Chapter 13 - The Truth Their Mother Died Protecting|
Nobody moved while Julian Voss stood outside the library.
Rain hammered the windows, and the wind rattled the old frames.
Desmond quietly directed Mrs. Alves toward a concealed panel behind the bookshelves.
The housekeeper understood immediately.
She had worked in the mansion long enough to remember passages that were no longer shown on the architectural plans.
Camila gathered Mia into her arms.
Vincent noticed the movement and nodded toward the panel.
“Get them out.”
Julian knocked again.
“I know the little girl is with you.”
Camila felt Mia stiffen against her.
Then Julian added, “You can't hide from me forever.”
Vincent stepped toward the locked door.
“Leave the child out of this.”
Julian laughed softly.
“I would have preferred that, Vincent.”
“Then walk away.”
“You've never understood how much trouble your family causes.”
Adrien rose from his chair.
“It wasn't my family that set the warehouse on fire.”
Silence followed.
Then Julian spoke again.
“Adrien Mercer.”
His voice became cold.
“I should have known you wouldn't stay gone.”
Desmond opened the hidden panel.
A narrow passage appeared behind the shelves.
Mrs. Alves took Mia's hand while Camila followed closely behind.
But before they disappeared, Camila turned toward the brothers.
“Don't let him take the only proof your mother left.”
Adrien looked down at the case.
Then he removed the sealed documents and handed them to Desmond.
The storage device followed.
The case itself contained only a duplicate photograph and the outer packaging.
“Get the originals to Morales,” Adrien whispered.
Desmond placed the evidence inside his jacket.
Camila met Vincent's eyes.
“Come out alive.”
He gave a small nod.
“I intend to.”
The hidden passage led toward the old pantry and a reinforced room once used to shelter the household during coastal storms.
Mrs. Alves knew the mechanical locking system and secured the heavy door behind them.
Inside were bottled water, blankets, an emergency telephone, and a battery-powered lamp.
Camila placed Mia on a narrow cot.
The little girl was trembling.
“Mommy, why is Mr. Julian angry?”
Camila knelt before her.
“Because some people become angry when they can't make everyone else do what they want.”
“Did I do something bad?”
Camila's heart broke at the question.
“No, sweetheart.”
She cupped Mia's face.
“You did something very brave by telling the truth about what you saw.”
Mia's eyes filled with tears.
“But everybody said I was confused.”
“I know.”
Camila kissed her forehead.
“And I'm sorry we didn't listen sooner.”
Mrs. Alves opened the emergency telephone cabinet.
The backup connection was still functioning.
Camila called the number Tessa had provided and explained their location.
The investigator answered personally.
“Stay where you are,” Tessa instructed.
“We have teams approaching from the eastern access road.”
“What about Vincent and Adrien?”
“We know they're inside.”
“Julian has armed men.”
“We're coordinating with local tactical officers.”
Tessa paused.
“Camila, I need you to keep your daughter out of the corridors.”
Camila looked at Mia.
“I will.”
In the library, Vincent faced the closed door while Julian continued speaking.
“Your father would be ashamed of this,” Julian said.
Vincent's voice remained steady.
“My father was ashamed of anything he couldn't control.”
“Your father built an empire.”
“And you turned it into a hiding place for criminals.”
Julian struck the door with something heavy.
“You think you were innocent because you didn't read the invoices?”
Vincent closed his eyes.
“No.”
The answer seemed to surprise Julian.
Vincent continued, “I was responsible for knowing what happened in my company.”
“And yet you didn't.”
“That's why I'm cooperating with the authorities.”
Julian's tone sharpened.
“You'll destroy everything Salvatore built.”
“Then perhaps it deserves to be destroyed.”
Adrien stood beside his brother.
“I tried to tell you twenty-five years ago.”
Vincent turned toward him.
“I know.”
“You believed them instead of me.”
“I know.”
Adrien swallowed.
“I waited for you to come looking.”
Vincent's expression twisted with pain.
“I believed I was standing beside your grave.”
“That wasn't my grave.”
“I know that now.”
For the first time, Vincent's composure disappeared completely.
“I should have questioned them.”
Adrien looked at the floor.
“I spent half my life hating you for not doing it.”
“And you had every reason.”
Adrien shook his head.
“I had reasons.”
His voice softened.
“But I don't know whether I want to spend the rest of my life living inside them.”
The exchange ended when Desmond's radio, connected to the library's backup security receiver, crackled with an unexpected signal.
A trusted guard reported that Julian's men were withdrawing toward the lower service road.
One had been detained near the eastern gate.
Another had fled into the gardens.
The third was believed to be heading for the private dock.
Desmond relayed the information to the brothers through a short call.
Julian had apparently learned that investigators were approaching the estate.
He was abandoning his attempt to seize the library.
Vincent unlocked the door cautiously after confirming that the corridor was clear.
The hallway was empty.
A flashlight lay on the carpet beside muddy footprints.
Adrien looked toward the western staircase.
“He's going to Berth Six.”
Vincent frowned.
“Why?”
“Because that's where the remaining records are.”
“And Jonah Reed.”
Adrien nodded.
“If Jonah is still alive, Julian can't afford to let him speak.”
Desmond contacted Tessa and relayed their concern.
Federal agents were already searching the abandoned pumping station.
The team needed to secure both the missing mechanic and the records before Julian could reach them.
Vincent wanted to follow.
Desmond refused to let him leave the property without an escort.
Adrien argued that he knew the terminal's older service buildings better than anyone.
Tessa ordered both brothers to remain available for questioning rather than interfere with the operation.
While they spoke, Camila examined the evidence packet from inside the shelter.
Desmond had left it with her briefly while he checked the corridor.
She did not open the sealed originals.
But a loose photocopy of Isabel's letter had been included outside the protective sleeve.
Near the bottom, Isabel mentioned a second set of financial records stored with a trusted attorney.
The attorney's name was written beside an address in Boston.
Camila immediately called Tessa with the information.
The investigator promised to have the lead verified.
It meant Julian could no longer destroy every record simply by reaching Berth Six.
Several minutes later, the emergency telephone rang again.
It was Tessa.
Her voice had changed.
“Camila, we've located Jonah Reed.”
Camila gripped the receiver.
“Is he alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief washed over her.
But Tessa continued before she could speak.
“He's badly injured, and the rescue team is still trying to get him out.”
“What's stopping them?”
“The lower section of the pumping station is flooding.”
Camila looked toward the windowless shelter door.
Outside, the storm was still raging.
May you like
Then Tessa added something that made her stomach tighten.
“Julian Voss has reached the terminal, and he knows Jonah has been found.”
