Chapter 12 - THE NIGHT THE ROSE BURNED
Salvatore Moretti had controlled the Bellwether scheme from the beginning.
Victoria stole the designs.
Richard concealed the finances.
Lorenzo provided the building and initial funding.
But Salvatore orchestrated the network.
When Eleanor threatened exposure, he ordered her silenced.
Victoria carried out the attack.
Richard helped conceal it.
Lorenzo tried to protect Eleanor without exposing himself.
And Salvatore made sure none of them could escape the arrangement.
Ava stared at the nurse's statement.
“He destroyed all of them.”
Niko stood beside her.
“Yes.”
“Your father too.”
“Yes.”
Ava looked up.
“Then why are we still afraid of him?”
Niko's expression hardened.
“Because he's dangerous.”
“So are you.”
He looked at her.
She continued.
“But you made a choice.”
Niko was silent.
Ava stepped closer.
“You could have hidden the evidence about Lorenzo.”
“Yes.”
“You didn't.”
“No.”
“Then maybe Salvatore isn't as powerful as he thinks.”
***
They arranged to turn over the complete Rose Ledger to federal investigators.
The meeting was scheduled for the following morning.
That night, Ava returned to the workshop to collect the final garments.
Niko wanted her to wait.
She refused.
“These are my mother's records.”
“I know.”
“Then I need to be there.”
He studied her.
“Fine. But Matteo goes with you.”
Ava almost smiled.
“Compromise?”
“I'm learning.”
***
The workshop was dark when they arrived.
Matteo entered first.
Ava followed.
Something smelled wrong.
Smoke.
She stopped.
“Matteo.”
He turned.
A small flame appeared near the rear storage room.
Then another.
“Out!” Matteo shouted.
The fire spread unnaturally fast.
Someone had poured accelerant.
Ava ran toward the table.
The final white coat lay there.
The one containing the last sequence of the Rose Ledger.
She grabbed it.
Matteo caught her arm.
“Miss Monroe, we have to go!”
A beam cracked overhead.
Heat struck her face.
Ava stumbled.
The coat slipped from her hands.
Matteo pulled her toward the exit.
She looked back.
The white fabric began to burn.
“No!”
Matteo dragged her outside.
Seconds later, the windows shattered.
Ava collapsed on the pavement.
The building burned behind her.
The final coat was gone.
***
Niko arrived before the fire trucks finished setting up.
He found Ava sitting on the curb beneath a blanket.
Her face was streaked with soot.
Matteo stood nearby, coughing.
Niko knelt.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
“The coat.”
“What?”
“The final coat.”
Her voice broke.
“It burned.”
Niko looked toward the flames.
Then back at her.
“Are you alive?”
She stared.
“Yes.”
“Then we can find another way.”
Ava began crying.
“You don't understand. That was the last piece.”
Niko took her hands.
“Look at me.”
She did.
“The evidence matters.”
She nodded.
“But you matter more.”
Ava leaned into him.
For the first time, she allowed herself to believe she didn't have to earn care by being useful.
***
The following morning, investigators examined the fire.
It was arson.
A vehicle registered to a Salvatore-controlled company had been seen near the building.
But Salvatore remained missing.
Victoria had also disappeared.
Richard refused to speak.
Bianca was terrified.
Then Ava received an unexpected message.
From Miriam Bell.
COME TO MY APARTMENT. I HAVE SOMETHING ELEANOR GAVE ME BEFORE THE ATTACK.
Ava and Niko arrived an hour later.
Miriam opened an old wooden chest.
Inside was a child's dress.
Pale yellow.
Tiny white buttons.
A black rose embroidered beneath the collar.
Ava stared.
“My mother made that for me.”
Miriam smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
“She never gave it to me.”
“She asked me to keep it safe.”
“Why?”
Miriam touched the embroidered rose.
“Because she knew the final record couldn't stay at Bellwether.”
Ava lifted the dress.
Her hands trembled.
The last piece of the Rose Ledger hadn't burned.
It had been waiting in a child's dress for eighteen years.
And stitched into the lining was a name.
VICTORIA CALDWELL.
Below it was an account number.
And a date.
May you like
The day Lorenzo Moretti died.
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