Chapter 7 - THE BODYGUARD WHO KNEW TOO MUCH|
Anthony Russo had been Gabriel Romano's closest friend for twenty-seven years.
They'd grown up three blocks apart on Chicago's West Side.
They'd played basketball together behind a neighborhood church.
They'd buried friends together.
And when Gabriel inherited the family business, Anthony became the man he trusted to stand between his family and danger.
Now his name appeared in a secret ledger beside payments Gabriel couldn't explain.
Anthony stood in the doorway of the conservatory.
Nobody spoke.
Gabriel slowly closed the ledger.
“Anthony.”
His security chief looked at him.
“Sir?”
“Come inside.”
Anthony entered.
I watched his eyes move from Gabriel to Daniel, then toward the open safe.
For the first time since I'd met him, he seemed uncertain.
Gabriel held up the ledger.
“Do you know what this is?”
Anthony stared at it.
“No.”
Gabriel opened the book.
“Your name is here.”
Anthony's expression changed.
“Where?”
“Beside payments from Northbridge Holdings.”
Anthony frowned.
“I've never received money from Northbridge.”
Mercer turned the ledger toward him.
Anthony studied the figures.
Then his face tightened.
“These aren't payments to me.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“Explain.”
“They're payments made using my security authorization.”
He looked at the dates.
“I recognize these transactions.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“From where?”
“From internal access reports.”
Gabriel's voice hardened.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Anthony hesitated.
“Because your father asked me not to.”
The conservatory fell silent.
Daniel looked between them.
“Dad knew Anthony was investigating?”
Anthony nodded.
“He asked me to monitor unusual movements of company vehicles and security credentials.”
Gabriel frowned.
“When?”
“About six months before he died.”
Gabriel looked stunned.
“And you never told me?”
Anthony lowered his eyes.
“Your father believed someone close to the family was exploiting information from your office.”
“Who?”
“He wasn't sure.”
Gabriel stepped closer.
“So he asked you to investigate without telling me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Anthony met his eyes.
“Because he thought you might warn the wrong person without realizing it.”
Gabriel looked as though he'd been struck.
Anthony continued quickly.
“He didn't suspect you.”
“Then what?”
“He thought you trusted Victoria too much.”
The words hung between them.
Gabriel turned away.
Through the conservatory windows, rain slid down the glass.
For a long moment, he stared into the gray garden.
Then he spoke.
“He was right.”
Anthony looked relieved, but only briefly.
Gabriel turned back.
“You still should have told me after he died.”
Anthony nodded.
“I know.”
“Why didn't you?”
Anthony swallowed.
“Because I thought I had enough evidence to catch Vale.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
His voice was low.
“Every time I got close, records disappeared.”
Daniel frowned.
“Someone knew what you were doing.”
Anthony nodded.
“I believe so.”
Gabriel examined the ledger again.
“Then why would Dad write your name beside these transfers?”
Anthony leaned closer.
“Look at the notation.”
Mercer adjusted his glasses.
Beneath Anthony's name was a small symbol.
A question mark inside a circle.
Anthony pointed to it.
“Your father used that mark whenever an authorization was copied without the owner's knowledge.”
Gabriel frowned.
“How do you know?”
“Because he showed me.”
Anthony opened his phone.
He searched through an old message thread.
Then held up a photograph.
It showed a page from a different notebook.
The same symbol appeared beside several vehicle registrations.
Mercer examined it.
“This supports your explanation.”
Gabriel exhaled.
But he didn't smile.
“Anthony, until we verify everything, I need you away from the investigation.”
Anthony went still.
“Gabriel.”
“I'm not accusing you.”
“Then why?”
“Because I owe my brother an investigation nobody can question.”
Anthony glanced toward Daniel.
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
“You don't have to do this because of me.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“This is exactly why I have to do it.”
He turned back toward Anthony.
“You'll cooperate with the independent investigators.”
Anthony nodded slowly.
“Of course.”
Then he removed his security badge and placed it on the table.
Gabriel looked at it.
“Keep your phone available.”
Anthony gave a humorless smile.
“After twenty-seven years, that's the first time you've asked me to step aside.”
Gabriel's expression softened.
“I hope it's the last.”
Anthony nodded.
Then he left.
I watched the two men separate.
Trust, I was learning, could be damaged even when nobody had yet proved a betrayal.
Sometimes the damage came from realizing how much had been hidden.
Daniel moved toward the safe.
He picked up the velvet pouch.
“Gabe?”
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
“There's something else in here.”
He untied the string.
Inside were two small brass keys.
One was ordinary.
The other had a faded blue ribbon attached.
Mercer examined them.
“The ribbon may correspond to the blue folder.”
Gabriel frowned.
“How?”
Mercer looked thoughtful.
“Your father sometimes labeled storage compartments by color.”
Daniel turned the blue-ribboned key between his fingers.
“Could it be for a bank box?”
“Possibly.”
Gabriel looked toward the ledger.
“Does it mention a location?”
Mercer searched the final pages.
There were dates, account numbers, handwritten initials, and several notes in their father's unmistakable script.
Then Daniel noticed something.
