Chapter 3 - The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Arthur Romano had no living brother.
Maeve knew because she searched it.
While Arthur slept for forty minutes, she sat on her bathroom floor with her phone and read every article she could find.
Gabriel Romano.
Younger brother.
Dead twelve years earlier.
Boating accident.
Body never recovered.
Maeve walked into the kitchen.
“You said your brother found us.”
Arthur looked up.
“Yes.”
“Gabriel is dead.”
“No.”
“How convenient.”
“Nothing about Gabriel is convenient.”
Arthur explained that his brother had disappeared after their father's death.
Arthur believed Gabriel had discovered Vanguard and joined it.
For twelve years, Arthur had quietly searched.
Three months ago, Nero had recognized Gabriel's scent on an object recovered from a warehouse.
Maeve glanced at the dog.
“You trusted a dog over twelve years of evidence?”
“I trust Nero over most people.”
Fair enough.
Arthur needed somewhere safer.
Maeve knew exactly one place nobody would associate with a mafia boss.
Her grandmother's abandoned farmhouse outside the city.
By sunrise, Maeve's Honda was rattling down an interstate.
Arthur sat beside her.
Nero occupied the back seat.
“Your car makes a noise.”
“It makes seventeen noises.”
“That one sounds terminal.”
“Don't insult Dorothy.”
“You named the car?”
“She has more personality than you.”
For the first time, Arthur smiled.
Barely.
But Maeve saw it.
Three hours later, they reached the farmhouse.
Maeve hadn't visited in years.
Dust covered everything.
Arthur walked through each room.
“Checking exits?”
“Yes.”
“You do that everywhere?”
“Yes.”
“Sounds exhausting.”
“It is.”
They spent the afternoon searching.
Maeve remembered her mother storing childhood belongings here after her grandmother died.
Boxes filled the attic.
Photographs.
Christmas decorations.
School projects.
Then Maeve found a wooden music box.
She recognized it immediately.
Her mother used to keep it beside her bed.
Maeve opened it.
A ballerina turned.
Music played.
Arthur looked over.
Maeve noticed the base was unusually thick.
She turned it upside down.
Four screws.
Arthur found a screwdriver.
Inside was a key.
And a note.
Maeve unfolded it.
One sentence.
Maeve, trust the dog before you trust the man.
Maeve looked at Nero.
Then Arthur.
“That seems personal.”
Arthur almost smiled again.
The key had a number.
317.
Arthur recognized the bank.
A private institution downtown.
“Safe deposit box,” Maeve said.
“Probably.”
“So we go tomorrow.”
“No.”
Maeve stared at him.
“No?”
“Gabriel expects that.”
“Then what?”
Arthur looked toward Nero.
“Your mother left another clue.”
The dog.
Trust the dog.
Maeve crouched.
Nero wore a thick leather collar.
Arthur removed it.
Inside the lining was something hard.
A tiny brass capsule.
Arthur stared.
“I've never seen this.”
Maeve unscrewed it.
Inside was a rolled piece of paper.
Coordinates.
Arthur entered them into Maeve's phone.
A location appeared.
Cemetery.
Maeve recognized the name.
Her mother's cemetery.
They arrived before sunset.
Evelyn Nolan's grave stood beneath an oak tree.
Maeve hadn't visited in two years.
Guilt hit immediately.
“Hi, Mom.”
Arthur remained several steps away.
Nero sat beside Maeve.
She noticed something strange.
The base of the headstone had been recently disturbed.
Arthur noticed too.
Together they moved loose soil.
A waterproof container appeared.
Inside was a flash drive.
Maeve stared at it.
“Seventeen years?”
“Someone replaced this recently.”
“How do you know?”
“The container is newer.”
Someone had been here.
They returned to the farmhouse.
Maeve plugged the drive into an old laptop.
One video file.
The date made her heart stop.
Three days before her mother's death.
Maeve clicked.
Evelyn Nolan appeared.
Alive.
Young.
Terrified.
Maeve covered her mouth.
“If you're watching this, Maeve, then I failed to keep this away from you.”
Tears filled Maeve's eyes.
Arthur stood behind her.
Evelyn continued.
“Vanguard is not what Arthur believes it is. His father didn't create it.”
Arthur stiffened.
“He was trying to expose it.”
Maeve looked at Arthur.
The video continued.
“There are people inside law enforcement, courts, corporations. But the person controlling everything is someone Arthur will never suspect.”
Static interrupted.
Then Evelyn leaned toward the camera.
“Arthur, if you're with my daughter, listen carefully.”
Arthur moved closer.
“You cannot trust Gabriel.”
Arthur's jaw tightened.
“But Gabriel isn't the leader.”
Maeve whispered, “Then who?”
Her mother looked directly into the camera.
“The leader is—”
The video cut.
Black screen.
“No.”
Maeve clicked repeatedly.
Nothing.
File corrupted.
Arthur removed the drive.
“There may be a backup.”
“Where?”
He looked at the key.
“Box 317.”
A sound came from downstairs.
Glass breaking.
Nero stood.
Arthur raised one finger.
Silence.
Footsteps.
Someone entered the farmhouse.
Maeve's heart pounded.
Arthur moved toward the stairs.
Then a voice called from below.
“Arthur?”
Arthur stopped.
His face went white.
Maeve had never seen fear on him before.
The voice continued.
“You always were difficult to kill.”
Arthur descended slowly.
Maeve followed despite his gesture to remain upstairs.
A man stood in the living room.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
Same gray eyes.
Older than photographs Maeve had seen, but unmistakable.
Gabriel Romano.
Alive.
Nero growled.
Gabriel smiled at the dog.
“Hello, Nero.”
Then he looked at Maeve.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
Maeve felt sick.
Arthur stepped between them.
“Why are you here?”
“To save you.”
“From yourself?”
Gabriel's smile disappeared.
“From the person who ordered Evelyn Nolan's death.”
Maeve's hands tightened.
“Who?”
Gabriel looked at Arthur.
Then back at Maeve.
“Arthur.”
Silence swallowed the room.
Maeve stared at Arthur.
Gabriel reached into his coat.
He removed an old photograph.
Placed it on the table.
Arthur standing beside Maeve's mother.
Date stamped the night before her death.
Gabriel whispered:
May you like
“Ask him why he was the last person to see your mother alive.”
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