Chapter 6 - The Father Who Wasn't Dead
Marisol refused to believe it.
"My father is dead."
Vincent didn't move.
"He isn't."
"Where is he?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"North of Lafayette."
Marisol slapped him.
"You let me believe he was dead."
"He ordered me to."
"Why?"
"Because he discovered the entire operation."
Simon stepped between them.
"Who started it?"
Vincent looked at him.
"Rafael."
Simon frowned.
"My uncle?"
"Not alone."
"Who?"
Vincent looked toward the floor.
"Your father."
Silence.
Simon closed his eyes.
It was the third time someone had blamed his dead father.
"Tell me everything."
Vincent took a breath.
"Your father and Rafael built the original network."
"The legitimate businesses?"
"Yes."
"Then what changed?"
"Your father wanted out."
"Why?"
"Because he realized the family had become dependent on criminal money."
Simon stared.
"That doesn't sound like him."
"He tried to dismantle it."
"And Rafael?"
"He refused."
"Then Eli?"
"Was leverage."
Vincent explained.
The child had been named as successor to a trust that controlled several properties.
If Eli disappeared, the trust could be manipulated.
Rafael wanted it.
Barone forged the documents.
Tomás Vega discovered the plan.
He helped move Eli after the crash.
Marisol unknowingly became the boy's guardian.
Rafael believed Eli had died.
Then everything fell apart.
"Why did Barone keep the truth?"
"He wanted the money."
"And Vincent?"
"I was assigned to watch you."
Simon looked at him.
"For seven years?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because your father told me to protect you from the family."
Simon laughed bitterly.
"Everyone was protecting me."
"Yes."
"By lying."
"Yes."
He looked toward Marisol.
"And her?"
"Your father selected her."
Marisol froze.
"What?"
"He chose the Vega family because Tomás was loyal."
"Then he knew I had Eli?"
"Not initially."
"What happened?"
Vincent lowered his voice.
"Your father arranged for Tomás to retrieve Eli. Tomás disappeared. Nobody knew where the child went."
Simon turned toward Marisol.
"Your father took him."
Marisol stared.
"He saved him."
"Yes."
"Then why did he let me believe he was dead?"
Vincent said quietly:
"Because the killers were looking for him."
Marisol's hands trembled.
"Where is he now?"
They traveled north that afternoon.
Tomás Vega lived in a small house surrounded by trees.
When Marisol saw him standing on the porch, she stopped walking.
Her father looked older.
Much older.
His hair was white.
His shoulders bent.
But his eyes were the same.
"Dad?"
Tomás smiled.
"My little girl."
Marisol ran.
She hit him once in the chest.
Then again.
Then wrapped her arms around him and sobbed.
"You let me bury you."
"I know."
"I hated you."
"I know."
"Why?"
"Because I needed you angry enough not to look for me."
She cried harder.
Eli stood behind Simon.
Tomás saw him.
Everything in his face changed.
"My boy."
Eli stepped forward.
"Do I know you?"
Tomás smiled.
"You used to call me Uncle Toma."
Eli stared.
Then something unlocked.
"You gave me the red truck."
Tomás laughed.
"You remember."
Eli hugged him.
Marisol covered her mouth.
Simon watched.
His family had been fractured by lies.
But pieces were coming back.
That evening, Tomás showed them the evidence.
A ledger.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Recordings.
Most importantly, a letter from Simon's father.
To Tomás:
If you are reading this, I am dead or nearly so.
Protect Eli.
Protect Simon.
And trust no one inside the family except Cordelia.
Simon read it twice.
Then he found another document.
A medical report.
His father's death had indeed been caused by poisoning.
The poison had entered his medication.
The person authorized to change the prescription?
John Barone.
Simon closed his eyes.
Barone had done everything.
But he hadn't acted alone.
Tomás handed him one final photograph.
Barone.
Rafael.
Vincent.
And a fourth man.
Simon stared.
"Who is he?"
Tomás looked at him.
"You know."
Simon did.
The man was a respected judge.
One of the men who had publicly supported the Castellanos for years.
The man who had signed the original ruling concerning Eli's estate.
Judge Patrick Duvall.
Simon stared.
"This goes all the way into the courts."
"Yes."
"Then we can't fight this like a gang."
Tomás nodded.
"You fight it with evidence."
Simon looked at Eli.
Then Marisol.
"We're going to end this."
The next day, Simon dismantled his criminal network.
Every captain was given a choice.
Leave.
Or help testify.
Some left.
Some stayed.
The legitimate businesses were placed into independent trusts.
The illegal ones were shut down.
Simon handed every ledger to federal investigators.
He knew surrendering information might cost him everything.
But he no longer cared about preserving an empire built on fear.
He wanted a family.
Not a throne.
Three weeks later, the final arrest warrant was signed.
Richard Duvall.
John Barone.
Rafael Castellano.
And several others.
But before the arrests could happen, Marisol disappeared.
She had gone to pick Maddie up from school.
She never returned.
Simon received one phone call.
"Bring Eli."
The voice was calm.
"If you want her alive."
May you like
Simon knew the voice.
Rafael.
