Chapter 7 - The Trap Inside the Family Vault
Richard and Marcus spent the night tearing through the estate.
The vault contained no ledger.
No trust documents.
No secret accounts.
Only old family records and a single photograph of Rose's mother.
On the back was another message.
“You should have listened when she warned you.”
Marcus threw the photograph across the room.
“She planned this.”
Richard shook his head.
“She couldn't have.”
“She did.”
“No.”
Marcus grabbed Richard by the collar.
“You told me the girl was weak.”
Richard's face reddened.
“She was.”
“She just destroyed your entire plan.”
Outside the estate, Gabriel watched through surveillance.
Rose stood beside him.
“She knows exactly where to hurt him.”
“She's your mother’s daughter.”
Rose looked at him.
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Who taught you?”
Gabriel remained quiet.
“My father.”
“Was he like you?”
“No.”
The answer was immediate.
“He was worse.”
Rose studied his face.
“Did you kill him?”
Gabriel shook his head.
“He died trying to escape the people he created.”
“You inherited the organization?”
“Yes.”
“And changed it?”
Gabriel looked at the monitors.
“As much as I could.”
“Why?”
He looked at her.
“Because I had already seen what happened when power had no rules.”
That was the first time Rose understood.
Gabriel was not innocent.
He had blood on his hands.
But he had a code.
And he lived by it.
Nathan arrived with the latest evidence.
“The federal team is ready.”
Gabriel nodded.
Rose asked, “What happens to Dad?”
“He goes to prison.”
“And Marcus?”
“If the evidence holds, so does he.”
“Vincent?”
Nathan exchanged a look with Gabriel.
“That's the problem.”
Rose frowned.
“What?”
Vincent Moretti had vanished.
His accounts were empty.
His known properties had been abandoned.
His private aircraft was gone.
Gabriel's network had searched every city.
Nothing.
“He's planning something,” Gabriel said.
Rose felt a cold knot in her stomach.
“What?”
“We don't know.”
Three days later, Rose received a package.
No sender.
Inside was a childhood photograph.
Her mother.
Rose.
Nathan.
Richard.
And in the corner, barely visible behind them, Vincent Moretti.
Rose dropped the photograph.
“He was there.”
Gabriel took it.
“The day your mother took this?”
“Yes.”
Nathan looked at the date.
“That's the night she hid the ledger.”
Gabriel stared at the photograph.
Then he noticed something.
The background.
A clock.
A sign.
A hotel logo.
Rose recognized it.
“The Grand Regent.”
The hotel had been closed for years.
Gabriel moved immediately.
They arrived after midnight.
The lobby was abandoned.
Dust covered the furniture.
Rose followed Gabriel down the hall.
At the end was a room with a brass number.
She opened the door.
Inside was a desk.
On it sat a tape recorder.
Gabriel pressed play.
Her mother's voice filled the room.
“Rose, if you ever hear this, then I have failed to keep you safe.”
Rose covered her mouth.
“I need you to know something.”
The recording crackled.
“Your father is not the only man responsible.”
Rose looked at Gabriel.
Her mother's voice continued.
“The man you must never trust is the one who believes he can save you.”
Rose froze.
Gabriel's expression changed.
The tape continued.
“He may think he's protecting you. He may even believe he loves you. But power changes people.”
Rose's eyes filled with tears.
The recording stopped.
A slow clap came from the doorway.
Vincent Moretti stepped out of the shadows.
Older.
Calm.
Elegant.
Terrifying.
Gabriel moved in front of Rose.
Vincent smiled.
“Still protecting her.”
Gabriel's voice was flat.
“You're finished.”
“Am I?”
Vincent looked at Rose.
“Your mother was clever.”
Rose stepped forward.
“You killed her.”
Vincent sighed.
“No.”
He looked at Gabriel.
“Your husband did.”
Rose stared.
“What?”
Vincent smiled.
“Ask him where he was the night your mother died.”
Rose turned toward Gabriel.
He was silent.
That silence felt like an explosion.
“Gabriel?”
Vincent continued.
“Ask him.”
Rose's voice broke.
“Were you there?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“Yes.”
Her heart shattered.
“You knew?”
“I was there.”
“And you never told me?”
“I couldn't.”
“You lied.”
“Yes.”
Vincent smiled.
“I told you.”
Rose backed away.
“Why?”
Gabriel's eyes filled with something she had never seen there.
Regret.
“Because I arrived too late.”
Vincent's smile faded.
“Did you?”
Gabriel turned toward him.
“I found her dying.”
Rose couldn't breathe.
“You found my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she die?”
Gabriel's voice broke for the first time.
“Because I was fifteen minutes late.”
Silence.
Vincent suddenly raised a weapon.
Gabriel pushed Rose down.
Gunfire erupted.
The room exploded into chaos.
Rose crawled behind a table.
Vincent escaped through a rear door.
Gabriel chased him.
Rose followed despite his orders.
Outside, sirens approached.
Vincent disappeared into the darkness.
Gabriel stopped.
Rose stood behind him.
She was crying.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because every time I looked at you, I saw her.”
Rose stared.
“That isn't an excuse.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“But it is the truth.”
She wiped her tears.
“I don't know whether I can forgive you.”
“You don't have to.”
He placed his gun on the ground.
“I will never force you to stay.”
Rose looked at him.
“And if I leave?”
“I will still protect you.”
“Why?”
His answer was quiet.
“Because love isn't ownership.”
Rose's heart broke all over again.
Not because he was cruel.
Because he wasn't.
She looked toward the road.
Then back at him.
“I need time.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I'll give you time.”
She walked past him.
But before she reached the car, she stopped.
“Gabriel.”
He looked up.
She didn't turn around.
“If Vincent is telling the truth about that night, prove it.”
May you like
“I will.”
And this time, Gabriel knew there was no going back.
