Chapter 7 - The Night at Pier Nine
Pier Nine had burned twenty years earlier.
That was the first thing Olivia discovered.
The second was that six people had been reported missing after the fire.
Only four bodies had been recovered.
Anna sat beside her attorney in the hotel conference room, studying newspaper archives.
The headline read:
EAST BOSTON WAREHOUSE FIRE LEAVES FOUR DEAD
The article described a late-night explosion at a shipping facility owned by a subsidiary of Sloane Maritime Holdings.
Authorities had ruled the fire suspicious.
No arrests had been made.
Anna scanned the list of missing people.
Caroline Harding.
A security guard.
Two warehouse employees.
And a man named Michael Vale.
She pointed at the final name.
"Who was Michael Vale?"
Olivia opened another file.
"A federal financial investigator working undercover."
Anna frowned.
"Why was he at the warehouse?"
"That's not public information."
Anna leaned back.
"My mother said the man who saved me wasn't my father."
Olivia looked at her.
"Anna, don't jump to conclusions."
"I'm trying not to."
"Then let's establish what happened."
Anna picked up her phone.
She had ignored three calls from Elias.
Now she dialed his number.
He answered immediately.
"Anna."
"Pier Nine."
Silence.
"What about it?"
"Tell me what happened there."
Another pause.
"Where are you?"
"Don't."
"Anna—"
"I am done being moved around like a piece on somebody else's chessboard. Tell me what happened at Pier Nine."
Elias exhaled.
"Your mother was supposed to hand over financial records that night."
"To Michael Vale?"
"Yes."
"Was he an investigator?"
"Yes."
"Did you know him?"
Elias hesitated.
"He was my older brother."
Anna went still.
"Your brother?"
"My half brother. We had different last names."
She stared at the phone.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't know whether it mattered to your father's investigation."
"Everything matters."
"You're right."
Anna closed her eyes.
"Was he killed?"
"We never found his body."
"Then he might be alive."
"He might."
"What happened to my mother?"
"She was supposed to meet Michael at the warehouse. Someone learned about the exchange. An explosion destroyed the building before the meeting could take place."
"Who started the fire?"
"We suspected Sloane."
"But you couldn't prove it."
"No."
Anna looked at the newspaper again.
"Where was I?"
Elias's voice lowered.
"Inside."
Her fingers went numb.
"What?"
"Your mother brought you because she believed she was leaving Boston that night. She didn't trust anyone else to keep you safe."
Anna struggled to breathe.
"I was four."
"Yes."
"Who got me out?"
Elias was silent.
"Tell me."
"Thomas."
Anna shook her head.
"My mother said it wasn't him."
"Thomas carried you outside. That's what I was told."
"Who told you?"
"Thomas."
Anna stared at the wall.
A terrible realization formed.
"You weren't there."
"No."
"Then you don't actually know."
Elias said nothing.
Anna ended the call.
Olivia watched her.
"What now?"
Anna looked at the photograph of the burned warehouse.
"Now we find someone who was there."
Across the city, Elias stood in his office with the phone still pressed to his ear.
Marco entered.
"Boss?"
Elias lowered the phone.
"Find everything we have on Michael."
Marco hesitated.
"We've been through those files a hundred times."
"Do it again."
"Something happen?"
Elias turned toward the harbor.
"Caroline told Anna about Pier Nine."
Marco's expression darkened.
"Then she knows?"
"Not everything."
"Are you going to tell her?"
Elias looked down at the scar across his left eyebrow.
"I don't know how."
Marco stepped closer.
"Boss, you've spent fifteen years trying to make up for what happened."
"That doesn't change what happened."
"You were a kid."
"I was twenty-two."
"You were following orders."
Elias turned sharply.
"That's not an excuse."
Marco fell silent.
Elias opened a locked drawer.
Inside was an old photograph.
It showed three young men standing beside a shipping container.
Elias.
Michael.
And Victor Sloane.
On the back was a date.
The night before the fire.
Elias stared at it.
For years, he had believed his brother died because Victor discovered Michael was investigating the organization.
But there was one detail he had never told Anna.
Elias had delivered the warehouse access codes to Victor.
He hadn't known what Victor intended to do.
He had believed the codes would be used to move contraband before a police raid.
Instead, the building exploded.
Four people died.
And a little girl nearly burned alive.
Elias closed his eyes.
Thomas Harding had known.
Yet Thomas had still saved his life.
Still forgiven him.
Still trusted him to protect Anna.
That forgiveness had become the heaviest burden Elias carried.
Marco's phone rang.
He answered.
His expression changed.
"Boss, Olivia Bennett's office just sent over the court notice."
"What notice?"
"The emergency hearing."
Elias frowned.
"That's tomorrow."
"It was moved up."
"To when?"
"Forty minutes ago."
Elias stared at him.
"Why wasn't Anna notified?"
Marco looked down at the message.
"She was."
"By whom?"
"Someone claiming to be from the clerk's office."
Elias felt a cold wave of dread.
"Call her."
Marco dialed.
No answer.
He tried again.
Straight to voicemail.
Elias grabbed his coat.
"Find her phone."
Anna stood outside the Suffolk County courthouse, staring at a message on her screen.
Your hearing has been rescheduled. Please proceed to the rear entrance for security screening.
She had arrived fifteen minutes earlier.
Olivia was still at the hotel, gathering documents.
Anna had called twice.
No answer.
The rear entrance was deserted.
A gray SUV waited near the curb.
Its engine was running.
Anna stopped.
Something felt wrong.
She turned toward the main entrance.
A man stepped from the SUV.
"Anna Harding?"
She backed away.
"Who are you?"
"Your attorney sent us."
"What's her name?"
The man hesitated.
Only for a second.
But it was enough.
Anna ran.
She made it six steps before someone caught her from behind.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
She kicked backward.
Her heel struck a shin.
The man cursed.
Anna twisted free.
Then another man grabbed her arm.
A black cloth covered her face.
She screamed.
A car door slammed.
And the world went dark.
When Anna opened her eyes, she was sitting in a chair inside a windowless room.
Her wrists were bound with plastic restraints.
A single overhead light buzzed.
Across from her sat Beatrice.
Her stepmother was crying.
Anna stared in disbelief.
"Beatrice?"
The older woman lifted her head.
There was a bruise along her jaw.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Anna's pulse hammered.
"Where are we?"
Beatrice looked toward the door.
"Somewhere I never wanted you to see."
"Who brought me here?"
Beatrice began shaking.
"Victor."
Anna leaned forward.
"Why?"
Her stepmother's face crumpled.
"Because your father wasn't supposed to die."
Anna went completely still.
"What did you say?"
Beatrice covered her mouth.
May you like
Then whispered the words that changed everything.
"Thomas was going to expose us."
