Chapter 9 - Forty Guests and One Missing Hour
Roman didn't confront Victor in the carriage house.
Not yet.
He ordered Claire, Mrs. Patel, and Daniel back through the underground room while Gabriel remained near the entrance.
A second hidden passage exited near the greenhouse.
Claire hated running.
It felt too much like Christmas Eve.
But Roman made one thing clear.
“Evidence first. Anger later.”
Daniel carried copies of the most important records.
Gabriel's team secured the originals.
When Victor and Salvatore entered the carriage house, they found Roman alone beside the wine racks.
Victor stopped.
“Where's Vivian?”
“Home, hopefully.”
“She called me.”
“I assumed she would.”
Salvatore looked toward the moved shelf.
“You opened the cellar.”
Roman smiled without warmth.
“Apparently my house has rooms I don't know about.”
“Your father knew.”
“My father is dead.”
Salvatore stiffened.
Victor stepped forward.
“We can resolve this.”
“Can we?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Victor lowered his voice.
“Northstar had temporary liquidity problems.”
“Four hundred million dollars is temporary?”
Victor's face barely changed.
“So you saw the ledgers.”
“I saw enough.”
“Then you understand why consolidation matters.”
Roman stared.
“You tried to transfer your losses to me.”
“We planned to combine assets.”
“You planned to steal mine.”
Salvatore intervened.
“Roman, stop behaving emotionally.”
That almost made Roman laugh.
“Claire Bennett overheard a conversation and your solution was to threaten her sister and send a man after her.”
Victor looked genuinely irritated.
“That was Vivian.”
Roman studied him.
Interesting.
Not denial.
Distancing.
“You knew?”
Victor didn't answer.
Roman continued.
“Did you know Damian was outside?”
“I knew Vivian intended to question the girl.”
“The girl has a name.”
Victor smiled thinly.
“And suddenly that matters very much to you.”
Roman stepped closer.
“It always should have mattered.”
Victor's smile disappeared.
“This is why men like us don't involve feelings in business.”
Roman looked toward Salvatore.
“You agree?”
His uncle's silence answered.
Roman understood something at that moment.
The difference between them was not whether they operated outside polite society.
Roman had done things he wasn't proud of.
Made threats.
Used fear.
Built power in a world where legality and morality often lived on opposite sides of a door.
But Victor and Salvatore had lost any line.
People weren't people anymore.
Only leverage.
Claire was leverage.
Lily was leverage.
Roman himself was leverage.
The marriage was leverage.
“Get off my property.”
Salvatore stared.
“This is my family's estate too.”
“No.”
“Roman.”
“You sold your part when you signed an agreement giving Victor control of my company.”
Salvatore's face hardened.
“You don't know what you're doing.”
“For the first time in years, I know exactly.”
Victor buttoned his coat.
“If you expose Northstar, your name will appear beside ours.”
Roman expected that.
“Maybe.”
“The authorities won't distinguish cleanly.”
“Then I'll answer questions.”
Victor looked surprised.
Roman continued.
“I'd rather lose money than become you.”
That ended the conversation.
The Mercers left.
Salvatore followed.
But the confrontation created a new problem.
They now knew Roman had the evidence.
Everything accelerated.
That evening, Roman gathered every member of staff who had worked Christmas Eve.
Forty guests.
Thirty-one employees.
Nine security officers.
Kitchen staff.
Drivers.
Valets.
Everyone was interviewed.
Claire sat with Daniel reviewing statements.
At 7:52 p.m., Vivian arrived.
8:03, she spoke to Marcus.
8:17, Victor met privately with Salvatore.
8:31, Damian's SUV was seen two streets from the estate.
8:41, cameras failed.
8:43, Claire went outside.
8:47, Vivian returned to the ballroom.
8:56, Mrs. Patel asked about Claire.
9:02, Roman realized she was missing.
But there was a gap.
Between 8:43 and 9:02, Vivian claimed she never left the ballroom.
Three guests confirmed it.
One did not.
A young server named Noah.
He requested to speak privately.
Claire recognized him.
He had lowered his eyes when Vivian insulted her apron.
Now he looked terrified.
“She left,” Noah said.
Roman leaned forward.
“When?”
“Around 8:48.”
“Where?”
“Back corridor.”
“How long?”
“Ten minutes.”
Claire's heart quickened.
“Did you see what she did?”
Noah nodded.
“She made a phone call.”
“To whom?”
“I don't know.”
“What did she say?”
Noah looked at Claire.
“She said, ‘Why isn't it done yet?’”
Roman went still.
“Anything else?”
Noah swallowed.
“Then she said, ‘If she gets back to the house, we have a bigger problem.’”
Claire felt sick.
Roman's jaw tightened.
That eliminated the idea Vivian merely wanted Claire questioned.
She knew Claire was in danger.
And she didn't want her returning.
“Why didn't you say this earlier?” Roman asked.
Noah looked ashamed.
“Ms. Mercer offered me money.”
“How much?”
“Twenty thousand.”
Claire stared.
“To stay quiet?”
“Yes.”
“What changed?”
Noah looked directly at Claire.
“My mother saw the story about the storm damage on the local news. She asked if anyone at the estate got hurt.”
His voice broke slightly.
“I lied to her.”
He shook his head.
“I don't want to become someone who can live with that.”
Roman nodded.
“You did the right thing.”
After Noah left, Claire stood by the fireplace.
Roman approached.
“You all right?”
“No.”
“Fair.”
She looked at him.
“She wanted me not to come back.”
“Yes.”
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
Claire's eyes filled with anger rather than fear.
“Then why is she still free?”
“Because I don't want only Vivian.”
Claire stared.
“I want the company. The records. Victor. Salvatore. Everyone who built this.”
Claire understood.
Roman wasn't looking for revenge.
He was dismantling the entire machine.
The next morning, Daniel brought the first major breakthrough.
One of Granite Harbor's former accountants had agreed to talk.
Her name was Evelyn Shaw.
She had kept copies.
Lots of copies.
And according to her, Northstar wasn't merely hiding debt.
It had been laundering proceeds through Granite Harbor for years.
If she could prove it, Victor Mercer would face something more dangerous than Roman DeLuca.
Federal investigators.
But Evelyn wanted one thing before she spoke.
Protection.
Specifically from Damian Cross.
Which meant Roman had to find the man from the snow before Victor did.
May you like
And this time, Claire insisted she wanted to see his face.
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