”
“And Matteo?”
“We ask questions.”
Matteo arrived voluntarily.
He listened as Roman explained Daniel’s accusations.
Then Matteo laughed.
“You think I’m Meridian?”
“I think somebody wants me to.”
Matteo nodded.
“Finally.”
He placed a flash drive on the table.
“I’ve been investigating Daniel for two years.”
Tessa looked up.
Matteo revealed that Daniel had been selling intelligence to an unknown buyer.
But Daniel was not the architect.
He was bait.
The real clue was Claire.
Matteo displayed security footage from the previous night.
Tessa’s mother was entering a Baltimore hotel.
Beside her walked Terry Boyle.
One of the loan sharks Roman had left detained at his meeting.
Roman’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s impossible.”
Matteo nodded.
“Terry Boyle never left your building.”
Roman understood first.
“The footage is older.”
“Six weeks.”
Tessa stared at her mother.
Claire had known the Boyle brothers before tonight.
Then Matteo displayed another image.
Claire meeting Hodges.
Another.
Claire entering Pier 41.
Another.
Claire speaking to Daniel.
Tessa’s stomach twisted.
“My mother is Meridian?”
“No,” Matteo said.
“I think she’s been trying to destroy it.”
Tessa looked up.
Matteo zoomed in on one photograph.
Claire was handing Daniel a folder.
Across its front were three letters.
R.V.
Roman Valorie.
Before anyone could speak, Roman’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Claire Quinn’s voice came through.
“Roman?”
Tessa stood.
“Mom!”
Claire began crying.
“Tessa, sweetheart, listen to me.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Mom, where are you?”
A man’s voice spoke in the background.
Claire went silent.
Then the man took the phone.
Roman’s expression changed instantly.
“Who is this?”
The stranger chuckled.
“You’ve spent twelve years looking for me.”
Roman’s grip tightened.
“What do you want?”
“Tessa.”
Roman’s answer was immediate.
“No.”
The man laughed again.
“You misunderstand.”
A pause.
“I don’t want you to bring her to me.”
May you like
His next words turned Tessa cold.
“I want you to ask Claire why Tessa Quinn was born.”
