Chapter 9 - The Night They Tried to Make Mercy Disappear Again|
Evie stood beside the kitchen window, watching rain slide down the glass.
The Vale estate was quiet.
Lily had gone to bed.
Salvatore remained in his suite.
And Roman was meeting with investigators about Bennett and Derek.
For the first time in six years, Evie felt something dangerously close to hope.
Grace's letter had been found.
The hidden records were being examined.
Roman knew she hadn't abandoned Lily.
But hope was frightening.
Because every time Evie had allowed herself to believe the nightmare might end, someone had appeared to remind her that powerful people could rewrite almost anything.
Her phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
She stared.
Then answered.
“Hello?”
A man's voice came through.
“Mercy.”
Her blood turned cold.
Derek.
She gripped the counter.
“What do you want?”
He laughed softly.
“You made me look stupid.”
Evie's expression hardened.
“You did that yourself.”
His laughter disappeared.
“You think Roman can protect you?”
She didn't answer.
Derek continued.
“Bennett says you found the old evidence.”
Evie's pulse quickened.
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
The line went dead.
Evie immediately called Roman.
He answered on the second ring.
“Evie?”
“Derek called me.”
Roman's voice hardened.
“What did he say?”
She told him.
For several seconds, he was silent.
Then he said, “Stay inside. Marco's increasing security.”
Evie looked toward the window.
“Roman, something isn't right.”
“What?”
“Derek wanted me to know he was watching.”
A pause.
Then Roman answered quietly.
“Because he wants you frightened.”
Evie swallowed.
“Or because he wants me to leave.”
Roman went still.
“Don't.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
His voice softened.
“Good.”
But fifteen minutes later, the estate's security system reported movement near the service gate.
Marco's team investigated.
A vehicle had been left outside.
Inside was a cardboard box.
Addressed to Evelyn Mercer.
Roman insisted the police examine it before anyone opened it.
The box contained an old boxing glove.
Evie's name was written across the wrist.
And tucked beneath it was a photograph.
Grace Vale standing outside the warehouse.
On the back were four words.
SHE SHOULD HAVE LISTENED.
Evie stared at the image.
Then closed her eyes.
Derek wasn't simply threatening her.
He was repeating the language Bennett had used before Grace died.
Roman noticed her expression.
“What is it?”
She looked up.
“Grace told me Bennett said those words.”
Roman went still.
“When?”
“Three days before the fire.”
Her voice trembled.
“He said she should've listened when he told her to stop asking questions.”
Roman's face hardened.
He turned toward Marco.
“Give the photograph to the investigators.”
Marco nodded.
Then his phone rang.
He listened.
His expression changed.
“Boss, the warehouse surveillance team has confirmation.”
Roman turned.
“Bennett?”
“Yes.”
“And Derek?”
“Both inside.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“Are police moving in?”
“They're coordinating now.”
Evie looked toward Roman.
For one moment, she saw the old version of him.
The man who controlled everything through fear.
The man who might once have gathered his own men and gone after Bennett personally.
Then Roman took a slow breath.
“Let the authorities handle it.”
Marco nodded.
Evie's expression softened.
Roman looked at her.
“I promised Grace I'd get out of that life.”
His voice trembled.
“I never kept my promise while she was alive.”
He looked toward Lily's bedroom upstairs.
“But I can keep it now.”
Evie reached for his hand.
He gently squeezed her fingers.
Later that night, Bennett and Derek were arrested.
The warehouse contained documents related to Northline Freight.
Financial records.
False invoices.
And correspondence connecting Bennett to the security system that had been disabled before Grace's death.
But the biggest discovery came from Derek's phone.
Investigators recovered messages sent shortly before the confrontation at Bellweather.
One message read:
MAKE MERCER REACT. ROMAN NEEDS TO KNOW WHO SHE IS.
Another followed:
ONCE HE FINDS HER, WE CAN BLAME HER AGAIN.
Roman stared at the messages.
His jaw tightened.
Derek hadn't lost control by accident.
He'd provoked Evie deliberately.
He'd wanted her old fighting instincts exposed.
He'd wanted Roman to connect her to Grace.
And then he planned to use Roman's grief against her.
The realization made Evie feel sick.
But Roman simply looked toward the investigators.
“Make sure every message is preserved.”
Then he turned toward Evie.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
May you like
Finally, he whispered:
“They were trying to make me destroy the woman who saved my daughter.”
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