Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Church Knew the Secret Cormac Had Spent Twenty Years Trying to Bury
They found Evelyn at a small church outside Milwaukee.
She refused to leave.
Cormac walked inside alone.
His mother stood near the altar.
Alive.
Older.
Holding a cane.
He stared.
“You.”
She smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I had to.”
Cormac laughed bitterly.
“Everyone has to.”
She looked at him.
“Your father would have killed you.”
“Maybe.”
“But I didn't want to.”
“You still lied.”
“Yes.”
He looked away.
“Where is Sadie?”
“Safe.”
“Where is she?”
“Outside.”
Evelyn looked toward the door.
“She has your brother's eyes.”
Cormac's throat tightened.
“She is my niece.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you hide her?”
“Because Matteo asked me.”
“Matteo survived.”
“Yes.”
“Where is he?”
Evelyn's expression changed.
“He's dead.”
Cormac stared.
“He died protecting her.”
“From whom?”
“Richard.”
Cormac went cold.
“Richard killed Matteo?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“He wanted the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
Evelyn opened a wooden box.
Inside was a music sheet.
Winter Glass.
Cormac recognized it.
Julian's piece.
Evelyn said:
“The ledger is hidden in the music.”
Cormac frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“The notes are coordinates.”
He stared.
She continued:
“Your father used music because nobody expected criminals to understand it.”
“Who did?”
“Matteo.”
Cormac looked at the sheet.
Numbers.
Symbols.
Margins.
He understood.
The music contained account numbers.
Shipping routes.
Names.
Evidence.
But there was one problem.
The cipher could only be decoded by someone who knew the original composition.
Julian.
And Sadie.
Cormac's eyes widened.
“She played it.”
Evelyn nodded.
“She learned from me.”
“Why didn't you tell her?”
“Because she needed to forget.”
“Forget me?”
“Forget everything.”
“Why?”
“Because Richard was watching.”
Cormac stepped closer.
“Richard works for my family.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Richard built your family.”
The words landed hard.
He had thought his father created the empire.
He hadn't.
Richard had.
His father had been the public face.
Richard was the strategist.
And Victor Kane was his enforcer.
The fire had been Richard's plan.
The financial operation had been Richard's plan.
The disappearance of Sadie had been Richard's plan.
Everything.
Cormac looked toward the door.
Sadie stood there.
She had heard enough.
“Then my whole life was a lie.”
Evelyn moved toward her.
“No.”
Sadie backed away.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had to.”
Sadie's eyes filled.
“I spent eight years mourning you.”
“I know.”
“You let me.”
“I had no choice.”
Sadie looked at Cormac.
He saw the same pain in her eyes.
The pain of being protected without being asked.
He knew it too well.
He took a step.
She shook her head.
“Not now.”
He stopped.
“Okay.”
That simple word surprised her.
He didn't force her.
He didn't argue.
He waited.
Julian called.
“The cipher is active.”
Cormac answered.
“What does that mean?”
“Someone else has the second half.”
“Who?”
Silence.
Then:
“Your uncle.”
Cormac's face hardened.
“Which uncle?”
“Matteo.”
Sadie whispered:
“My father.”
Julian continued.
“He left a recording.”
“Where?”
“In the original Vale house.”
The old house had burned twenty years ago.
Only the foundation remained.
They went.
Beneath the ruins, they found a hidden room.
Inside was a piano.
The same type Evelyn had played.
Sadie approached it.
Her hands trembled.
Cormac stood behind her.
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No.”
She opened the lid.
Inside was a small envelope.
A recording.
Matteo appeared on screen.
“Sadie.”
She began crying.
“If you're seeing this, you're alive.”
Matteo smiled.
“I was never good at leaving.”
He looked at the camera.
“Your mother saved you.”
“Cormac will protect you.”
Cormac froze.
Matteo continued.
“You may not trust him.”
“You shouldn't.”
“But trust what he chooses.”
“If he chooses you over the family, believe him.”
The video ended.
Sadie turned toward Cormac.
“You knew my father.”
“Yes.”
“What was he like?”
“The best man I knew.”
She cried.
Cormac stepped closer.
“He loved you.”
“I never met him.”
“He loved you anyway.”
She leaned against him.
He held her.
For the first time, neither of them thought about the empire.
Only family.
Then the room exploded.
The far wall collapsed.
Men entered.
Richard's men.
Cormac pushed Sadie behind the piano.
Gunfire erupted.
Julian and Evelyn were trapped.
The piano caught fire.
Sadie screamed.
But she saw something.
A hidden compartment beneath the keys.
She reached inside.
Pulled out the ledger.
Richard's voice came through the doorway.
“Thank you.”
He smiled.
“You saved me the trouble of finding it.”
Cormac raised his weapon.
“You're done.”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
He looked at Sadie.
May you like
“She was always the key.”
---
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