Chapter 7 - The Mother-in-Law Who Knew Everything
Dileia sat beside the bed as Mrs. Ruth told the story.
Her real name was Ruth Hail.
She had once worked as an accountant for Vincent Thorne.
She had known every hidden account.
Every shipment.
Every politician paid.
Every judge influenced.
Every rival destroyed.
But Ruth had believed Vincent would eventually dismantle the criminal empire.
He never did.
Instead, the organization grew.
Then Evelyn Thorne became obsessed with controlling it.
“She wasn’t satisfied with being Vincent’s wife,” Ruth said.
“She wanted the entire machine.”
“And Tommy?”
“He discovered us.”
Dileia’s eyes filled.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know he was alive?”
Ruth hesitated.
“No.”
Dileia stared.
“Then why did you say you did?”
“Because I suspected.”
Ruth opened the drawer beside her bed.
Inside was a notebook.
Old.
Worn.
Covered in handwritten numbers.
“This is the original ledger.”
Dileia took it.
Every page was covered in transactions.
Unlike the encrypted digital records, this book had no attempt at complexity.
It was brutally simple.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
Destinations.
And beneath each transaction, initials.
Dileia flipped faster.
Then stopped.
A set of initials appeared repeatedly.
A.T.
Adrian Thorne.
She looked up.
“Adrian was involved from the beginning.”
Ruth nodded.
“But not alone.”
“Who?”
Ruth’s hands shook.
“Evelyn.”
Dileia closed her eyes.
Julian’s mother.
The woman believed dead.
Alive.
Operating behind the entire network.
Ruth continued.
“Evelyn used Adrian as her public representative. She used Marcus as her accountant. She used politicians as shields. But she needed Julian.”
“Why?”
“Because Julian inherited Vincent’s power.”
Dileia understood.
“Evelyn wanted Julian to control the empire while she controlled him.”
Ruth nodded.
“Exactly.”
The next morning, Julian arrived.
Ruth looked at him for a long time.
Then she whispered his name.
“Julian.”
He stopped.
She had not called him that in years.
He sat beside her.
“Tell me everything.”
Ruth did.
When she finished, Julian looked devastated.
He asked one question.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were your father’s son.”
Julian flinched.
Ruth continued.
“And because I knew if you learned the truth too early, Evelyn would kill you.”
Julian stood.
“I spent my whole life believing she was dead.”
“I know.”
“I mourned her.”
“I know.”
“I hated myself for not saving her.”
Ruth reached for him.
“I am sorry.”
Julian looked away.
Dileia watched him.
The feared mafia boss of Chicago suddenly looked like a grieving son.
She walked toward him.
“You didn’t fail her.”
Julian looked at her.
“You don’t know that.”
“I know what it looks like when someone blames himself for something he couldn’t control.”
His eyes softened.
They stood in silence.
Then Julian took her hand.
Not possessively.
Carefully.
As if asking permission without saying the words.
She let him.
That afternoon, they found Tommy.
Alive.
He had been hiding inside a small church shelter on the north side under a false name.
When Dileia saw him, she could not breathe.
Tommy stood frozen.
Then she ran.
He caught her.
She hit his chest.
Once.
Twice.
Then collapsed against him.
“You’re alive.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re alive.”
“I wanted to come back.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
“Because they had you watched.”
She cried.
He held her.
Then Dileia stepped back.
“Did you know?”
“Know what?”
“About Julian.”
Tommy looked toward the man standing several feet away.
“I knew he was better than people believed.”
Julian walked forward.
“You should have come to me.”
Tommy looked ashamed.
“I tried.”
“I know.”
They shook hands.
No words were needed.
But the reunion ended quickly.
Holloway entered.
“We have a problem.”
Julian turned.
“What?”
“We found a body.”
Whose?
Adrian Thorne.
Dead.
But the coroner had found something strange.
Adrian had been killed nearly twenty-four hours earlier.
Which meant he could not have been the person sending the latest messages.
The entire room went silent.
Dileia looked at the ledger.
Then at Julian.
“If Adrian is dead, someone else is using his identity.”
Julian nodded.
“Who?”
Dileia looked at Tommy.
“What did you see before you disappeared?”
Tommy swallowed.
“Evelyn.”
Julian stared.
“What?”
“She found me.”
“How did you escape?”
“Someone helped me.”
“Who?”
Tommy looked at Dileia.
“Your mother-in-law.”
Dileia turned.
Mrs. Ruth was standing in the doorway.
Her face was pale.
She whispered:
“I didn't save Tommy.”
She looked toward Julian.
“I saved you.”
Then the lights went out.
A second later, the building alarm screamed.
Julian reached for Dileia.
But someone slammed the emergency door shut between them.
Dileia was trapped on one side.
Julian on the other.
And in the darkness, a woman’s voice echoed through the corridor.
“Hello, Julian.”
The voice was old.
Calm.
May you like
Familiar.
Evelyn Thorne.
