Chapter 5 - The Kiss That Changed Everything
They escaped the terminal through a loading tunnel.
Julian was rescued by Gabriel, who had found a second entrance.
Victor escaped.
But he left behind a clue.
An encrypted file.
Inside was a list of bank accounts.
One belonged to the mayor.
One to the police commissioner.
One to Victor.
And one belonged to a woman named Evelyn Mercer.
Rowan's mother.
Mave looked at him.
“Your mother?”
“She died when I was nineteen.”
“She might have been involved.”
“No.”
“You don't know that.”
“I know my mother.”
Mave lowered her voice.
“You thought you knew everyone else too.”
He didn't answer.
The discovery split something open between them.
Rowan spent the next day digging through old records.
His mother's accounts had been dormant for years.
But one account had received monthly deposits.
Until the previous week.
Someone was still using it.
“Who?”
Rowan looked at the transaction trail.
Patrick Sullivan.
Mave's father's name appeared as the source.
She stared.
“My father was sending money to your mother?”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
“They were working together.”
“Were they lovers?”
The question left her before she could stop it.
Rowan looked startled.
“No.”
She looked away.
“Why do I care?”
He stepped closer.
“You don't.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
Mave swallowed.
“Because I don't want another woman to matter to you.”
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Rowan lifted her chin.
“Then you should have asked yourself why.”
She met his eyes.
“I think I already know.”
He kissed her.
This time there was no dare.
No money.
No fear.
His hand rested gently against her face.
Mave's fingers curled into his coat.
When they separated, she whispered,
“This is a terrible idea.”
“Yes.”
“You agree?”
“I do.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Because this is the first decision I've made in years that wasn't about survival.”
She smiled.
“I think I like you better when you're not threatening people.”
“I don't threaten you.”
“You threatened the electrician last week.”
“He overcharged you.”
“He was terrified.”
“He should have been more accurate.”
She laughed.
For a few minutes, the danger disappeared.
Then Ruth called.
“Mr. Mercer.”
Rowan answered.
She was crying.
“They have your brother.”
“We got Julian back.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“Not Julian.”
Rowan froze.
“Who?”
“Your father.”
Mave's eyes widened.
Rowan stared into nothing.
“My father died twenty years ago.”
Ruth whispered,
“No.”
She sent a photograph.
An old man sat inside a wheelchair.
Alive.
Older.
But undeniably Rowan's father.
Mave watched Rowan's expression break.
He had built an empire believing his father had died.
Now the dead man was alive.
And someone was holding him.
They went to the location.
An abandoned private clinic.
Inside, they found dozens of old documents.
The clinic had been paid by Victor.
Rowan's father was gone.
But a doctor had left a note.
He isn't your enemy. He never was.
Rowan read it.
“What does that mean?”
Mave found another page.
It contained a timeline.
Twenty years ago, Rowan's father had discovered the mayor's corruption.
He had faked his own death to protect Rowan.
Patrick Sullivan had helped him.
Evelyn Mercer had helped too.
They had built a hidden evidence network.
Victor had found it years later.
He had been dismantling it ever since.
“Your father wasn't the mastermind,” Mave whispered.
“No.”
“He was hiding.”
“Yes.”
“And my father helped him.”
“Yes.”
She looked at Rowan.
“That's why your family trusted mine.”
“And why they killed your father.”
They stood in silence.
Then Rowan's father called.
For the first time in twenty years.
Rowan answered.
“Dad?”
The old man's voice was weak.
“Rowan.”
“Where are you?”
“I can't tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor has found the last archive.”
“What archive?”
A pause.
“The one beneath your mother's house.”
Rowan looked at Mave.
Her eyes widened.
“My mother owned a house?”
“You never knew.”
“No.”
Her father had always told her they sold it after her mother's death.
He had lied.
They drove there.
The old house sat outside the city.
Dust covered the windows.
A broken swing hung in the yard.
Inside, Mave found a bedroom she barely remembered.
Her mother's perfume.
Old photographs.
A locked cabinet.
Inside was a second red ledger.
This one belonged to Patrick Sullivan.
And inside the cover was a message.
For my daughter:
If you ever meet Rowan Mercer, don't run.
He is the man I trusted with my life.
And if he kisses you back, trust him with your heart.
Mave stared at the sentence.
Rowan read it over her shoulder.
Neither spoke.
Then she looked at him.
“My father knew.”
“Yes.”
“He knew this would happen.”
“Yes.”
She laughed through tears.
“He wrote our future before we even met.”
Rowan took her face in his hands.
“I don't know what I did to deserve you.”
She smiled.
“You returned fifty dollars.”
“No.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I found you.”
Then a fire started downstairs.
They ran.
The house began filling with smoke.
Mave grabbed the ledger.
Rowan pulled her toward the back door.
But before they escaped, she saw a man standing in the flames.
Victor.
He smiled.
“You should have stayed at the bar.”
He disappeared through the smoke.
May you like
Rowan looked at Mave.
“We're not running anymore.”
