Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Had Been Watching for Three Years
Marin spent the next forty-eight hours refusing to accept reality.
She told herself Howerin was lying.
She told herself the video was fake.
She told herself there was no secret family.
But every time she tried to sleep, she remembered her father's strange silences.
The unexplained phone calls.
The nights he left the house.
The way he had refused to discuss the weeks before his death.
On the third day, Adrian brought Marin to an old townhouse overlooking the harbor.
“This is where your father lived when he needed to disappear.”
Marin looked at him.
“He lived here?”
“For six months.”
“And I never knew.”
“No.”
“Did you?”
“Yes.”
She turned sharply.
“You knew more about my father than I did.”
Adrian didn't deny it.
“I knew a part of him you were never allowed to see.”
Inside the townhouse were boxes.
Hundreds of them.
Marin opened the first.
Invoices.
Photos.
Receipts.
Then she found a child's drawing.
A little girl had drawn a blue car.
Underneath were four words.
Daddy, me, and Marin.
Marin stared.
“Who is this child?”
Adrian didn't answer.
A woman appeared at the top of the stairs.
She was in her late forties.
Her hair was dark.
Her face was tired.
And around her neck hung a silver necklace Marin recognized instantly.
It had belonged to Ward.
The woman looked at Marin.
“I wondered when you'd come.”
Marin's voice barely worked.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Celia Mercer.”
Adrian watched Marin carefully.
Celia continued.
“I was Evan's wife.”
“Evan Mercer?”
“Yes.”
Marin stepped forward.
“And my father?”
Celia's eyes filled with tears.
“Ward was not my husband.”
“Then why do you have his necklace?”
“Because he gave it to me the night he realized Evan planned to kill him.”
Marin's chest tightened.
“Evan was the one?”
Celia nodded.
“Evan and Victor Calderon's organization were partners once.”
“What changed?”
“Greed.”
Celia told the story.
Evan had discovered Ward was repairing cars used in illegal operations.
Ward wanted out.
Evan wanted more.
When Ward began collecting evidence, Evan arranged for the garage fire.
But Ward survived.
He escaped.
And during those final three weeks, he spent them building a record that could destroy everyone involved.
“He tried to get the evidence to Adrian,” Celia said.
“Why didn't he?”
“Because Adrian was being watched.”
Marin looked at Adrian.
“You couldn't help him.”
“I tried.”
“Not enough.”
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
That answer surprised her.
He didn't defend himself.
Celia continued.
“Ward knew he was dying.”
Marin closed her eyes.
“He knew?”
“Yes.”
“What did he tell you?”
Celia touched the necklace.
“He told me something I never understood.”
“What?”
“He said, ‘Marin will blame herself. Don't let her.’”
Marin looked away.
She had blamed herself for three years.
For not answering a phone call.
For not coming to the hospital sooner.
For not being stronger.
For not asking more questions.
Celia walked toward her.
“He loved you more than anything.”
Marin's eyes filled.
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
“Because he was trying to keep you alive.”
A crash sounded downstairs.
Adrian moved instantly.
“Back.”
He pushed Marin behind him.
Two windows shattered.
Men rushed into the room.
The next thirty seconds became chaos.
Adrian's men returned fire.
Celia screamed.
Tobin, who had followed Marin despite being told to stay home, grabbed a fallen flashlight and pulled Celia behind a cabinet.
Marin crawled across the floor.
She saw something beneath the broken table.
A leather watch.
Her father's watch.
She reached for it.
A man lunged.
Adrian shot the floor near his feet.
The attacker froze.
Adrian crossed the room and pulled Marin up.
“Do you have it?”
“Yes.”
“Then we're leaving.”
They escaped through a rear passage.
In the car, Adrian held the wheel with both hands.
Marin stared at the watch.
“Why does this matter?”
“Because your father stopped it intentionally.”
“What?”
“3:12 wasn't the time of death.”
Marin looked up.
“What was it?”
“The time your father met someone.”
“Who?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Me.”
Marin stared.
“He met you at 3:12?”
“The day before the fire.”
“And what happened?”
“Your father told me one thing.”
“What?”
“That Evan had a buyer.”
“Who?”
“Someone above Victor Calderon.”
Marin felt a chill.
“Who is above him?”
Adrian was silent.
Then he said:
“The person who has controlled this city for twenty years.”
Marin whispered, “Who?”
Adrian's eyes met hers in the rearview mirror.
“Judge Nathaniel Hower.”
She almost laughed.
“You mean the judge?”
“Yes.”
“The federal judge?”
“Yes.”
The realization was monstrous.
Howerin was not simply a street criminal.
He was protected by someone powerful.
Someone almost untouchable.
A judge.
Marin looked at the watch.
The back popped open.
Inside was a microfilm strip.
Her father had hidden it beneath the watch casing.
Marin's hands shook.
Adrian looked at it.
“This is enough to start a war.”
“No.”
May you like
Marin closed her fingers around it.
“This is enough to finish one.”
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