Chapter 11 - The Man Who Had Been Playing Both Families
I didn't go to Victor.
Not because Roman ordered me not to.
Because we found a better plan.
Elena contacted federal agents.
Victor’s call had been recorded legally after authorities began monitoring Dad’s phone.
Kidnapping.
Extortion.
Threats.
Enough to act.
The meeting location Victor eventually supplied was a closed industrial building outside Bridgeport.
A cliché.
Roman said so.
“Victor always lacked imagination.”
Despite the tension, I laughed.
Roman looked at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're laughing.”
“I didn't know mafia bosses criticized other criminals for poor venue selection.”
His mouth twitched.
“You've been around me too long.”
“Two days.”
“Exactly.”
The joke disappeared when agents entered the room.
They wanted the ledger.
They wanted me nowhere near the exchange.
On that point Roman and federal law enforcement agreed enthusiastically.
I remained at Elena’s office with Mom and Gregory.
Roman wasn't part of the tactical operation either.
That took more convincing.
“You're a witness,” Elena told him.
“I’m also Victor’s target.”
“Which is precisely why trained agents prefer you not improvise.”
Roman looked deeply offended by the word improvise.
I enjoyed that more than I should have.
Three hours later, authorities entered the industrial building.
Victor wasn't there.
Dad was.
Alive.
Bound to a chair.
No Victor.
No Stephen.
A speaker had been positioned nearby to make everyone believe Victor was present.
Dad had been used as bait.
Again.
They brought him to a hospital.
Mom went.
Gregory hesitated.
Then went too.
I stayed.
Roman returned shortly after midnight.
He looked tired.
“You could go.”
“To the hospital?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
He nodded as though he understood.
“Does that make me terrible?”
“No.”
“I keep thinking I'm supposed to rush there because he's my father.”
“You can care whether someone survives without pretending what they did disappeared.”
I looked at him.
“You've thought about that before.”
“My father.”
Of course.
We sat in silence.
Then Roman’s security chief entered.
“Found something.”
He placed a tablet down.
Airport footage.
Stephen Vale.
He had boarded a private aircraft that morning.
Destination:
Washington, D.C.
Victor wasn't with him.
But Senator Whitmore’s chief of staff met him at the airport.
There it was.
The connection.
Stephen wasn't merely Victor’s son.
He was Whitmore’s operative.
For years.
Roman stared at the footage.
“Where's Victor?”
“We don't know.”
I looked at the second ledger.
“Maybe we've been wrong.”
“About?”
“Victor being in charge.”
Roman’s expression shifted.
“Whitmore.”
“Victor worked for him years ago. Stephen still does.”
I started tracing dates.
Every major payment to Victor preceded a political favor connected to Whitmore.
Zoning.
Infrastructure funding.
Municipal approvals.
Dad and Daniel weren't partners at the top.
They were participants lower down.
“Victor is enforcement,” I said.
“Stephen is finance.”
“Whitmore is protection.”
Roman nodded.
“And your father?”
“Access.”
That explained everything.
Miller Development was respected.
Large enough to move money.
Legitimate enough to avoid immediate suspicion.
Dad thought he was joining powerful men.
He didn't realize powerful men viewed him as replaceable.
My phone rang.
Hospital.
Dad wanted to see me.
I almost refused.
Then remembered his warning.
Victor wants Roman.
Dad still knew something.
I went with Elena.
Roman remained behind.
That was my request.
Dad looked old.
Not injured seriously.
Just exhausted.
He saw me.
His eyes filled.
“Sadie.”
I remained near the door.
“You wanted to talk.”
“I’m sorry.”
I said nothing.
“I should never have—”
“No.”
He stopped.
“Don't start by asking me to make you feel better.”
His face tightened.
“I deserve that.”
“Tell me about Whitmore.”
Dad closed his eyes.
So he knew.
“Thomas.”
Elena’s tone was sharp.
“Answer her.”
Dad exhaled.
“Whitmore helped my father.”
“Granddad?”
“Yes.”
My stomach turned.
How long had this been going?
“Your grandfather’s company nearly collapsed in the recession.”
“Which recession?”
“The early nineties.”
“That was before Roman’s brother.”
“Yes.”
“Whitmore protected contracts. Your grandfather repaid favors.”
“Bribes.”
Dad looked away.
“Eventually.”
I almost laughed.
Eventually.
As if corruption had matured naturally like wine.
“Victor entered later,” Dad continued. “He handled problems.”
“What kind?”
Dad didn't answer.
I didn't need details.
“Luca found documents.”
Roman’s story.
“Yes.”
“Did you know Victor killed him?”
“I suspected.”
“And you still worked with Victor?”
Dad’s shame finally looked real.
“I thought I could control him.”
“You thought you could control everyone.”
He closed his eyes.
I continued.
“Why me?”
“What?”
“Why did you use my identity?”
He looked at me.
For once, Thomas Miller had no polished answer.
“Because you were clean.”
The words hurt more than I expected.
“You had no debt. No scandals. Excellent credit. Accounting access.”
“You built me into the perfect scapegoat.”
“At first it wasn't supposed to be that.”
“What was it supposed to be?”
“A temporary structure.”
“When did it become a setup?”
His silence answered.
“When Stephen found out you'd been keeping copies.”
My breathing slowed.
Dad continued.
“He said either we moved the liability to you or everyone would go down.”
“And you agreed.”
“I thought I could undo it after Boston.”
“Stop saying that.”
He flinched.
“There is no ‘after Boston’ where you magically become my father again.”
Tears filled his eyes.
I had never seen my father cry.
It didn't repair anything.
But it made him human.
“Sadie.”
“What?”
“Victor doesn't have the original ledger.”
“We do.”
“No.”
My blood chilled.
Dad shook his head.
“The binder in the house is a copy.”
Elena stepped forward.
“Where is the original?”
Dad looked toward the closed hospital door.
Then whispered:
“Daniel has it.”
“Daniel is missing.”
“I know.”
“Where did he go?”
Dad’s expression changed.
“For the first time in his life, Daniel did something brave.”
“What?”
“He took the original ledger.”
“To where?”
“Washington.”
I stared.
“Why?”
Dad swallowed.
“Because Daniel has been working with federal investigators for six months.”
Everything stopped.
Daniel Mercer—the man we thought had helped frame me—
might have been trying to expose the entire operation.
And if that was true, Victor and Stephen weren't chasing him because he was a partner.
May you like
They were chasing him because he had betrayed them.
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