Chapter 8 - THE LIE A MOTHER TOLD
Isabella did not deny meeting Daniel Voss.
She denied ordering anyone to hurt her son.
Mercer questioned her with an attorney present while Gabriel waited outside the interview room. Isabella admitted that months earlier, after learning she was pregnant, she had contacted Voss to understand why Marco was so frightened of the family trust. Voss offered to protect her if she signed a document transferring future control of Leo's inheritance to a foundation.
“I signed it,” she whispered. “I thought I was keeping my baby out of the war.”
“Did you tell Gabriel?” Mercer asked.
“No. He would have gone after Marco again.”
The signature gave Voss temporary authority to make certain financial decisions on behalf of the unborn child, subject to later legal review. It did not grant custody. But someone had used it to persuade Keller that Northstar could demand privileged access to Leo's records.
Gabriel listened to Isabella's confession in silence.
“You lied to me,” he said when she emerged.
“I was afraid of what you'd do.”
“And you weren't afraid of what they would do?”
“I was afraid of everything, Gabe.”
He wanted to shout. Instead he saw the young sister who had once hidden beneath his bed during gunfire and asked him to promise the world could become safe again.
He had promised then, too.
Elena was summoned to meet the licensing board's investigative panel. She did not receive immediate reinstatement. The panel found grounds to examine her unauthorized procedure and the decision to lock out the code team, while acknowledging credible evidence of an unrecognized emergency and failures in escalation. A supervised return to practice might eventually be possible, but no one could guarantee it.
Afterward, Elena sat on a bench outside the building. Gabriel approached without his bodyguards.
“I heard what happened,” he said.
“Then you heard I might lose my license.”
“I can pay for law school. A new apartment. Anything.”
“You still think everything is a bill.”
He accepted the rebuke. “What can I do?”
“Tell the truth about your own life. Stop frightening people into silence. Your nephew needs a family that doesn't solve every problem with a threat.”
Gabriel looked away. For once, he had no answer.
That night, Keller was moved to a protected location after cooperating with investigators. His first detailed statement identified the person who had instructed him to conceal irregular vendor access and delay an external review. He said the order came from Gabriel's father, Antonio Russo.
Antonio had been dead for seven years.
Mercer showed Gabriel the recording. Keller's voice shook as he repeated the name.
Gabriel watched twice.
May you like
Then he asked the question nobody wanted to answer.
“What if my father didn't die?”
