Chapter 4 - The Night Antonio Russo Died
Khloe stared at the frozen screen.
"My father?"
Damian watched her carefully.
"You didn't know."
It wasn't a question.
"No."
Khloe stepped backward.
"My father told me he never had anything to do with your organization until the gambling debt."
"Apparently he lied."
Khloe looked hurt rather than defensive.
Damian recognized the difference.
"Call him."
"He disappeared eighteen months ago."
Damian frowned.
"You told me he moved to Florida."
"That's what he told me."
She had received occasional messages afterward.
Then they stopped.
Khloe had assumed her father was avoiding creditors.
Now everything looked different.
Leo began searching records.
Within hours, they discovered that Thomas Hayes had never moved to Florida.
His identification had last been used in New York.
Three days before he supposedly left.
Then nothing.
Damian returned to Antonio's archive.
A search for THOMAS HAYES produced one file.
A payment.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
Dated twelve years earlier.
Authorized by Antonio Russo.
Description:
AUDIT CONSULTATION.
Khloe stared.
"My father was an accountant."
Damian looked at her.
"Your father worked for mine."
The pieces began aligning.
Antonio had wanted out.
He needed someone outside the organization to examine the books.
Thomas Hayes had been that person.
Khloe's father hadn't accidentally crossed paths with the Russos years later.
He had returned to the same world.
But why?
They found the answer that evening.
Leo traced an old storage lease under Thomas's name.
The unit contained boxes of financial documents.
And one cassette recorder.
Khloe pressed play.
Her father's voice filled the room.
"My name is Thomas Hayes. If Khloe ever hears this, sweetheart, I'm sorry."
Khloe covered her mouth.
Thomas explained everything.
Antonio Russo had hired him secretly.
He wanted to identify legitimate assets that could survive if the criminal organization was dismantled.
Thomas discovered Salvatore's unauthorized operations.
Antonio confronted his brother.
Three days later, Antonio died.
Thomas panicked.
He took his family and disappeared from Russo circles.
Years later, gambling destroyed him.
When Damian's organization came to collect, Thomas recognized the surname.
He allowed Khloe to work off the debt because he believed Damian might eventually discover Antonio's plan.
"I used my daughter," Thomas admitted on the recording.
Khloe began crying silently.
"I told myself she would be safe because Antonio always said Damian was different. But I was a coward."
Then came the final revelation.
Thomas had not disappeared voluntarily eighteen months earlier.
"Salvatore found me."
The recording crackled.
"He knows Antonio left evidence."
Thomas's breathing became shaky.
"If he takes me, he'll eventually go after Khloe."
The recording ended.
Damian stood silently.
Khloe wiped her eyes.
"My entire life..."
"Was built around someone else's secrets," Damian finished.
She looked at him.
"So was yours."
For once, Damian had no answer.
Then Leo's phone rang.
A location had been found.
Thomas Hayes was alive.
Salvatore had kept him at a remote property outside the city.
By midnight, Damian had assembled men he trusted absolutely.
But before leaving, Khloe stopped him.
"No."
He looked at her.
"I'm coming."
"Absolutely not."
"He's my father."
"It's dangerous."
"You went into that basement for me."
"That's different."
"Why?"
Damian opened his mouth.
Nothing came.
Khloe stepped closer.
"Say it."
"What?"
"Why am I different?"
Three years of silence stood between them.
Damian looked at her.
"Because losing you would destroy the only part of my life that still feels human."
Khloe's breath caught.
Neither moved.
Then Leo entered.
"Boss."
The moment broke.
"We found something else."
He handed Damian a phone.
A live security image showed the remote property.
A man sat inside.
Thomas.
Alive.
But he wasn't alone.
Salvatore Russo stood behind him.
And beside Salvatore was Vincent Caruso.
Khloe frowned.
"I thought Vincent was helping us."
Damian's expression darkened.
"So did I."
Then the live image shifted.
Salvatore looked directly toward the hidden camera.
As though he knew Damian was watching.
He raised a piece of paper.
May you like
On it were four words.
BRING KHLOE. COME ALONE.
