Chapter 5 - Twenty Years of LiesThey returned to the Caruso estate before sunrise.
No one slept.
Michael sat in the library with his arm bandaged.
Grace sat beside him.
Olivia remained close to both.
Vincent stood near the fireplace.
His expression was unreadable.
“Tell me everything.”
Grace looked at Michael.
Michael nodded.
She began.
“Twenty years ago, your father discovered that Anthony was stealing from the company.”
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
“My father knew?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he stop him?”
“Because Anthony had already built an alliance with Luciano.”
Vincent remained silent.
Grace continued.
“They planned to take the company from Michael and your father together.”
Michael added quietly.
“Your father confronted them.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
Vincent's face changed.
“My father?”
Grace nodded.
“We were told he died.”
Michael looked down.
“He didn't.”
Vincent's voice became dangerously quiet.
“Where is he?”
Grace hesitated.
“He survived.”
Silence.
“Where?”
Michael shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Vincent's fist tightened.
“You knew he survived and never told me?”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
His voice cracked with anger.
“Everyone protected me by lying to me.”
Olivia touched his arm.
He looked at her.
The anger in his face softened.
Only slightly.
Grace continued.
“Your father was hiding evidence against Luciano.”
“What evidence?”
“The financial records.”
Vincent looked toward Michael.
“The original ownership documents?”
“No.”
Michael shook his head.
“Something much more dangerous.”
“What?”
“A ledger.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“A black ledger.”
Michael nodded.
“It contains names of every politician, judge, police officer, banker, and businessman Luciano bribed.”
Vincent understood.
“With that ledger, Luciano could destroy half the city.”
“And the other half would destroy him.”
Grace nodded.
“That's why he wants Olivia.”
“Because the ledger is connected to her inheritance.”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked at Olivia.
“Do you know where it is?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
Michael suddenly stared at her.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The gesture.”
Olivia frowned.
“What gesture?”
“You touched your temple when you saw my photograph.”
She looked confused.
“My father used to do that.”
Michael nodded.
“It was something we used when we needed to remember something without saying it.”
Vincent frowned.
“Remember what?”
Michael looked at Grace.
Grace's eyes widened.
“The necklace.”
Olivia reached beneath her shirt.
She wore a small silver pendant.
Her mother had given it to her when she turned eighteen.
“What's this?”
Michael stared.
“That belonged to your father.”
Olivia removed it.
Michael turned it over.
There was a tiny engraving.
A series of numbers.
Vincent read them.
“Twenty-four. Six. Nine.”
Michael's expression changed.
“That's a location.”
“Where?”
“Your father's old office.”
Vincent immediately stood.
They went to the oldest Caruso property in the city.
The building had been abandoned for years.
Dust covered everything.
The old office was almost empty.
Olivia walked toward the fireplace.
She touched the stone.
Nothing.
Then she noticed a small indentation.
She pressed it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a black ledger.
Vincent stared.
Michael closed his eyes.
“We found it.”
Olivia opened the book.
Names.
Dates.
Amounts.
Photographs.
Evidence.
Everything.
Then a folded photograph fell out.
Vincent picked it up.
It showed his father.
Michael.
Grace.
And a young Anthony.
Behind them stood another man.
Vincent recognized him.
His father had always claimed the man was a business associate.
But Vincent knew the face.
Luciano.
At the bottom of the photograph was a handwritten message.
If you find this, trust Michael.
He is the only one who knows why I disappeared.
Vincent stared at Michael.
“Why?”
Michael looked devastated.
“Because your father asked me to fake his death.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
All those years.
His father had been alive.
His family had been hiding the truth.
And Vincent had spent half his life becoming the very kind of man his father had tried to protect him from.
Then a gunshot shattered the window.
Everyone ducked.
The ledger fell.
Men stormed through the doors.
Vincent moved instantly.
He pulled Olivia behind him.
Marco's men returned fire.
Grace screamed.
Michael grabbed the ledger.
“Go!”
Vincent looked at him.
“Where?”
“There's a tunnel beneath the building.”
They ran.
The attackers followed.
The tunnel was narrow and dark.
Olivia held her mother's hand.
Vincent stayed behind them.
At the end was an old exit near the river.
They emerged into the rain.
Marco's vehicle waited.
Everyone climbed inside.
Vincent looked at the ledger.
Then at Olivia.
“This ends tonight.”
Olivia shook her head.
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
“This ends when nobody has to run anymore.”
He understood.
For the first time, he realized what Olivia wanted.
Not revenge.
Not power.
Family.
May you like
He nodded.
“Then that's what we give you.”
