Chapter 4 - The Man Behind the Betrayal
Vanessa finally talked.
Not because she regretted anything.
Because she realized Evan Rourke had betrayed her too.
“He approached me eight months ago,” she said.
Dante stood across from her.
“And you started sleeping with him.”
“Yes.”
Cara watched Dante’s reaction.
Almost nothing.
That seemed to disturb Vanessa more than anger would have.
“He told me your organization was vulnerable,” she continued. “He said if you died, the companies could be divided.”
“Between you and him?”
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
“That’s what I believed.”
Marco placed another file on the table.
“It wasn’t.”
Inside were corporate documents.
Shell companies.
Debt purchases.
Quiet acquisitions.
Rourke had been buying obligations tied to Moretti businesses for nearly a year.
Dante turned toward Marco.
“If I died?”
“Rourke could force several companies into default.”
“And acquire them.”
“Exactly.”
Vanessa stared at the documents.
“He used me.”
Dante’s voice was cold.
“You helped murder me.”
“You’re alive.”
“Because of her.”
His eyes shifted toward Cara.
Vanessa’s did too.
The hatred there was unmistakable.
“You should have stayed behind your partition.”
Cara crossed her arms.
“You should have ordered dessert instead of murder.”
Marco lowered his head, hiding a smile.
Vanessa took one step toward Cara.
Dante moved between them.
“Don’t.”
One word.
Vanessa stopped.
Then a phone rang.
Not Dante’s.
Vanessa’s.
Marco removed it from her purse.
Unknown number.
Dante answered.
“Hello, Evan.”
Silence.
Then Rourke laughed.
“So you survived.”
“Disappointed?”
“Temporarily.”
“Where are you?”
“You know I’m not going to answer that.”
Dante looked toward Vanessa.
“She’s here.”
“I assumed.”
Vanessa shouted toward the phone.
“You lied to me!”
Rourke laughed again.
“Vanessa, please. You wanted your husband dead. Don’t suddenly discover morality.”
Her face went pale.
Dante said nothing.
Rourke continued.
“But I am curious about one thing.”
“What?”
“The waitress.”
Cara’s stomach tightened.
“How much did she hear?”
Dante’s expression changed.
“Enough.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
The call ended.
Dante immediately turned toward Marco.
“Trace it.”
“Already trying.”
Cara looked toward the windows.
“Why did he ask about me?”
Dante didn’t answer quickly enough.
She understood.
“I’m evidence.”
“Yes.”
“And he needs me gone.”
Dante stepped closer.
“That won’t happen.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I just did.”
---
They found Rourke that afternoon.
Not the man himself.
His location.
An abandoned Moretti warehouse near the river.
Dante wanted police involved.
Marco wanted their attorneys involved.
Cara wanted to go home.
Then her phone rang.
Her landlord.
“Cara?”
“Yes?”
“Some guy’s outside your apartment.”
She stood.
“What guy?”
“Says he’s your cousin.”
“I don’t have a cousin in this state.”
Dante was already watching her.
Her landlord continued.
“He keeps asking when you’re coming back.”
Cara ended the call.
Dante held out his hand.
“Give me the phone.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re officially not going home.”
She handed it over.
Dante spoke to Marco.
“Send two men to her building. Nobody enters her apartment.”
Cara shook her head.
“This is because of you.”
“Yes.”
“I had a boring life yesterday.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience.”
“Inconvenience?”
“You prefer catastrophe?”
She stared at him.
Then, despite herself, laughed.
It was the first time either of them had laughed since the mountain.
Dante looked surprised by the sound.
Cara noticed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I don’t hear much laughter in this house.”
“Maybe because everyone thinks you’ll fire them.”
“I don’t fire people for laughing.”
Marco walked past.
“He fired Anthony for sneezing during a meeting.”
Dante looked offended.
“He sneezed seven times.”
Cara laughed harder.
For one strange moment, the danger disappeared.
Then Marco’s phone buzzed.
His expression changed immediately.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We found Peter Shaw.”
“The mechanic?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Marco looked toward Cara.
“In the river warehouse.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Dante grabbed his coat.
Marco stopped him.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“He says Rourke ordered the sabotage.”
Dante nodded.
“That’s enough.”
“No.”
Marco swallowed.
“He says Rourke has someone inside this house.”
The laughter vanished.
May you like
And suddenly every guard standing around them looked like a possible enemy.
---
