Chapter 8 - When the Walsh Family Struck Back
By noon, the ledger was inside a bank vault.
Three copies had been made.
One went to Elena.
One went to a federal attorney.
The third went somewhere Luca refused to tell anyone.
“Even me?” Hannah asked.
“Especially you.”
She frowned.
“Why?”
“Because if you don't know, no one can pressure you into telling them.”
“I dislike when your paranoia makes sense.”
“So do I.”
Hannah had expected the ledger to end things.
Instead, it made everything worse.
Within hours, Walsh Shipping's attorneys filed an emergency petition claiming the ledger was stolen corporate property.
Vivien went on television.
Unlike Richard, who looked tired and defensive, Vivien looked magnificent.
White suit.
Pearls.
Perfect hair.
She told the interviewer Hannah had been emotionally fragile for years.
Hannah nearly threw Rose's remote at the screen.
“I've met that woman twelve times.”
Rose glared.
“And I disliked her all twelve.”
Vivien continued.
“My son made an unforgivable mistake at his reception, and we have encouraged him to apologize. But what concerns us now is that Hannah appears to have fallen under the influence of individuals with well-documented connections to organized crime.”
A photograph of Luca appeared.
Hannah muttered, “There it is.”
Vivien's voice softened theatrically.
“We only want Hannah safe.”
Rose turned off the television.
“I take back what I said.”
“What?”
“I didn't dislike her enough.”
Hannah's phone rang.
Principal Cole.
She answered.
“Hannah.”
Sandra sounded strained.
“We need to talk.”
The school board had received complaints.
Not about Hannah's teaching.
About security.
Reporters were waiting outside school.
Parents were concerned Luca Belandi's name had become associated with one of their teachers.
“I never brought him to school.”
“I know.”
“I've done nothing wrong.”
“I know.”
“But?”
A pause.
“We'd like you to remain on paid leave temporarily.”
Hannah stared at the wall.
“Because my husband humiliated me?”
“No.”
“Because someone forged my signature?”
“No.”
“Then because a man with a reputation danced with me?”
“Hannah.”
The pity in Sandra's voice was unbearable.
“Just say it.”
“The board doesn't want publicity.”
There it was.
The same disease in another room.
People remaining silent because speaking was inconvenient.
Hannah remembered Luca's words.
Silence is still a decision.
“All right,” she said.
Afterward, she sat at Rose's kitchen table.
For the first time since the wedding, she cried.
Not because of Connor.
Because of her classroom.
Twenty-three third graders would arrive Monday morning, and someone else would write the date on the board.
Someone else would read chapter nine of Charlotte's Web after lunch.
Someone else would know that Madison needed to sit away from the pencil sharpener because she used it whenever she was anxious.
Rose sat beside her.
“You'll go back.”
“What if I don't?”
“Then another school will be lucky.”
“But I didn't do anything.”
“I know.”
“That almost makes it worse.”
The doorbell rang.
Hannah wiped her face.
Luca stood outside.
No security entourage.
No suit.
Dark sweater, black coat.
Human.
For some reason, that nearly made her cry again.
He saw her eyes.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
He waited.
Hannah sighed.
“The school put me on leave.”
His expression changed.
“Why?”
“Parents.”
“Because of me.”
“Because of everything.”
“That's not an answer.”
“It is the only one I have.”
Luca looked genuinely angry.
Hannah pointed at him.
“No.”
“What?”
“Do not buy the school.”
He stared.
“I wasn't—”
“You were thinking something.”
“I was thinking their board lacks courage.”
“That isn't illegal.”
“No.”
“Keep it that way.”
A reluctant smile touched his face.
“I brought something.”
He gave her a folder.
Inside was a signed transfer agreement.
Meridian Holdings relinquished every claim to the Mercer Trust.
Hannah stared at the number beside the estimated value.
$24.8 million represented Luca's share.
“You did this today?”
“It belonged to your family.”
“You could use it as leverage.”
“Yes.”
“You could demand reimbursement.”
“Yes.”
“You aren't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Luca looked almost confused by the question.
“Because it isn't mine.”
Hannah closed the folder.
“Thank you.”
“Don't thank me for returning something stolen.”
“You didn't steal it.”
“My family benefited from holding it.”
“Your father protected it.”
“That doesn't make it ours.”
She studied him.
“You really believe ownership is that simple?”
“No.”
He glanced around Rose's modest living room.
“I believe right and wrong sometimes are.”
Before Hannah could answer, tires screeched outside.
Luca turned.
A sedan stopped at the curb.
Connor stepped out.
He crossed the lawn quickly.
Hannah opened the door before he knocked.
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“That's becoming repetitive.”
Connor looked at Luca.
“I need to speak to Hannah alone.”
“No,” Hannah said.
He blinked.
“You didn't even ask what—”
“I don't care. Anything you tell me, he hears.”
Luca looked at her.
Something unspoken passed between them.
