Chapter 4 - The Woman My Mother Really Was
Richard told me my mother had been useful because nobody suspected a librarian.
She could find corporate records, hidden family connections, shell companies and archived documents faster than most investigators.
She had worked willingly for Richard.
Until Isabelle.
When Isabelle discovered Richard’s plan, Anna helped her copy the evidence.
Then Anna tried to expose him.
“You killed her,” I said.
“I tried retrieving what she stole.”
Richard wanted the archive.
I wanted Noah.
“Release him.”
“You're negotiating with me?”
“Yes.”
For the first time, Richard stopped smiling.
He ordered Barrett to untie Noah.
My brother staggered toward me.
“Now the password,” Richard said.
“No.”
His face changed.
“We made an agreement.”
“I told you to release Noah. I never said what I'd do afterward.”
Kendrick almost smiled.
Richard didn't.
“Kill her.”
Barrett raised his pistol.
Titan hit him from the side.
One hundred fifty pounds of Mastiff slammed him onto concrete.
Gabriel and his men stormed the terminal.
Richard escaped.
But Barrett didn't.
Before Gabriel dragged him away, Barrett revealed another secret.
Richard had arranged the murder of Kendrick's father decades earlier.
The man Kendrick considered a second father had murdered his real one.
Then raised the orphaned boy.
Controlled his inheritance.
Used him.
Kendrick stared at the evidence for hours afterward.
Finally he whispered:
“I loved him.”
“Of course you did.”
“He killed my father.”
“You didn't know.”
“I should have.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“We believe people we love because living suspicious of everyone would destroy us.”
His eyes softened.
For the first time, I saw the man beneath the reputation.
Richard vanished.
Weeks passed.
Kendrick dismantled his network.
Barrett agreed to testify.
I returned to the diner.
Penny visited with Titan.
Kendrick sometimes came too.
He ordered coffee.
I gave him decaf.
“You gave me decaf.”
“You look like you sleep four hours a week.”
“Three.”
“Exactly.”
Those ordinary afternoons scared me.
Because I started falling for him.
Not the Mafia boss.
The father who cut Penny's pancakes into squares because she hated triangles.
The man who carried dog treats in his tuxedo.
The man who quietly found Noah a better specialist.
The man who listened when I said no.
Then Richard sent me a package.
Inside was my mother's scarf.
And a message.
ASK KENDRICK WHAT HE HASN'T TOLD YOU ABOUT THE NIGHT YOUR MOTHER DIED.
I confronted him.
Kendrick admitted the truth.
Three days after Isabelle's death, his men spotted my mother leaving Richard's warehouse.
Kendrick ordered them to bring her to him.
They chased her.
Their vehicle crashed.
My mother's supposed hit-and-run.
“You were involved.”
“I didn't order her death.”
“But your men chased her.”
He couldn't answer.
I left.
Three days later, Kendrick disappeared.
On his desk was a blood-covered note.
RICHARD HAS PENNY.
Every ounce of anger inside me disappeared.
May you like
Penny was innocent.
And Richard had taken the child Titan had chosen me to protect.
