Chapter 5 - The Price of the Evidence
Jenna stared at the phone.
Marlene’s mouth was taped.
Her wrists were bound.
She looked furious rather than frightened.
That was somehow worse.
“Why her?”
Dominic was already issuing orders.
Marco said, “They grabbed someone connected to Jenna because they assumed she mattered to you.”
Jenna almost laughed.
“She doesn’t.”
Dominic looked at her.
The room went still.
Jenna realized how that sounded.
“I mean I don’t matter to him.”
Dominic said nothing.
Marco studied the floor with intense interest.
Leo whispered, “You kind of do.”
“Not helping.”
Dominic turned away.
“Martin wants the documents.”
“Give them to him,” Jenna said.
“No.”
She stared.
“He has Marlene.”
“He’ll kill her anyway if the evidence disappears.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Martin.”
“So do I.”
Dominic frowned.
“You know him?”
“He comes to events.”
Jenna thought back.
Martin Hale.
Gray suit.
Quiet voice.
Always tipped catering staff.
Once helped a dishwasher carry boxes after a fundraiser.
That frightened her more than if he had always looked evil.
Cruel people rarely announced themselves.
“Did he ever ask about you?” Dominic said.
Jenna thought.
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Six months ago.”
“What?”
“He asked whether I worked private Valenti events.”
Dominic’s face darkened.
“What did you say?”
“That I’d done two.”
“What else?”
“He asked whether Leo attended.”
Dominic went still.
Jenna felt sick.
“I thought he was making conversation.”
“He was planning.”
Leo looked pale.
Dominic knelt beside him.
“You’re going somewhere safe.”
“No.”
“Leo.”
“No.”
“Not negotiable.”
Leo’s chin lifted.
“You said Mom collected evidence because she was trying to protect us.”
“Yes.”
“And everyone kept deciding things without telling me.”
“This is different.”
“No, it isn’t.”
Jenna watched father and son stare at each other.
Dominic eventually closed his eyes.
“What do you want?”
“I want to know what happens.”
“You’ll know.”
“You always say that.”
Dominic looked hurt.
Leo continued.
“Then you don’t tell me because you think it’ll scare me.”
Jenna quietly left them space.
Ten minutes later Dominic arranged for Leo to stay with federal agents who had become involved after reviewing Elena’s financial evidence.
Not local allies.
Not family employees.
Independent protection.
Leo agreed only after Dominic promised to call every hour.
Jenna noticed that Dominic did not promise everything would be okay.
He promised the thing he could control.
That felt more honest.
Martin called again.
“Thirty minutes.”
Dominic answered.
“You’ll get the boxes.”
“Good.”
“Marlene walks first.”
Martin laughed.
“You’ve changed.”
“Apparently.”
“Or the caterer changed you.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Leave her out of this.”
“Oh, I tried. Then she spilled cream on you and started asking questions.”
Jenna felt responsible.
Marlene would never have been involved if Jenna had simply kept walking.
As if reading her thoughts, Dominic looked at her and shook his head once.
Not your fault.
Martin gave them a location.
An unfinished luxury development near the harbor.
Built by Whitmore Construction.
Of course.
They prepared decoy boxes.
Federal agents surrounded the site from distance.
Dominic refused to remain outside.
Jenna was ordered to stay in the vehicle.
She obeyed for approximately four minutes.
Then she noticed a catering van parked behind an adjacent warehouse.
Hawthorne Events.
Her employer’s logo.
“Marlene.”
She climbed out.
An agent shouted.
Jenna ignored him.
The van was unlocked.
Inside she found Marlene’s handbag.
A broken zip tie.
Drops of blood.
Then she heard tapping.
Three knocks.
Pause.
Three knocks.
From the warehouse.
Jenna called Marco.
“South warehouse. I think she’s here.”
“Stay outside.”
“Absolutely.”
She went inside.
The warehouse smelled of sawdust and concrete.
Another knock.
Jenna followed it.
“Marlene?”
A muffled answer.
She found her behind stacks of drywall.
Still tied.
Still furious.
Jenna ripped tape from her mouth.