Connor saw it.
His jaw tightened.
Then he handed Hannah a small recording device.
“My mother had this in her safe.”
Hannah stared.
“You broke into Vivien's safe?”
“I knew the code.”
“What is it?”
“A recording.”
“Of whom?”
“Your father.”
The world stopped.
Hannah pressed play.
Static.
Then Thomas Miller's voice filled Rose's living room.
Older than Hannah remembered.
Tired.
But unmistakably him.
Vivien, you need to tell Richard this ends tonight. I have copies. If he touches Antonio's family or mine, everything goes to the state police.
A woman's voice answered.
Vivien.
You don't understand what Richard owes.
I understand exactly what he owes.
No, Thomas. You think this is Richard's operation. It isn't.
A pause.
Thomas asked:
Then whose is it?
The recording crackled.
Vivien's next words were faint.
But clear.
William's.
Hannah looked up.
Danner.
The recording continued.
Thomas sounded shocked.
Richard told me Danner only handled paperwork.
Vivien laughed bitterly.
Richard tells himself that too. William built the network. Richard made money from it. Antonio protected routes. I signed what they put in front of me. We all told ourselves we were only one piece.
Thomas replied:
Then help me stop him.
Another pause.
Vivien whispered:
If William learns I'm talking to you, he'll destroy my family.
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Connor looked sick.
“My mother wasn't running it.”
Luca's face was stone.
“No.”
“She was afraid of Danner.”
“Yes.”
Hannah looked at Connor.
“Where is Vivien?”
“I don't know.”
“You were with her?”
“This morning. Then she left.”
Luca asked, “Did she say where?”
“No.”
Connor swallowed.
“But she asked me one strange thing.”
“What?”
“She asked whether Dad still kept a boat at Harborstone.”
Luca reached for his phone.
Elena answered immediately.
“Find Vivien Walsh.”
Connor paced.
“My mother hates boats.”
Hannah's stomach dropped.
“She wasn't asking for herself.”
Connor looked at her.
“What?”
Hannah replayed the recording in her mind.
Danner had vanished.
Vivien knew his operation.
If he had returned to meet her—
“She's helping Danner leave.”
Luca was already moving toward the door.
Connor followed.
Hannah grabbed her coat.
“No.”
Both men said it simultaneously.
She stared.
“Do either of you want to reconsider?”
Connor sighed.
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
Ten minutes later, all three were in Luca's SUV.
Elena called.
“Vivien's phone just pinged near the south marina.”
Connor went pale.
“My father's boat is there.”
“What name?” Luca asked.
“Second Chance.”
Hannah gave Connor a look.
He grimaced.
“My father named it after his second bankruptcy.”
“Charming.”
They reached the marina seventeen minutes later.
The slip was empty.
Second Chance had left.
Harbor control reported it moving south.
Luca called one of his captains.
Connor stared at him.
“You have captains?”
“I own shipping companies.”
“Right.”
Hannah almost laughed despite everything.
Then her phone rang.
Vivien.
Everyone froze.
Hannah answered.
“Hello?”
For several seconds there was only wind.
Then Vivien spoke.
Her perfect television voice was gone.
“Hannah.”
“Yes.”
“I need you to listen carefully.”
“Where are you?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“It does.”
“William thinks I still have the original Mercer documents.”
Luca moved closer to hear.
Vivien continued.
“I let him believe it.”
“Why?”
“Because I needed him to leave Connor alone.”
Connor closed his eyes.
Hannah said, “Danner is with you.”
“Yes.”
“Are you in danger?”
A pause.
“Yes.”
Then a man's voice sounded in the background.
Vivien inhaled sharply.
“Hannah, your father hid one thing from everyone.”
“What?”
“He didn't die because of the ledger.”
Hannah's heartbeat stopped.
“Then why?”
Vivien's voice became urgent.
“Because he discovered who William was working for.”
The call cut out.
Hannah stared at the phone.
Luca immediately called Elena.
“Trace it.”
Connor whispered, “Who was Danner working for?”
Nobody answered.
Then Hannah's phone chimed.
A message arrived from Vivien's number.
One image.
A photograph of an old Harborstone invoice.
At the bottom was a company name.
North Atlantic Maritime Services.
Luca saw it.
And for the first time since Hannah met him, his face lost all color.
She looked at him.
“What?”
Luca said nothing.
“Luca.”
He finally raised his eyes.
“North Atlantic belonged to my brother.”
Hannah froze.
“Matteo?”
“Yes.”
Connor stared.
“The brother who was attacked?”
Luca nodded slowly.
The implications settled over them.
Matteo Belandi had supposedly been a victim.
But if Thomas Miller died after discovering Danner worked for Matteo—
Then the story Luca had believed for seventeen years might have been built on the wrong villain.
May you like
And somewhere off the Rhode Island coast, Vivien Walsh was trapped on a boat with the only living man who knew the truth.
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