Chapter 6 - The Lawyer Who Sold Their Secrets
Catherine could barely breathe when she learned Daniel was missing.
His office had been emptied.
His phone was found on his desk.
His computer was gone.
The police believed he had been taken.
Luca knew immediately.
“Helena.”
“Why him?”
“Because he knows everything.”
Catherine felt sick.
“He had access to every document.”
“Yes.”
“Did he betray me?”
“I don't know.”
They found Daniel at an abandoned warehouse.
He was injured.
But alive.
Catherine rushed to him.
“Why?”
Daniel coughed.
“Because I refused to give her the trust documents.”
“You could have told me.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You should have trusted me.”
Daniel looked ashamed.
“You’re right.”
He gave Luca a drive.
“Everything is here.”
The drive contained financial records.
The full network.
Jason.
Helena.
Charles Bennett.
Several companies.
And one shocking connection.
A city official.
Someone powerful.
Someone who could bury the investigation.
Luca looked at the screen.
“Commissioner Hayes.”
Catherine frowned.
“Who?”
“The man overseeing Jason’s fraud investigation.”
Silence.
That explained everything.
The forged documents.
The delayed hearings.
The pressure.
The surveillance.
Someone inside the system was protecting Helena.
But the evidence on the drive was enough to expose them.
They prepared to release it publicly.
Before they could, Helena contacted Catherine.
“Meet me.”
“No.”
“Then Luca dies.”
The line went dead.
Catherine looked at him.
“I’m going.”
“No.”
“She wants me.”
“She wants a hostage.”
“She won't expect me to refuse.”
Luca shook his head.
“You're not going alone.”
“I know.”
They arrived at a private warehouse near the river.
Helena stood beside a railing.
She was elegant.
Calm.
Dangerous.
“You look like your mother.”
Catherine stared.
“You knew her?”
“Everybody in our world knew her.”
“You killed her.”
“No.”
Helena looked at Luca.
“His father did.”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
Helena continued.
“Your mother discovered the ledger.”
“The one you wanted.”
“Yes.”
“What is in it?”
“Names.”
“Of everyone?”
“Enough to destroy cities.”
Catherine understood.
The ledger wasn't merely financial.
It contained blackmail.
Bribes.
Deals.
Political influence.
Families protected by secrets.
Helena wanted control of it.
Catherine's mother had died trying to keep it from her.
“You don't want the ledger.”
Helena smiled.
“You finally understand.”
“You want the people inside it.”
“Yes.”
“To control them.”
“Yes.”
Catherine looked at Luca.
“This ends tonight.”
Helena laughed.
“No. It begins tonight.”
Gunfire erupted.
Luca pushed Catherine behind cover.
His men returned fire.
Helena fled.
Catherine noticed a second exit.
She ran.
She found Helena trying to escape.
They faced each other.
“You don't belong in this world.”
Catherine stared at her.
“Neither did my mother.”
Helena raised a gun.
Catherine moved.
The weapon fell.
Helena attacked.
Catherine fought.
She remembered every lesson.
Every scar.
Every moment she had spent believing she was weak because Jason told her she was.
She blocked.
Turned.
Pinned Helena against the wall.
Luca arrived.
Catherine stepped back.
“Don't.”
Helena looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because I won't become you.”
Police surrounded them.
Commissioner Hayes was arrested before sunrise.
The ledger was recovered.
Jason's network collapsed.
Helena was charged.
The city learned what had happened.
And Catherine finally learned the full truth about her mother.
She had not died because she was reckless.
She died because she protected people.
She had hidden information not for power.
But to keep it out of the hands of people who would weaponize it.
Catherine cried when she read the last letter.
My daughter,
If you ever read this, I hope the world has become kinder than the one I knew.
Do not spend your life becoming hard because people hurt you.
Choose carefully.
But keep your heart.
Catherine folded the letter.
Luca stood behind her.
She turned.
“I was angry at you.”
“I know.”
“I still am.”
“I know.”
“But I love you.”
He looked almost stunned.
“You can be angry and love someone.”
“I know.”
May you like
She smiled.
“That might be the healthiest thing anyone has ever taught me.”
