Chapter 3 - THE FILE THAT SHOULD HAVE BURNED
Tessa had imagined learning the truth about her mother's death a thousand times.
In every version, there had been a police detective.
A quiet office.
Maybe a box of old evidence.
She had never imagined standing in the back room of an expensive Manhattan restaurant while a reputed crime lord told her that everything she believed about her childhood was wrong.
“What happened to her?”
Roman's face hardened.
“Eleven years ago, your mother worked for Northstar Freight. Officially, she managed vendor accounts. Unofficially, she discovered money moving through shell companies connected to Greybridge.”
“Your organization.”
“My father's organization.”
“What's the difference?”
“At the time? More than you think.”
Tessa folded her arms.
“Did your father kill her?”
Roman looked directly at her.
“I don't know.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That's convenient.”
“It isn't.”
“Then tell me what you do know.”
Roman hesitated.
“Your mother contacted a federal investigator. Three days later, she disappeared. Her car was found at the bottom of a ravine in Pennsylvania.”
“I identified her necklace.”
“I know.”
“Don't keep saying that.”
Roman fell silent.
Tessa remembered the necklace.
A silver star.
Her mother had worn it every day.
She had been sixteen when the police handed it to her in a plastic evidence bag.
Lily had been twelve.
Their father had already abandoned them.
From that day forward, Tessa had been responsible for everything.
Rent.
Groceries.
School supplies.
Hospital bills.
Lily's nightmares.
Now a stranger was telling her the foundation of her entire adult life was a lie.
“Where's my sister?”
“We're looking.”
“That's not enough.”
“I know.”
She stared at him.
“Why did someone bring my mother's name into your dinner?”
Roman took a folded document from Daniel.
“Because the same man who threatened Celeste's brother has spent eleven years searching for something Evelyn took.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
Tessa frowned.
“A financial ledger?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it identifies everyone who profited from an operation called Project Seventeen.”
She remembered the number painted behind Owen in the photograph.
Seventeen.
“What was Project Seventeen?”
Roman's expression darkened.
“A waterfront redevelopment scheme that destroyed an entire neighborhood. Families were forced out through fraudulent liens, intimidation, and manufactured safety violations.”
“And your family benefited.”
“Yes.”
His honesty surprised her.
Roman continued.
“Your mother found proof that the displacement wasn't merely corruption. It was connected to a series of deaths, including a building fire that killed nine people.”
Tessa felt sick.
“Who was responsible?”
“We don't know all the names.”
“Then why is Victor Sloane looking for the ledger?”
“Because he's one of them.”
Daniel's phone vibrated.
He answered, listened, and turned pale.
“Roman.”
“What?”
“We found Lily.”
Tessa grabbed the edge of the table.
“Where?”
Daniel swallowed.
“Security footage from a subway station. She was with a woman.”
“Who?”
Daniel looked at Roman.
“Evelyn Monroe.”
May you like
Tessa stopped breathing.
Her mother was alive.