Marlene gasped.
“I am docking your pay for the cream puffs.”
Jenna almost cried.
“Fair.”
“Martin?”
“Not here.”
Jenna cut her wrists free.
“Then this was a distraction.”
Across the site, gunfire erupted.
Marlene grabbed Jenna.
“Get down!”
They hit the floor.
Jenna’s phone rang.
Dominic.
She answered.
“Where are you?”
“With Marlene.”
“What?”
“She’s alive.”
Silence.
Then relief.
“Stay there.”
“Martin isn’t here.”
“I know.”
His voice changed.
“He never came.”
Jenna’s stomach dropped.
“Then where is he?”
Dominic answered softly.
“With Charles.”
Federal agents raided Charles Whitmore’s Beacon Hill townhouse.
Empty.
Dominic returned to the storage facility.
Also empty.
Every original document had been removed during the chaos.
Someone inside law enforcement had leaked the operation.
The evidence Elena spent years building was gone.
Almost.
Jenna remembered something.
The blue ribbon.
The wheelchair scratch.
Sophie’s video.
Small details.
Things powerful people ignored.
She looked at Dominic.
“Elena was compliance.”
“Yes.”
“She collected evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Would she really keep only one copy?”
Dominic stared.
Jenna continued.
“She built a treasure hunt for Leo.”
His eyes changed.
“Not for me.”
“For both of you.”
They returned to the model train.
Leo joined by secure video.
Dominic held up the miniature station.
“Anything else?”
Leo thought.
“Mom used to say every train needs two tracks.”
Jenna smiled.
“Two copies.”
They searched the attic for hours.
Nothing.
Then Leo remembered one phrase.
“Home isn’t where the train starts.”
Dominic froze.
“What?”
“That’s what Mom used to say.”
Jenna looked at the model city.
A train track ran from the miniature station across a bridge.
It ended at a tiny red building.
Not a house.
A bakery.
Jenna stared.
“Why a bakery?”
Dominic looked confused.
Leo smiled.
“Mom loved baking.”
The roof opened.
Inside sat a flash drive.
Encrypted.
Federal analysts opened it by evening.
Everything was there.
Bank records.
Emails.
Audio.
Video.
Enough to destroy Charles Whitmore.
Enough to expose Martin Hale.
Enough to clear Dominic of financial crimes Elena feared would be blamed on him.
There was also one final folder.
ELENA — PERSONAL.
Dominic hesitated before opening it.
Jenna stepped away.
“That’s yours.”
He looked at her.
“Stay.”
The first video showed Elena sitting in the same attic.
Healthy.
Alive.
Nervous.
“If Dominic is watching this, then I ran out of time.”
His face broke slightly.
“I need you to know I wasn’t leaving you.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“I was trying to protect Leo.”
Leo watched remotely.
Elena continued.
“Charles told me he could destroy you legally. He planted records. Martin helped him. I knew if I confronted you before I had proof, you would go after them.”
Dominic looked down.
“And I knew what that would cost you.”
Jenna understood.
Elena had not feared Dominic hurting her.
She feared Dominic destroying himself.
The video continued.
“I loved you. I just needed you to become the man Leo could be proud of.”
Dominic covered his mouth.
Leo cried quietly on the screen.
Then Elena said something none of them expected.
“There’s one more thing.”
Dominic looked up.
“If anything happens to me, don’t believe the accident report.”
Silence.
Jenna felt cold.
Elena leaned closer to the camera.
“My car has been tampered with twice.”
Dominic stopped breathing.
“I told Charles I had copies.”
The video ended.
Everyone stared at the screen.
Elena’s death had been ruled an accident.
Three years ago.
A highway crash.
Dominic had believed it.
Until now.
Marco’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face changed.
“They found Martin.”
Dominic stood.
“Where?”
Marco swallowed.
“Logan Airport.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“With Charles?”
“No.”
“Then where is Charles?”
Marco stared at his phone.
“Martin says Charles is going to Leo.”
Dominic’s face emptied.
May you like
The safe house address had been compromised.
And Charles Whitmore was already on his way.