“Wait.”
He pointed to a line near the back.
The handwriting was shaky.
But the words were clear.
Where Eleanor keeps the winter roses.
Gabriel frowned.
“Eleanor?”
Daniel looked up.
“Mrs. Bell?”
Gabriel thought for a moment.
“The woman who spoke to you last night.”
Daniel nodded.
“She knew Dad was proud of me.”
Mercer closed the ledger.
“Your father may have entrusted her with something.”
Gabriel reached for his phone.
Before he could call, mine vibrated.
The number belonged to my younger sister, Emily.
I stepped away.
“Hey.”
Her voice sounded strange.
“Claire?”
My stomach tightened.
“What's wrong?”
“Someone came to Mom's house.”
I froze.
“Who?”
“A woman.”
“Did she give her name?”
“No.”
Emily sounded frightened.
“She said she worked for a legal office.”
I moved farther from the group.
“What did she want?”
“She asked whether you were still working for the Romanos.”
I closed my eyes.
“What did Mom say?”
“Nothing.”
Emily hesitated.
“But the woman left an envelope.”
My heart started pounding.
“What kind of envelope?”
“It had your name on it.”
I gripped the phone.
“Don't open it.”
Emily was silent.
Then she whispered, “I already did.”
I looked toward Gabriel.
“What was inside?”
Emily began crying.
“Pictures.”
My breath caught.
“Of what?”
“Mom leaving work.”
She swallowed.
“And me outside campus.”
The conservatory seemed to tilt.
“What else?”
“There was a note.”
I pressed my hand against the wall.
“Read it.”
Emily hesitated.
Then she whispered, “Your family has bills, Claire.”
My mouth went dry.
She continued.
“Think carefully before deciding whose secrets are worth keeping.”
For a moment, I couldn't speak.
Then Emily said, “Claire, are we in trouble?”
I looked at Gabriel.
He was standing beside his brother, examining their father's photograph.
He looked exhausted.
And Daniel looked as though he was finally beginning to believe he deserved to be there.
I thought about my mother's mortgage.
My sister's tuition.
The years I'd spent trying to keep our little family secure.
Then I answered.
“I'm going to take care of this.”
I ended the call.
Gabriel noticed my expression immediately.
“Claire?”
I tried to smile.
“Everything's fine.”
His eyes narrowed.
“No, it isn't.”
I looked down.
“It's a family matter.”
He studied me.
Then said quietly, “I've heard those words too many times lately.”
My throat tightened.
I told him about the envelope.
Every word.
By the time I finished, his expression had changed.
Not into the cold anger I'd seen directed at Victoria.
Something worse.
Regret.
“Claire, I'm sorry.”
I shook my head.
“You didn't send it.”
“No.”
He glanced toward Daniel.
“But someone is threatening your family because you helped mine.”
Daniel stood.
“Then we help her.”
Gabriel looked at him.
Daniel's expression was firm.
“She's been standing up for us all night.”
He turned toward me.
“It's our turn.”
I began crying before I could stop myself.
Gabriel approached me.
“We'll report the threats and document everything.”
He paused.
“And I'll make sure your family has support while this is investigated.”
I wiped my cheeks.
“I don't want anyone hurt because of me.”
Gabriel's voice softened.
“Neither do I.”
He looked at the threatening message.
“And that's why we're not going to pretend it didn't happen.”
An hour later, Gabriel arranged discreet security for my mother's home and helped me contact an attorney.
Daniel called Emily himself after asking my permission.
He told her he understood what it felt like to be frightened by people who seemed more powerful.
Then he made her laugh by describing how he'd once managed to lock himself inside a customer's walk-in freezer.
For the first time that day, I heard my sister sound calm.
As evening approached, Samuel Mercer received a call from Mrs. Eleanor Bell.
He put it on speakerphone.
“Mrs. Bell, Gabriel Romano is here.”
Her voice was gentle.
“I was expecting him.”
Gabriel frowned.
“You were?”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Your father told me you might come looking for something.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“What did he leave with you?”
Mrs. Bell hesitated.
“Something he was afraid to keep in the house.”
Gabriel looked toward the brass key.
“Does it involve a blue ribbon?”
There was a long silence.
Then Mrs. Bell whispered, “Oh, thank heaven.”
Daniel looked at Gabriel.
Mrs. Bell continued.
“Your father told me that if either of you found the key, I should tell you where to go.”
Gabriel straightened.
“Where?”
Her voice became very quiet.
“The old florist shop on Ashland Avenue.”
Gabriel frowned.
“That shop closed years ago.”
“I know.”
She paused.
“But the basement is still being used.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“Used for what?”
Mrs. Bell took a breath.
“To store the records your father didn't trust anyone else to protect.”
Daniel looked at the key.
“Mrs. Bell?”
“Yes, dear?”
“Why did Dad trust you?”
Her voice broke.
“Because I loved your mother.”
The room fell silent.
Then she continued.
“And because the night before your father died, he told me he was afraid someone would destroy everything that proved you were innocent.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
May you like
Mrs. Bell's final words came barely above a whisper.
“He said the truth was the last gift he could give his youngest son.”
