Chapter 3 - The Man in the Photograph
I didn't tell anyone about the photograph.
Not the police.
Not my captains.
Not even Hannah.
I locked myself inside my office and stared at Julian's face.
He looked thinner.
Older.
But alive.
A scar ran from his temple to his jaw.
His hands were tied behind him.
There was blood on his shirt.
The picture had been taken recently.
I zoomed in.
Behind him was a concrete wall.
A small metal door.
And a clock.
I studied the shadows.
Then I noticed something.
A reflection in a metal cabinet.
A sign.
PORT AUTHORITY STORAGE — 7B.
Newark.
I called my most trusted man.
“Dante.”
“Yes?”
“Find Storage 7B.”
“That's Port Newark.”
“I know.”
“Are we going in?”
“Yes.”
“And the police?”
“No.”
We arrived twenty minutes later.
The warehouse was empty.
Too empty.
Dante found the room.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, there was a chair.
Blood.
A broken zip tie.
And a Saint Christopher medal.
Julian's second medal.
I picked it up.
He had left it deliberately.
On the wall was a message scratched into the concrete.
SHE IS SAFE WITH YOU.
My heart tightened.
Julian knew Grace had found me.
But how?
Then I noticed something beneath the chair.
A phone.
One message.
MIDNIGHT. OLD CHURCH. COME ALONE.
Dante shook his head.
“No.”
I looked at him.
“That's not a suggestion.”
“It's a trap.”
“I know.”
At midnight, I went anyway.
The church had been abandoned for twenty years.
Snow fell through holes in the roof.
I entered alone.
A voice came from the darkness.
“You got my message.”
I raised my gun.
“Julian?”
A man stepped into the moonlight.
Not Julian.
A priest.
He was old.
Tired.
And terrified.
“My name is Father Michael.”
“Where's my brother?”
“I don't know.”
I lowered the gun slightly.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because Julian trusted me.”
The priest handed me an envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Julian and Hannah.
Hannah was pregnant.
Julian was smiling.
On the back:
If I disappear, protect them both.
I looked at Father Michael.
“What happened?”
“Julian discovered something.”
“What?”
“A betrayal inside your family.”
I thought of Vincent.
“Who?”
The priest shook his head.
“He never said.”
“Then what did he discover?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Sixty million.”
My blood went cold.
The exact amount from my transaction.
Father Michael continued.
“Julian discovered someone had been laundering money through your legitimate businesses.”
“Who?”
“Your accountant.”
I almost laughed.
“My accountant?”
“Yes.”
“But he's been with us for twelve years.”
“So was the man who betrayed Julian.”
“Vincent.”
The priest looked away.
“You said it.”
“Where is Julian?”
“He's alive.”
“I know.”
“He wants Grace protected.”
“From whom?”
The priest hesitated.
“From everyone.”
Suddenly, headlights appeared outside.
Father Michael's face changed.
“They followed you.”
I grabbed his arm.
“Who?”
Gunfire shattered the windows.
We dropped behind the altar.
Men stormed inside.
I returned fire.
Father Michael crawled toward a side door.
“Go!”
“What about you?”
“Protect the girl!”
I escaped through the cemetery.
Dante found me two streets away.
“Boss!”
I grabbed his coat.
“Get Hannah and Grace out.”
“Where?”
“Somewhere nobody knows.”
“What happened?”
I looked at the burning church.
“Everyone I trusted is lying.”
Then my phone rang.
Vincent.
I answered.
“Where are you?”
“Safe.”
“Did you send men after me?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“I don't know.”
“You know about Julian.”
Silence.
“Vincent.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“From what?”
“Your brother.”
I froze.
“What did Julian do?”
“He wasn't kidnapped.”
“What?”
“He disappeared willingly.”
“Why?”
“Because he discovered who ordered the car bombing.”
My heart stopped.
“Who?”
Vincent whispered:
“Your father.”
I couldn't breathe.
“My father has been dead for twelve years.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you saying?”
May you like
Vincent's voice dropped.
“He didn't die.”
