Chapter 2 - The Secret My Father Died Protecting
We stayed at the garage until three in the morning.
Gabriel brought six men.
I hated that.
He knew I hated it.
He didn't care.
The doors were locked.
The lights were on.
And my father's old office suddenly looked like a command center.
Wade, Gabriel's security chief, stood by the entrance.
Two men monitored the street.
Another searched the storage room.
I sat behind Dad's desk.
“Where do we begin?”
Gabriel looked around.
“Where did your father spend most of his time?”
“Here.”
“Not the garage.”
I frowned.
“The office?”
He nodded.
I opened drawers.
Nothing.
His old invoices.
Tax records.
Customer receipts.
A photograph of Leo and me when we were children.
Nothing unusual.
Then I saw the bottom drawer.
It was locked.
I had never seen it locked before.
“Do you have a key?”
“No.”
Gabriel crouched beside it.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
He examined the lock.
Then stepped aside.
“Try something sentimental.”
“What?”
“Your father wasn't a complicated man.”
I thought.
His birthday.
My birthday.
Mom's name.
Nothing.
Then I remembered something.
Dad always used the last four numbers of Mom's old phone number.
I entered them.
The drawer opened.
Inside was a metal box.
My hands went cold.
Gabriel crouched beside me.
“This is it.”
We opened it together.
Inside was a bundle of letters.
A photograph.
And a key.
The photograph showed Dad standing beside Gabriel.
Both were younger.
Behind them was a black sedan.
On the back, Dad had written:
If I don't come home, trust the man who doesn't ask to be trusted.
I looked at Gabriel.
“That's you.”
He nodded.
I opened the first letter.
It was addressed to me.
Francesca,
If you're reading this, then I failed to keep the promise I made to your mother.
I stopped.
My eyes blurred.
Gabriel didn't interrupt.
I kept reading.
Your brother is not the problem. He was used.
The people who come for the garage are not looking for money.
They're looking for what I hid.
I never told you because you were the strongest person in this family, and strength attracts enemies.
I looked up.
Gabriel's expression was unreadable.
The letter continued.
There is a ledger hidden beneath the old service lift.
Do not open it unless Gabriel Costa is with you.
I stared at him.
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“I helped him hide it.”
My heart pounded.
“You were there the night he died?”
Gabriel looked away.
“Yes.”
“Then tell me what happened.”
He was silent.
“Gabriel.”
He finally answered.
“Your father was trying to leave.”
“Leave what?”
“The network.”
“What network?”
“The one your father never told you about.”
I stood.
“You keep giving me pieces.”
“Because if I give you everything at once, you'll run.”
“Maybe I should.”
“You won't.”
I hated that he sounded certain.
“Why are you so sure?”
“Because you're your father’s daughter.”
We went beneath the service lift.
The mechanism was older than I remembered.
Gabriel removed a panel.
A narrow compartment appeared.
Inside was a black ledger wrapped in oilcloth.
I touched it.
It felt heavier than paper should.
We took it into the office.
The pages contained names.
Lots of them.
Shipping companies.
Judges.
Police officers.
Politicians.
Developers.
Businessmen.
Every page was marked with dates and amounts.
Then I saw a familiar name.
Dario Bellini.
Another.
Nolan Moretti.
My uncle.
I stopped.
“Nolan?”
Gabriel's face became hard.
“He was your father's brother.”
“He died before I was born.”
“No.”
I stared.
“Another lie.”
Gabriel nodded.
“He disappeared.”
I turned the page.
There was a photograph.
My uncle stood beside Dario Bellini.
And another man.
A man I had seen on the news for years.
Vincent Romano.
A city councilman.
My stomach twisted.
“This is why they want it.”
“Yes.”
“Who killed my father?”
Gabriel closed the ledger.
“Not tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because someone is outside.”
The lights went out.
A crash came from the front door.
Gabriel pulled me behind him.
Gunfire tore through the garage.
The men outside returned fire.
Leo screamed.
“Francesca!”
“I’m here!”
Gabriel grabbed my arm.
“Stay with me.”
“I can defend myself.”
“I know.”
He handed me a small pistol.
“Then prove it.”
I stared.
He looked at me.
“Safety off.”
A man entered through the side door.
I raised the weapon.
He stopped.
Gabriel fired.
The man dropped.
The shooting ended seconds later.
Silence returned.
Leo was shaking.
Gabriel walked toward him.
“Did you tell anyone about the ledger?”
“No.”
“Think.”
“I told a guy at the card game that Dad's garage wasn't for sale.”
“Name.”
“Peter.”
“Peter who?”
Leo swallowed.
“Peter Russo.”
Gabriel's face darkened.
I knew that name.
“Who's Russo?”
“Bellini's fixer.”
Gabriel nodded.
“So they know.”
I stared at him.
“What happens now?”
“They come harder.”
“Then let them.”
He looked at me.
“You're not afraid.”
“I am.”
His eyes softened.
“But?”
“I’m angrier.”
A tiny smile appeared.
“That,” he said, “I understand.”
Later that night, I found Gabriel outside.
He stood beneath the flickering sign above the garage.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
He looked at me.
“I don't sleep much.”
“Why?”
“Too many people want me dead.”
I laughed.
“Comforting.”
He smiled.
I stepped beside him.
“Did you really know my father?”
“Yes.”
“Were you friends?”
He thought.
“Something like that.”
“Did he trust you?”
“With his life.”
“Then why didn't you save him?”
The smile disappeared.
“I tried.”
He looked toward the street.
“I was too late.”
I didn't know why, but I believed him.
The next morning, a black SUV arrived.
A woman stepped out.
Elegant.
Blonde.
Expensive.
She walked toward me like she owned the sidewalk.
“Francesca Moretti?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Bianca Bellini.”
Dario's daughter.
She smiled.
“My father would like to speak with you.”
“I don't think so.”
She leaned closer.
“You should listen.”
“Why?”
“Because he knows what happened to your father.”
My breath caught.
She smiled.
“And he knows what Gabriel Costa hasn't told you.”
Then she turned.
Before she reached the SUV, she looked back.
“Ask Gabriel why he was the last man to see your father alive.”
I returned to the garage.
Gabriel was waiting.
He knew from my face.
“What did she say?”
I answered.
“She said you were the last person to see my father alive.”
May you like
Gabriel didn't deny it.
And that frightened me more than any gunshot.
