Chapter 7 - THE SECRET HER FATHER TOOK TO HIS GRAVE
The clue came from my father's old accountant.
A retired man named Harold Price.
He had worked for Thomas Hartwell for fifteen years.
We met him at a quiet café.
He looked nervous.
“I wondered when someone would come asking.”
I stared.
“You knew?”
Harold nodded.
“Your father discovered something terrible.”
My stomach tightened.
He explained that several shipping companies had been used to conceal illegal financial transfers.
Thomas wanted to expose the scheme.
But the evidence implicated powerful people.
Including members of the Marino organization.
Vincent's expression hardened.
“Who?”
Harold hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Your uncle.”
Vincent went still.
“Carlo?”
Harold nodded.
My stomach dropped.
Carlo Marino.
Vincent's uncle.
A man who still held enormous influence in the family.
Vincent stared.
For a moment, he looked as though the ground had disappeared beneath him.
Harold continued.
“Thomas planned to meet Alessandro.”
I swallowed.
“Why?”
“To give him the evidence.”
Vincent looked down.
Harold hesitated.
“Then Pier 17 burned.”
Silence.
I whispered:
“And my father died.”
Harold nodded.
Tears filled my eyes.
For twenty-two years, I'd believed my father had died because of icy roads.
Now I was beginning to understand that his death might have been connected to something far darker.
Vincent took my hand.
May you like
Gently.
For the first time, I didn't pull away.
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