Chapter 9 - A Dead Woman’s Warning
The backup footage arrived at 1:12 in the morning.
Leo watched it once.
Mateo watched it twice.
Beatrice could not watch the entire thing.
The silent black-and-white recording showed Victoria dragging Lily toward the cellar.
It showed Beatrice running after them.
It showed the struggle.
It showed Victoria striking Beatrice repeatedly.
And in the far corner of the frame, barely visible through the service doorway, stood Gianni Morello.
Watching.
He never moved to help.
After Victoria locked the cellar, Gianni walked into the kitchen.
There was no audio.
But the argument between them was obvious.
Victoria pointed toward the cellar.
Gianni grabbed her arm.
Victoria pulled away.
Then Gianni left.
He left Lily behind the door.
He left Beatrice bleeding on the floor.
Leo watched the screen until Mateo turned it off.
“Sofia told me not to answer betrayal with blood.”
Mateo leaned against the desk.
“She knew you.”
“She knew what this would do to me.”
“You need to decide whether you’re going to honor what she asked.”
Leo looked at him.
“What would you do?”
Mateo gave a humorless smile.
“You pay me because I’m better at telling you what not to do than following my own advice.”
Leo sat down.
For years, violence had been simple.
An enemy made a move.
Leo answered.
Someone betrayed him.
Leo removed the problem.
But Sofia had understood something he had not.
Every violent answer created another debt.
Another son who wanted revenge.
Another widow.
Another frightened child.
Lily had already lost enough.
“I want Sterling alive.”
Mateo raised an eyebrow.
“I want Victoria prosecuted.”
Another eyebrow.
“I want Gianni found.”
“That part sounds more like you.”
Leo looked at the Bluebird ledger.
“And I want everything Sterling built taken apart publicly.”
Mateo smiled faintly.
“That may hurt him more.”
The investigation moved quickly after that.
The ledger documented nearly twelve years of criminal transactions.
Sterling Kensington had used legitimate investment firms to wash money for private contractors, smugglers, politicians, and foreign clients.
More importantly, Sofia had recorded dates.
Names.
Account numbers.
One particular series of payments led to the bombing.
A security contractor.
A mechanic.
Gianni.
And a man named Everett Shaw.
Everett had died eighteen months earlier.
Officially from a heart attack.
But before his death, Sofia had interviewed him.
The recording was saved on one of the flash drives.
His voice trembled.
“We were told Rossi would be driving.”
Sofia responded.
“And when they realized I was in the car?”
A long pause.
“No one stopped it.”
“Who gave the final order?”
Another pause.
“Kensington.”
Leo closed his eyes.
The bomb had been meant for him.
Sterling discovered Sofia was driving.
He allowed it anyway.
Because by then, Sofia had become dangerous too.
Mateo looked at Leo.
“We can take this to federal investigators.”
Leo nodded.
“But not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because Sterling will run.”
“So what do you want?”
May you like
Leo looked toward the photograph of Sofia on his desk.
“I want him to believe we found nothing.”
