Chapter 3 - THE NAME HE HAD BURIED
Daniel Mercer had once worked for Victor.
Not as a soldier.
Not as an enforcer.
As an accountant.
He had been thirty-one, meticulous, and irritatingly honest.
Victor remembered him because Daniel was one of the few men who had ever walked into his office and told him that his own company was stealing from him.
Five years earlier, Daniel had uncovered irregularities in the books of Raldi Holdings.
Three weeks later, he died in a warehouse fire.
The official investigation ruled it an accident.
Victor had accepted that conclusion.
Now he stood outside a food truck looking at Daniel's widow.
Alice watched him carefully.
"You knew my husband?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"He worked for one of my companies."
Her expression hardened.
"Raldi Holdings."
Victor nodded.
Alice looked toward the construction site.
Then back at him.
"You're Victor Raldi."
He didn't deny it.
She laughed once, without humor.
"Of course you are."
Ben looked between them.
"Mom?"
Alice placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Go finish your book, sweetheart."
He obeyed reluctantly.
When he was out of earshot, Alice turned toward Victor.
"My husband died because of your company."
Victor felt the accusation like a physical blow.
"The fire was ruled accidental."
"By people your company paid."
"That's a serious accusation."
"So was the one Daniel made before he died."
Victor went still.
"What accusation?"
Alice looked at him.
"That someone inside Raldi Holdings was laundering money through construction contracts."
Marco shifted behind Victor.
Alice noticed.
"Don't bother intimidating me. I've spent five years being afraid of people who wear suits."
Victor raised one hand, signaling Marco to remain silent.
"What did Daniel find?"
Alice shook her head.
"I don't know."
"Did he leave documents?"
Her expression changed.
Victor noticed.
"Alice."
She stepped back.
"I have customers."
He understood the conversation was over.
But as he turned away, she said something that stopped him.
"Daniel told me that if anything happened to him, I should never trust the man who signed the Harborline contracts."
Victor slowly turned.
"Harborline didn't exist five years ago."
May you like
Alice looked at the unfinished building.
"Then maybe you should ask yourself why my dead husband knew its name."
