Chapter 8 - The Name Inside the File
Beth stepped into the room.
Meline stared.
"You?"
Beth looked terrified.
"Please let me explain."
Lorenzo didn't lower his weapon.
"Start."
Beth had worked at Hayes Bespoke for four years.
But that wasn't how she knew the Hayes family.
Her father had worked for Gabriel.
When Gabriel realized Victor had infiltrated his organization, he'd given Beth's father the Project Bell file.
Beth inherited it after his death.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because my father made me promise."
"Then why work for me?"
"To protect you."
Meline almost laughed.
"Apparently everyone in Boston has been secretly protecting me."
Beth winced.
"Fair."
Nora handed Meline the file.
Inside were names.
Dozens.
Some crossed out.
Some marked deceased.
One remained circled.
Meline read it.
DANIEL VOSS.
Lorenzo swore quietly.
"Who?"
"My chief financial officer."
Meline stared at him.
"Someone inside your organization."
"Yes."
Antonio entered minutes later.
He confirmed it.
Daniel Voss had been Victor's most important operative.
And he was still free.
Worse, Voss controlled legitimate Moretti accounts worth hundreds of millions.
Lorenzo called his office.
No answer.
Then his phone vibrated.
Daniel.
Lorenzo answered.
"Where are you?"
Daniel laughed.
"You found the file."
"What do you want?"
"Nothing anymore."
A computer chimed.
Marco checked it.
His face changed.
"Lorenzo."
Millions were moving.
Account after account.
Daniel was emptying the Moretti companies.
Lorenzo remained strangely calm.
Meline watched him.
"Aren't you going to stop it?"
"No."
Marco stared.
"What?"
Lorenzo looked at Antonio.
His father slowly smiled.
"Decoy accounts."
Daniel was stealing money that had been deliberately marked and monitored.
Every transfer created evidence.
Lorenzo had suspected an internal leak months earlier.
The trap had been waiting.
"You knew?" Meline asked.
"I suspected someone."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I met you six weeks ago."
"Fair."
Daniel realized too late.
The transfers froze.
Then he did something desperate.
He came to Hayes Bespoke.
Alone.
Meline insisted on being there.
Lorenzo hated the idea.
She won.
Again.
The shop remained closed for repairs.
Broken windows had been replaced.
The damaged gowns were still waiting for restoration.
Meline stood beside her cutting table when Daniel entered.
"You ruined everything," he said.
"No," she replied. "Apparently my father did that eighteen years ago."
Daniel pulled a gun.
Lorenzo stepped from behind a mannequin.
"Predictable."
Daniel spun.
Marco appeared at the opposite entrance.
Then Antonio.
Then federal officers.
Daniel lowered his weapon.
It was finished.
Or so Meline thought.
As officers led him away, Daniel stopped beside her.
"Ask Moretti why he really came into your shop the first day."
Meline looked at Lorenzo.
Daniel smiled.
"He didn't come for a suit."
Meline's stomach tightened.
"Lorenzo?"
He said nothing.
Daniel laughed as officers removed him.
Meline waited.
"Explain."
Lorenzo sighed.
"I was looking for Gabriel's daughter."
Everything inside her went still.
"You said you didn't know who I was."
"I didn't."
"But you were looking."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Antonio sent me information anonymously."
Antonio looked away.
Meline understood.
"You walked into my shop because you thought I might be connected to Gabriel."
"Initially."
"And then?"
"Then you insulted my suit."
"It deserved it."
"I know."
Despite herself, she almost smiled.
But this mattered.
"When did this stop being an investigation?"
"The first afternoon."
"That's convenient."
"It's true."
"Prove it."
He looked genuinely confused.
"How?"
"I don't know."
"That's difficult."
"You're resourceful."
Meline walked away.
For three days, Lorenzo didn't visit.
For the first time in six weeks, three-thirty arrived and Hayes Bespoke remained quiet.
Meline hated how much she noticed.
On the fourth afternoon, Nora placed coffee beside her.
"You're miserable."
"I'm working."
"You're stabbing fabric."
"It's durable."
Nora smiled.
"You miss him."
Meline ignored her.
At three-thirty, the door opened.
She looked up too quickly.
Not Lorenzo.
A courier.
"For Meline Hayes."
He handed her a package.
Inside was fabric.
Dark charcoal wool.
The exact material Lorenzo had chosen for his first suit.
A note rested on top.
You asked for proof.
Check the original jacket.
Meline found Lorenzo's first jacket in storage.
She searched the pockets.
Nothing.
Then she checked the lining.
A small section had been hand-stitched.
Badly.
Very badly.
She opened it.
Inside was a folded piece of paper.
Dated six weeks earlier.
The day Lorenzo first entered.
Marco—
I found the woman connected to DeLuca.
Her name is Meline Hayes.
Stop the investigation.
Do not approach her.
Do not question her.
Do not involve her.
I will handle this personally.
L.M.
Below it, written later:
And before you ask: no, this isn't professional.
Meline laughed.
Then cried.
Then laughed again.
Nora leaned over.
"Is that good?"
"I think so."
The shop door opened.
This time Lorenzo stood there.
No bodyguards.
No expensive suit.
Just dark trousers and a white shirt.
And flowers.
Terrible flowers.
Half were bent.
Meline stared.
"What happened to those?"
"I chose them myself."
"Clearly."
"I was informed effort matters."
"By whom?"
"Your mother."
Meline blinked.
"You talked to my mother?"
"She terrifies me."
"Good."
He approached.
"No ring."
She noticed.
"Why?"
"Because I'm not asking you for anything."
He placed the flowers on her table.
"I'm asking permission to start over."
Meline looked at him.
"How?"
"Dinner."
She smiled.
"Coffee first."
His face fell.
"I've improved."
"I sincerely doubt that."
"Then tomorrow?"
She pretended to consider.
"Three-thirty."
He smiled.
"I know the time."
The next afternoon, Lorenzo arrived at three-thirty.
But he wasn't alone.
Antonio walked beside him.
Caroline and Samuel entered behind them.
Meline stared at the four people.
"What is this?"
Caroline smiled.
"Family therapy."
Meline groaned.
Then Antonio placed something on the table.
Gabriel's original ledger.
Meline stared.
"I thought everything was digital."
"This wasn't evidence," Antonio said.
"What is it?"
"A letter."
Inside was one final message from Gabriel.
Not to Meline.
To Antonio.
If our children ever meet, don't let our mistakes decide who they become.
Meline read it twice.
Then handed it to Lorenzo.
He looked at his father.
Antonio's eyes filled.
Lorenzo finally reached toward him.
Not a hug.
Not yet.
Just a hand on his shoulder.
But it was enough to begin.
Then Meline noticed something else inside the ledger.
A photograph.
Gabriel.
Caroline.
Samuel.
Antonio.
All four standing together.
Young.
Happy.
Before everything.
On the back were four words:
LET THE CHILDREN CHOOSE.
Meline looked at Lorenzo.
He looked at her.
And for the first time, nobody else was deciding what happened next.
But before Meline could speak, the shop's security alarm suddenly screamed.
Marco rushed through the front door.
"Lorenzo!"
Lorenzo turned.
"What?"
Marco held up his phone.
His face had lost all color.
"Victor escaped federal custody ten minutes ago."
May you like
Meline's smile disappeared.
Then every light in Hayes Bespoke went out.
