Chapter 4 - The Woman Declan Couldn’t Silence
Harper disappeared from Luca’s guest room at 6:40 the next morning.
Paulie nearly tore the townhouse apart.
“She’s gone.”
Luca came down the stairs.
“What?”
“Back door camera caught her leaving six minutes ago.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
Luca grabbed his coat.
Nico looked at a tablet.
“I’ve got her.”
“Where?”
“Two blocks east.”
They found Harper outside a coffee shop.
Luca got out of the car.
“What are you doing?”
She stopped.
“Leaving.”
“Why?”
“Marcus disappeared because of me.”
“Marcus made his own decision.”
“And now he could be dead.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Declan.”
“So do I.”
“No, Luca. You know his business. I know him.”
Rainwater dripped from the awning.
Harper lowered her voice.
“He likes punishment more than profit.”
Luca studied her.
“So you’re going back?”
“I was thinking about it.”
“No.”
“You don’t get to decide.”
“You’re right.”
That surprised her.
Luca continued.
“But if you return to Walsh, everything Marcus risked becomes meaningless.”
Harper looked away.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Finish it.”
“How?”
“Give the evidence to people Walsh doesn’t own.”
She laughed bitterly.
“Who?”
“All of them.”
Harper looked at him.
“What?”
“Federal investigators. State regulators. Newspapers. Banking compliance departments. Casino commissions.”
“You want to release everything?”
“Not everything.”
“Why not?”
“Because some records may contain innocent people’s information.”
She stared.
“You’ve thought this through.”
“I had a long night.”
“You didn’t sleep?”
“Neither did you.”
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Harper asked, “What if they don’t believe me?”
Luca stepped closer.
“Then we make it impossible not to.”
---
Harper finally revealed where she had hidden her copies.
A public storage locker.
Under Ethan’s name.
Luca didn’t accompany her inside.
Paulie noticed.
“You trust her?”
“No.”
“Then why let her go alone?”
“Because she needs to know I’m not taking the evidence from her.”
Twenty minutes later Harper returned carrying a small metal case.
Inside were three encrypted drives.
Nico stared.
“You kept all this?”
“Every transfer I thought was suspicious.”
“How long?”
“Fourteen months.”
Nico looked at Luca.
“This could bury half the city.”
Harper shook her head.
“No. It buries Declan.”
“Same thing,” Paulie muttered.
They spent nine hours verifying records.
By evening, patterns emerged.
Blue Harbor paid Pike.
Another company paid a casino compliance officer.
A third transferred money to a consulting firm connected to Deputy Mayor Charles Benton.
Harper pointed at one line.
“That.”
Luca leaned closer.
“What?”
“Ethan’s last transfer.”
The transaction occurred the morning he died.
$750,000.
Recipient: Northpoint Development.
Nico searched.
“Company dissolved seven months ago.”
“Owner?”
“Hold on.”
His expression changed.
“Raymond Pike.”
Harper whispered, “There it is.”
Luca shook his head.
“No.”
She looked at him.
“What do you mean, no?”
“It proves money moved. Not why.”
“Luca—”
“We need the reason.”
Harper slammed her palm on the table.
“My brother is dead!”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to tell me that isn’t enough.”
“I’m telling you because Walsh’s lawyer will.”
Silence.
Harper’s eyes filled with angry tears.
Luca didn’t soften his words.
“If you want revenge, I can give you revenge.”
Paulie glanced at him.
Luca continued.
“If you want truth, we do this correctly.”
Harper stared at him.
Finally she sat down.
“Truth.”
Luca nodded.
“Then we keep digging.”
---
At 11:03 p.m., someone knocked on the townhouse door.
Paulie checked the camera.
His mouth opened.
“You’re kidding.”
Marcus Bell stood outside.
Alive.
Bruised.
Exhausted.
But alive.
Luca opened the door.
Marcus stumbled inside.
Harper ran toward him.
“Marcus!”
“I’m okay.”
“Declan?”
Marcus nodded.
“He knows.”
“What?”
“Everything.”
Luca closed the door.
Marcus looked at him.
“Walsh figured out I gave you the footage.”
“What did he do?”
“Asked where the archive copy was.”
“And?”
“I told him I destroyed it.”
Paulie asked, “Why’d he let you leave?”
Marcus laughed weakly.
“He didn’t.”
Everyone became silent.
Marcus reached inside his jacket.
Paulie moved instinctively.
Marcus froze.
“Easy.”
He slowly removed a flash drive.
“This is the rest.”
Nico stared.
“The archive?”
“Part of it.”
Marcus handed it to Harper.
“Your brother recorded the garage conversation.”
Harper stopped breathing.
“Audio?”
Marcus nodded.
“Ethan knew the cameras had microphones.”
Harper looked at Luca.
May you like
Luca said only one word.
“Play it.”
