Chapter 15 - THE MOTHER’S LAST CONFESSION|
Gideon refused to believe Adrian.
His mother, Elena Ferraro, had been dead for twelve years. She had been a quiet woman who spent most of her life supporting charities and avoiding the family business. Gideon remembered her sitting at the kitchen table, reading letters and asking him whether he had eaten.
He had never seen her threaten anyone.
But the evidence in the archive had already taught him how little appearances could mean.
Adrian was taken into custody by the officers waiting outside. He refused to answer further questions. Gideon ordered Tobias to arrange secure transport, then turned to Camille.
“We need to speak to my mother's attorney.”
“Is he still alive?”
“Yes.”
“Then we start there.”
The attorney, Harold Mercer, lived in a gated community outside the city. He received them in a study filled with leather-bound books and family photographs.
When Gideon mentioned the recording, Mercer closed his eyes.
“I wondered when this day would come.”
“You knew?” Gideon asked.
“I knew your mother had kept documents.”
“What documents?”
Mercer opened a locked cabinet and removed a sealed box.
“Letters. Bank records. A statement she wrote before she died.”
Gideon stared at the box.
“Why didn't you give this to me?”
“She instructed me not to release it unless the original ledger was found or the people responsible for Matteo's death were identified.”
Camille watched Gideon's face.
“Open it.”
Inside were several letters in Elena's handwriting. The first was addressed to Gideon.
He read it silently.
Then he read it again.
“My mother knew Carlo was involved,” he said.
Mercer nodded.
“She discovered it after Matteo died.”
“Why didn't she go to the police?”
“She did. But the officer she contacted was working for the Harbor Circle. She was threatened. Then she was told that if she spoke again, Gideon would be killed.”
Gideon lowered the letter.
“She stayed silent.”
“She was afraid.”
“So was everyone.”
Camille picked up another letter.
This one was addressed to Étienne Tibido.
It thanked him for preserving the evidence and apologized for failing to protect him. At the bottom, Elena had written:
If I cannot tell my son the truth, perhaps you can.
Camille felt tears sting her eyes.
“My father trusted her.”
“Yes,” Mercer said. “They were working together.”
Gideon turned another page.
A statement described the night Matteo died. Elena had been present when Carlo ordered the men to intercept him. She had not ordered the killing, but she had known the plan was dangerous and had said nothing until it was too late.
The next page contained the name of the man who carried out the attack.
Victor Sloane.
Gideon looked up.
“Sloane killed my brother.”
Mercer nodded.
“He was working for Carlo then. After Carlo's death, he continued working for Salvatore and later Adrian.”
Camille turned to the final letter.
There was a location written beneath Elena's signature.
A small house in the town of St. Martinville.
“Marcel Duval,” she said.
Mercer nodded.
“He was the only surviving witness who could connect the Ferraro family to the original cargo transfer.”
Gideon folded the letter.
“We're going to find him.”
Before they could leave, Mercer's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and went pale.
“What is it?” Gideon asked.
Mercer slowly lowered the phone.
“Victor Sloane knows you found the archive.”
“How?”
“He has someone inside the police department.”
Camille's phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Delphine standing outside the Ashmore building.
Beneath it were six words:
Bring the ledger, or she disappears.
Camille's blood turned cold.
She called Delphine immediately.
No answer.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Then a third message arrived.
This time it was a voice recording.
Delphine's voice was faint, but unmistakable.
“Camille, baby, don't come looking for me.”
A man's voice interrupted.
“Tell her what happens if she does.”
The recording ended with a sharp sound.
Gideon took the phone from Camille.
“Where are they holding her?”
Camille looked at the photograph.
Behind Delphine, a sign was visible above a doorway.
May you like
It read:
ASHMORE STORAGE — WAREHOUSE 4.
