Chapter 14 - The Empire Turns Against Its King
Dela had worn the key for nine months.
Ruth gave it to her during one of her clearer evenings.
“She told me not to lose it,” Dela said.
“Why didn't you ask what it opened?”
“I did.”
“What did she say?”
“That I'd know when it mattered.”
Knox stared at Ruth.
She was sleeping again.
Toby examined the key.
No markings.
Old brass.
Knox showed it to Leonard.
He shook his head.
Father Brennan didn't recognize it either.
Then Emma spoke.
“The box.”
Everyone looked at her.
Dela frowned.
“What box?”
“The pretty one Grandma Ruth used to talk about.”
Knox crouched slightly.
“What pretty box?”
Emma thought.
“She said there was music inside.”
Dela stared.
“A music box?”
Emma nodded.
“She said it was blue.”
Knox looked at Toby.
Blue again.
Dela suddenly remembered.
“Ruth had a music box when she lived across the hall.”
“Where is it?”
“She lost it.”
“When?”
“Around the time she got evicted.”
Knox asked the lodging manager.
The answer came quickly.
Property from Ruth's old room had been placed in storage after her eviction.
Most of it was eventually donated.
But one box remained because Dela had asked the manager not to discard it.
They drove there.
Inside were old clothes, books, framed photographs, kitchen utensils.
At the bottom:
A blue wooden music box.
Dela inserted the key.
It opened.
Inside lay no jewelry.
Only a folded piece of paper.
And a flash drive.
Toby took the drive.
The paper contained one sentence in Ruth's handwriting.
If I forget, this remembers for me.
They played the files on an offline laptop.
Recordings.
Dozens.
Ruth speaking to herself.
Dates.
Names.
Medication schedules.
Conversations with Silas summarized immediately after they happened.
She had known her memory was declining.
So she built an external memory.
Knox listened in silence.
March 12. Silas says Knox authorized new management of the house. I do not believe him.
April 7. Called Knox. Assistant said he was unavailable.
May 19. Silas wants power of attorney. I refused.
June 2. I felt strange after new pill. Slept most of the day. Ask doctor.
Knox's face tightened.
Then:
August 14. Claire says medication records don't match. She is frightened.
Another.
September 30. Silas says Knox doesn't want contact. I told him he is lying.
Then a recording nearly broke Knox.
Ruth sounded clear but tired.
November 6. Knox's birthday tomorrow. I bought chocolate cake mix. He always liked chocolate when he was little. Probably won't come. I will make it anyway.
Knox stopped the recording.
He stood and walked to the window.
Nobody spoke.
Dela eventually approached.
“You don't have to hear all of them now.”
“Yes, I do.”
He returned.
They continued.
The final recording was from the night Ruth left Lake Briar.
Her voice was weak.
They say Knox is sending a car. I hope it's true. Silas took the blue envelope. I think he knows about Walter's tape. If something happens, Dela—
The recording stopped.
Dela frowned.
“She knew my name before I found her?”
Knox replayed it.
Dela went pale.
“How?”
Ruth had not met Dela until after leaving Lake Briar.
At least that was what everyone believed.
Dela sat back.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“My mother.”
Knox stared.
“What about her?”
“She worked at Lake Briar.”
Silence.
Dela looked shocked by her own memory.
“Not when Ruth was there. Years earlier.”
“Name?”
“Maria Alvarez.”
Toby searched.
Maria Alvarez.
Nursing assistant.
Employed at Lake Briar fourteen years earlier.
Deceased eight years ago.
Knox looked at Dela.
“You said your last name was—”
“I didn't tell you my last name.”
“Why?”
“Because people judge.”
“What is it?”
“Alvarez.”
Knox stared.
Ruth had known Dela's mother.
Dela's eyes filled.
“I don't understand.”
They returned to the hospital.
Ruth was awake.
Dela sat beside her.
“Did you know my mother?”
Ruth stared.
Then whispered, “Maria.”
Dela covered her mouth.
“You knew her?”
“She helped Walter.”
Knox leaned forward.
“How?”
“After Walter died, I moved some records.”
“Through Lake Briar?”
Ruth nodded.
“Maria hid them.”
Dela started crying.
“My mom never told me.”
“She promised.”
Another generation of secrets.
Ruth reached for her hand.
“I'm sorry.”
Dela shook her head.
“What did she hide?”
“Names.”
“What names?”
“People Silas hurt.”
Knox understood.
The recordings were not only evidence.
They contained victims.
Dozens of families.
Businesses.
Employees.
People destroyed financially.
Some of them connected to Knox's own company.
Miles Kent was one.
Perhaps others were too.
Silas had not merely infiltrated Knox's empire.
He had recruited descendants of people Walter and Silas harmed.
Men with reasons to hate Hartley.
By evening, three more senior employees resigned.
Two disappeared.
Accounts froze.
Rumors spread across Chicago that Knox's organization was collapsing.
News outlets reported investigations.
Partners backed away.
Casinos faced audits.
Restaurants lost reservations.
Knox's empire shook.
Toby entered the hospital office.
“We're losing people.”
“How many?”
“Enough.”
“Let them go.”
“Some are taking information.”
“Then document it.”
“You're not worried?”
Knox looked toward Ruth.
“A week ago, I would've been.”
“And now?”
“Now I know what losing something actually feels like.”
Toby stared.
Then smiled faintly.
“That's annoyingly mature.”
“Don't get used to it.”
At midnight, investigators called.
Silas had been released pending further proceedings after his attorneys challenged parts of the detention.
Conditions restricted travel.
But he was out.
Knox felt anger flash.
Dela saw it.
“Remember your promise.”
“I remember.”
Toby's phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“What?”
He looked at Knox.
“Silas is at Hartley House.”
Knox stood.
“Why?”
“He requested a table.”
“In my restaurant?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
“With who?”
Toby swallowed.
“Miles Kent.”
Knox stared.
The son of a man Walter helped destroy.
Silas was turning the past into a weapon one final time.
May you like
And this time he wanted Knox to come watch.
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