Chapter 5 - The Brother Who Lied
Victor stood beside Julian.
For one terrible second, every suspicion seemed confirmed.
Then Victor raised his hands.
“I'm not with him.”
Julian laughed.
“Uncle Victor has finally discovered a conscience.”
The truth came quickly.
Victor had helped Julian hide unauthorized transactions years earlier, believing the money covered bribes used to secure international contracts.
It didn't.
Julian was creating phantom cargo.
Insurance fraud.
Smuggling.
Millions moving through companies designed to disappear.
Isabella discovered it.
Victor tried persuading Julian to stop.
Julian refused.
“You killed her,” Antoine said.
Julian smiled.
“You always were emotional.”
That smile told me everything.
Antoine lunged.
I grabbed his arm.
“No.”
Julian wanted violence.
Violence would destroy evidence.
So I did what people had done to me my entire life.
I let him underestimate me.
“You're brilliant,” I said.
Everyone looked at me.
Julian smiled.
“Excuse me?”
“You fooled all of them.”
I gestured toward Antoine, Donovan and Victor.
“Men with money. Security. Lawyers. You fooled everyone.”
His posture changed.
Pride.
There it was.
“But Isabella figured it out,” I said.
His smile disappeared.
“She guessed.”
“She beat you.”
“She got lucky.”
“She recorded everything.”
That was a lie.
Julian stepped closer.
“What recording?”
I shrugged.
“You don't know?”
His eyes narrowed.
“She recorded what you did to her car.”
Silence.
Antoine understood what I was doing.
So did Donovan.
Victor didn't.
Julian laughed.
“There couldn't be a recording.”
“Why?”
“Because the camera lost power before I cut the steering sensor.”
There.
The room became perfectly still.
Julian realized what he'd said.
Too late.
My phone was recording.
So was Donovan's body camera.
Julian ran.
Donovan tackled Victor away from the doorway as Julian fired.
The bullet struck metal.
Antoine chased him between containers.
I stayed back.
Mostly.
Then I saw Julian's laptop.
I grabbed it.
Bad decision.
Julian doubled back.
He seized my hair and dragged me against him.
A gun pressed beneath my jaw.
Antoine stopped.
“Let her go.”
“Put it down.”
Antoine lowered his weapon.
Julian laughed.
“Look at you. Antoine Maro brought to his knees by a waitress.”
I kept breathing.
Julian's grip tightened.
“You know what Isabella's mistake was?” he whispered.
“Marrying your friend?”
His grip tightened.
“Thinking she was smarter than me.”
“No.”
I met his eyes.
“Her mistake was thinking you loved her.”
Something broke in his expression.
I drove my heel into his foot.
Donovan moved.
Antoine moved faster.
The gun skidded away.
Julian escaped through a loading door before they could catch him.
But we had the laptop.
Inside were forged manifests, payments and surveillance files.
Not enough to prove murder.
Enough to destroy several people financially.
Then we found a folder titled ISABELLA.
Password protected.
Renee cracked the hint.
THREE LITTLE MIRACLES.
The password was ELIAS-THEO-CAMILLE.
The folder opened.
One audio file remained.
Isabella was crying.
“Julian knows I found the accounts. If something happens, Antoine needs to know the children weren't the target.”
A pause.
“I was.”
Then:
“But there is something worse. Julian isn't working alone.”
The recording crackled.
“He answers to someone Antoine would never suspect.”
Footsteps sounded.
Isabella whispered:
“The name is—”
The audio stopped.
A new email arrived on Julian's laptop.
Subject line:
DELLA MARSH.
The message contained only an address.
May you like
And underneath it were four words.
ASK ABOUT YOUR DAUGHTER.
