Chapter 11 - A WARNING IN THE RAIN|
The storm arrived just after midnight.
Rain hammered the roof of the community center, and thunder rolled across Meridian Harbor.
Rafael froze when the first flash of lightning illuminated the room.
Elena noticed immediately.
She had seen him remain calm while armed men argued across his desk. She had watched him negotiate with men who would have gladly killed him.
But thunder made him look suddenly young.
"Rafael?"
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
He turned toward the window.
For twelve years, he had refused to discuss the storm that killed Luca. The weather had become an enemy he could not fight, a reminder that the world could take someone he loved without warning.
Elena approached slowly.
"You don't have to explain."
He gave a humorless laugh.
"That's what I always tell people."
A flash of lightning lit the room.
Rafael closed his eyes.
Elena did not touch him until he reached for her hand.
When he did, she held it.
"My brother called me that night," he said. "I saw his name on my phone. I was in a meeting with my father. I ignored it."
"Why?"
"Because he had called three times that week. I thought he was being dramatic."
His voice cracked.
"He left a message. I didn't listen until the next morning."
Elena's grip tightened.
"What did he say?"
"That he had found something. That he needed me to come to the harbor. He said he was afraid."
Rafael stared at the floor.
"I thought I had more time."
Elena understood that feeling.
Her father had died before she could ask him the questions that mattered.
She stood beside Rafael until the storm passed.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from his security chief.
We have identified the camera feed. It belongs to a Sinclair-controlled security company.
A second message followed.
They know Elena has the recordings.
Rafael looked at her.
"We need to move."
"Where?"
"Somewhere they cannot reach you."
Elena shook her head.
"I'm not running again."
"Elena—"
"No. We have evidence. We have the original files. We need to make copies and take them to the authorities."
Rafael nodded slowly.
"Then we do it your way."
Before they left, a car pulled up outside.
Its headlights cut through the rain.
A man stepped out and raised a phone.
Elena recognized him from the photograph in her father's tin.
Victor Hale.
May you like
He looked directly at the window.
Then he smiled.
