Chapter 5 - THE FATHER'S SINS
Vincent had spent ten years trying to forget the face of the man in the basement.
Now Mary was asking him to remember every detail.
They sat across from each other in a private hospital conference room.
Rain streaked the windows.
Gabriel stood outside.
Vincent kept his hands folded because Mary had begun watching them shake.
"I was eighteen," he said.
"That doesn't answer my question."
"My father called me to his office after midnight."
Mary waited.
"There was a man tied to a chair downstairs. His face was swollen. He kept saying he'd done nothing wrong."
"Was it my father?"
Vincent swallowed.
"I didn't know his name."
"Did you watch Anthony kill him?"
"No."
Mary stared at him.
"Then what happened?"
"My father put a gun in my hand."
Her breath caught.
"He told me a Martini had to learn the difference between mercy and weakness."
Vincent looked toward the rain.
"I refused."
Mary said nothing.
"He hit me. Then he ordered Rico to take the man away."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Did you hear a gunshot?"
Vincent closed his eyes.
"Yes."
Mary stood so suddenly her chair scraped across the floor.
"You knew."
"No."
"You knew my father might have been murdered."
"I didn't know who he was."
"And you never asked?"
Vincent looked at her.
"By the next morning, my father told me the man had been working for a rival crew. I believed him."
Mary laughed once.
It was a terrible sound.
"You believed him because believing him was easier."
Vincent lowered his eyes.
"Yes."
The admission stopped her.
For a moment, she had no words.
Then she whispered, "You built your life on people like my father."
Vincent didn't defend himself.
"I know."
She walked toward the door.
"Mary."
"Don't."
"If your father died because of mine, I will find the truth."
She turned.
"And what will you do when you find it?"
Vincent looked at her.
"Whatever justice requires."
Mary studied him.
"You don't get to decide what justice means."
Then she left.
Across town, Eleanor Voss entered a private residence owned by the Martini family.
Rico sat at the dining table.
His phone and weapons had been confiscated, but Vincent had allowed him to remain under guarded house arrest.
Eleanor had arrived using a hospital foundation credential that gave her access to the property.
"You look terrible," she told him.
Rico glared.
"Mary Andrews is alive."
"I know."
"Vincent knows I lied."
"Then you should have lied better."
Rico stood.
"Don't play games with me, Eleanor."
She removed a silver bracelet and placed it on the table.
Rico stared at it.
A thin serpent had been engraved along its clasp.
"Where did you get that?"
Eleanor smiled.
"You remember."
Rico backed away.
"That bracelet belonged to—"
"Careful."
He stopped.
Eleanor leaned closer.
"Anthony Martini made a mistake ten years ago. He believed destroying one warehouse would destroy every record inside it."
Rico's expression darkened.
"Daniel Andrews copied the files."
"Exactly."
"And you still haven't found them."
"Not yet."
Rico stared at her.
"Jack Sullivan."
Eleanor nodded.
"He kept something."
"Where is he?"
"Safe enough."
"You're going to kill him."
"Only if necessary."
Rico shook his head.
"Vincent will destroy us."
Eleanor smiled.
"Vincent is recovering from major surgery. His organization is divided. And half his legitimate businesses depend on my financing."
She stepped toward the door.
"By the time he understands what's happening, he won't have an empire left to defend."
That night, Mary returned to the basement clinic.
She needed to work.
Needed the familiar sounds of rolling carts and exhausted nurses.
Needed a place where patients had names instead of secrets.
At 11:40 p.m., Angela approached her.
"There's a woman asking for you."
"Who?"
"She won't say."
Mary entered the waiting area.
A teenage girl sat beneath the fluorescent lights.
She couldn't have been older than sixteen.
Her clothes were soaked.
Her hands trembled.
"Are you Dr. Andrews?" she asked.
"Yes."
The girl reached into her jacket.
Mary instinctively stepped backward.
But the girl pulled out a photograph.
It showed Jack Sullivan sitting in a chair.
Bruised.
Alive.
Mary grabbed the picture.
"Where is he?"
The girl shook her head.
"They said they'd kill my brother if I told you."
"Who said that?"
Tears filled the girl's eyes.
"The woman with the snake bracelet."
Mary felt her stomach drop.
"Did she give you a message?"
The girl nodded.
"She said to tell you your father is still alive."
Mary froze.
May you like
Then the girl added something that made the room go silent.
"She said he's been waiting for you beneath the hospital."
