Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WITH NO NAME
Carmela woke in a small bedroom overlooking the ocean.
The curtains were pale blue.
The furniture was old but clean.
A ceiling fan turned slowly above her.
For a moment, she thought she was a child again, visiting her mother's family on the coast.
Then she remembered the fire.
She sat up.
“Dad?”
No answer.
Her throat tightened.
She stumbled into the hallway.
Gabriel stood in the kitchen, speaking quietly on a phone.
When he saw her, he ended the call.
“Sit down.”
“Tell me he's alive.”
Gabriel looked away.
“Please.”
He pulled out a chair.
Carmela remained standing.
“Tell me.”
Gabriel's voice was rough.
“They found his body.”
The words seemed to pass through her without meaning.
She stared at him.
“No.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No, you don't know.”
“The identification was confirmed this morning.”
Carmela gripped the back of the chair.
Her father was dead.
The man who had taught her to ride a bicycle.
The man who had frightened half the city.
The man who had rarely said he loved her but always remembered how she took her coffee.
Gone.
She sank onto the floor.
Gabriel knelt beside her.
He did not try to stop her crying.
For a long time, she could do nothing else.
When the tears finally slowed, Gabriel brought her water.
“Where are we?”
“North Carolina. A house belonging to someone your mother trusted.”
Carmela looked around.
“Who?”
“Her cousin, Elena.”
“My mother had a cousin named Elena?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Your father kept many things from you.”
Carmela laughed bitterly.
“Apparently everyone did.”
Gabriel reached into his jacket.
He removed a sealed envelope.
“Vincent gave me this three days ago.”
Her name was written across the front.
CARMELA.
She recognized her father's handwriting.
Her hands trembled as she opened it.
My beautiful girl,
If Gabriel gives you this letter, something has gone terribly wrong.
I owe you the truth.
Your marriage to Silas was never supposed to become a prison.
I believed he would protect you. I believed the alliance would give you security after I was gone.
I was wrong.
Carmela covered her mouth.
The letter continued.
Silas has been moving money through companies connected to our shipping operations. I discovered forged documents bearing my signature.
I also discovered that someone close to him has been arranging transfers that could leave you legally responsible for transactions you never approved.
I am gathering proof.
Until the people responsible are identified, do not return to New York.
Do not trust anyone who tells you that your safety depends on returning to your husband.
You are not a bargaining chip.
You are my daughter.
And I am sorry it took me so long to say that.
Love,
Dad.
Carmela pressed the letter against her chest.
She had spent her entire life waiting for her father to speak to her like this.
Now he was gone.
Gabriel placed a second envelope on the table.
“This contains the information he collected.”
Inside was a small encrypted drive and a handwritten list of company names.
Carmela recognized several.
Others were unfamiliar.
One name made her stop.
SINCLAIR MARITIME HOLDINGS.
Khloe Sinclair.
Carmela looked up.
“Khloe's family owns a shipping company?”
Gabriel nodded.
“Among other things.”
“Silas never told me.”
“He had reasons.”
Carmela stared at the documents.
The affair.
The marriage.
The ports.
Her father's death.
They were connected.
And she had been standing in the middle of the arrangement without understanding any of it.
“What happens now?” she asked.
Gabriel looked at her.
“You disappear.”
“For how long?”
“Until we know who's responsible.”
Carmela looked toward the ocean.
For three years, she had lived as Silas Romano's wife.
She had worn the clothes he preferred.
Attended the events he required.
Smiled when strangers looked at her with pity.
Now she had nothing.
No husband she could trust.
No father.
No home.
But she still had herself.
She looked back at Gabriel.
“Then I want to know everything.”
He nodded.
“We'll start tomorrow.”
Carmela shook her head.
“No.”
May you like
She picked up the encrypted drive.
“We start today.”
