Chapter 9 - THE BETRAYAL INSIDE THE FAMILY
Derek Sinclair was not the mastermind Carmela expected.
He was reckless.
Ambitious.
Careless with money.
But the financial records showed that someone else had designed the transfers.
Rebecca called Carmela into the kitchen one morning.
“We identified the person who approved several key documents.”
Carmela sat down.
“Who?”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Tommy.”
Carmela stared.
“Silas's lieutenant?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“His credentials appear in the records. Investigators are verifying whether they were used with his knowledge.”
Carmela felt cold.
Tommy had been the man who tried to force her back into the restaurant.
He had stood beside Silas while Khloe laughed.
He had known about the affair.
He had known about the ports.
And he had been close enough to access everything.
“Does Silas know?”
“Not yet.”
Carmela looked at the documents.
“Then we tell the investigators.”
Meanwhile, Tommy was becoming desperate.
Khloe had been questioned.
Derek was under arrest.
Financial investigators were tracing the companies.
And Silas was beginning to ask questions Tommy could not answer.
He had spent years believing he deserved more than a lieutenant's salary.
He managed the dangerous work.
He solved the problems.
He protected Silas.
Yet Silas received the power.
The respect.
The money.
Tommy had convinced himself that taking a share was only fair.
Then the scheme grew.
Forged signatures.
False invoices.
Unauthorized transfers.
By the time Vincent discovered the fraud, Tommy was trapped.
He contacted Derek Sinclair.
Derek promised to frighten Vincent into silence.
Instead, the confrontation ended in fire and death.
Tommy had not planned the killing.
But he had helped create the circumstances.
Now he needed a way out.
He called Silas.
“Boss, I found something about Carmela.”
Silas stood immediately.
“What?”
“A witness. Someone saw her leave the Costello estate.”
“Where?”
“I'll send the location.”
Silas grabbed his coat.
Tommy ended the call.
Then dialed another number.
“He's coming alone.”
A voice answered.
“And the wife?”
“Still missing.”
“Then we deal with the husband first.”
Tommy stared at the phone.
For a moment, he hesitated.
He had known Silas since they were teenagers.
They had survived together.
Built an empire together.
But Tommy had crossed too many lines to turn back.
Or so he believed.
He sent Silas the address.
An abandoned warehouse near the river.
The same district where the Costello shipping records had first disappeared.
Then he waited.
What Tommy did not know was that Silas had finally learned to question the people closest to him.
Before leaving, Silas forwarded the message to Detective Ruiz.
And when he reached the warehouse, police were already watching from a distance.
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The trap was set.
But not for the man Tommy expected.
