Chapter 5 - Marcus Vale Knew the Truth
Marcus Vale was brought to a secure property outside the city.
Dileia entered the room alone.
Julian wanted to accompany her.
She refused.
“If he asked for me, I need to know why.”
Julian reluctantly agreed.
Marcus looked older than the photographs.
Gray hair.
Sunken eyes.
A scar near his left jaw.
He smiled when Dileia entered.
“You look like Tommy.”
She hated hearing it.
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“No.”
Marcus sighed.
“He loved you.”
“Tell me why he died.”
Marcus lowered his eyes.
“I didn’t kill him.”
“Who did?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why are you alive?”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“I spent fourteen months pretending to be dead.”
Dileia sat opposite him.
“Why?”
“Because I found out who was behind the money.”
“Who?”
Marcus looked at the closed door.
“Someone Julian would never suspect.”
Dileia waited.
Marcus leaned forward.
“The money was not being stolen for profit.”
She frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Forty million disappeared. But it was not all kept.”
“Then where did it go?”
“Political campaigns. Judges. Police pensions. Private security firms. Construction permits. Medical networks.”
Dileia’s face hardened.
“You built an influence machine.”
“We built a shield.”
“For the Thorne organization?”
Marcus looked at her.
“For Julian.”
She said nothing.
“Julian’s father had enemies everywhere. He created legitimate businesses to hide the criminal operations. Then someone decided the organization could be controlled.”
“Who?”
“Julian’s mother.”
Dileia stared.
“His mother is dead.”
“Not exactly.”
Marcus’s voice dropped.
“Evelyn Thorne has been officially dead for eight years.”
Dileia remembered the name from newspaper articles.
A tragic car accident.
Widow of Vincent Thorne.
A beloved philanthropist.
Marcus continued.
“She survived.”
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I expect nothing.”
Marcus removed a small USB drive from his pocket.
“This is why Tommy died.”
Dileia took it.
“Why didn’t he give it to Julian?”
“He tried.”
“Then what happened?”
Marcus looked at her.
“Julian never got the message.”
Dileia understood.
Someone had intercepted it.
A person inside the organization.
Someone close enough to control communication.
She returned to Thorn Tower.
Julian was waiting.
She placed the drive on the table.
“Your mother is alive.”
His face became still.
“Who told you?”
“Marcus Vale.”
Julian took one step backward.
“That is impossible.”
“He says she survived the accident.”
“Where?”
“He doesn’t know.”
Julian looked away.
Dileia watched him process the information.
“You knew your mother might be alive.”
“No.”
“Not even suspected?”
“No.”
“What did your father tell you?”
“Nothing.”
Dileia opened the drive.
A video appeared.
Vincent Thorne was sitting behind a desk.
Julian was younger.
Maybe twenty-two.
The video was old.
Vincent looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, Julian, it means I failed to protect you.”
Julian stared.
Vincent continued.
“Never trust the person who offers to fix a problem they secretly created.”
The video ended.
Dileia looked at Julian.
“What does that mean?”
Julian whispered, “My father suspected betrayal.”
“By whom?”
“No idea.”
The next file contained financial transfers.
The shell companies.
The forged signatures.
And a recurring code.
ECHO-17.
Dileia recognized it immediately.
“That’s the same structure.”
Julian leaned over her shoulder.
“What?”
“The fraud.”
She enlarged the transactions.
ECHO-17 was not an account.
It was a release protocol.
Every twenty-one days, someone opened a hidden stream and moved money.
But the most disturbing detail appeared in the authorization history.
The account had been active for fourteen years.
Julian looked at the date.
“Fourteen years.”
Dileia nodded.
“The theft started before you became boss.”
A phone rang.
Salenzo answered.
His expression changed.
He handed the phone to Julian.
“It's your sister.”
Julian went silent.
Dileia had never heard him sound so vulnerable.
“Where are you?”
A pause.
His face went white.
“Stay there.”
He hung up.
“What happened?” Dileia asked.
“My sister disappeared.”
The room erupted into motion.
Within minutes, cars were dispatched.
Julian personally drove.
Dileia sat beside him.
As they sped through Chicago, Julian finally told her the truth.
His sister, Clara, had been the only member of the family he fully trusted.
If she was missing, the enemy had reached the center of his private life.
They found her car abandoned beside the river.
Her phone lay broken on the pavement.
Dileia crouched beside it.
“What did she call you about?”
“She said she found something.”
“What?”
Julian looked at the river.
“I don’t know.”
Dileia noticed a reflection in the wet pavement.
A symbol painted on the curb.
ECHO-17.
She stood.
“This is a message.”
“To whom?”
“To us.”
She looked toward the warehouse district.
“They want you to follow.”
Julian stared at her.
“Why?”
“To separate you from everyone else.”
Then headlights appeared at the end of the road.
A convoy.
Julian reached for his weapon.
Dileia grabbed his wrist.
“No.”
“What?”
“They’re not attacking.”
The lead vehicle stopped.
The door opened.
Clara stepped out.
Alive.
But terrified.
She walked directly to Dileia.
Then she whispered:
“I know who killed Tommy.”
Dileia’s heart stopped.
“Who?”
Clara looked at Julian.
May you like
Then back at Dileia.
“Your husband himself.”
