Chapter 3 - The Scar Beneath His Collar
“Rosie-Bird.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Only my mother had called me that.
Dante pulled me backward.
Titan lunged toward the wall.
The pantry backed onto the neighboring unit.
Dante’s men broke through the adjoining door within minutes.
Empty.
A recorder sat on the floor.
Cheap speaker.
Remote activated.
The voice had been recorded.
I hated whoever had done it for understanding exactly how to hurt me.
Dante returned with the envelope.
“Open it.”
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
Younger.
Healthy.
Standing beside Alessandro Castellano.
Between them sat a black dog that was not Titan.
Same broad head.
Same white chest patch.
On the back my mother had written:
THE FIRST ONE FAILED. PROTECT THE SECOND.
My stomach turned.
“Titan is the second,” I said.
Dante did not answer.
We found Marcus two hours later at a bus station.
Alive.
Drugged.
No serious injuries.
Someone had placed him on a bench with fifty dollars and a note in his pocket.
STOP ASKING ABOUT EVELYN.
I held my brother until he complained he couldn’t breathe.
Then I lied.
I told him it was connected to the Castellanos.
I did not tell him our mother seemed to be at the center of it.
Marcus moved into the gatehouse under guard.
He hated that.
Titan adored him.
Within a day, Marcus had discovered Titan liked toast crusts and old baseballs.
I discovered something else.
The lump beneath Titan’s collar was not swelling.
It was an implant.
Not the microchip.
Larger.
Dante watched while I clipped a small patch of fur.
There was an old surgical scar.
“Someone put something under his skin.”
“Can you remove it?”
“Yes.”
We converted the laundry room into a temporary treatment space.
This time Dante stood beside me from the beginning.
I gave Titan a mild sedative.
He fought sleep until I placed my hand against his chest.
Then his eyes closed.
I made a small incision.
Metal appeared.
A waterproof capsule.
Inside was a memory card.
Marcus recovered the files.
Photographs.
Shipping manifests.
Account numbers.
Names.
Judges.
Police officers.
Union officials.
Businessmen.
And Gabriel Voss.
Dozens of payments.
All routed through a company called Northstar Maritime.
Dante stared at the screen.
“Gabriel has been with my family twenty-two years.”
Marcus swallowed.
“Then he’s been stealing from you for a long time.”
“No.”
Dante pointed to the dates.
“These aren’t thefts.”
“What are they?”
“Payments.”
“For what?”
Dante looked at Titan.
“Information.”
One file remained encrypted.
Marcus worked for hours.
Finally it opened.
Video.
My mother appeared.
Older than in the photograph.
Thin.
Headscarf.
Cancer.
She looked directly into the camera.
“If Rosalind is watching this, then Alessandro is dead, and they found the second dog.”
My heart stopped.
Dante moved closer.
My mother continued.
“Rosie, I’m sorry.”
I covered my mouth.
“I worked for Alessandro Castellano as an accountant. I discovered someone inside his organization was selling names to people who wanted witnesses, informants, and rivals dead.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed.
“We couldn’t trust computers. We couldn’t trust phones. Alessandro created a physical evidence system using trained dogs. The first dog was killed.”
The photograph.
The first one failed.
Protect the second.
“Titan carried the final archive.”
My mother coughed.
“Only two people knew where.”
She named Alessandro.
Then herself.
“If I die before this ends, find the veterinarian who helped me place the implant.”
The video distorted.
Then returned.
My mother leaned closer.
“Rosie, there is something else you need to know about Marcus.”
The screen froze.
Marcus looked at me.
“What about me?”
The file corrupted.
We tried again.
Nothing.
Dante ordered copies made.
Then alarms sounded.
Smoke filled the kennel corridor.
Fire.
Titan woke violently.
I opened the treatment room.
Flames were already climbing the wooden gatehouse wall.
“Marcus!”
No answer.
I ran.
Dante caught my arm.
“Rosie!”
“My brother is inside!”
Titan tore free.
He charged through the smoke.
We followed.
Marcus lay unconscious near the kitchen.
Titan grabbed the back of his jacket and dragged him toward the door.
A beam collapsed.
Dante shoved me aside and took the impact across his shoulder.
We escaped seconds before the roof caught.
Outside, coughing, I looked back.
Someone had started the fire deliberately.
Dante’s security system showed one authorized badge opening the gatehouse five minutes before the alarm.
Gabriel Voss.
But Gabriel was standing twenty feet away.
His badge was clipped to his belt.
He stared at the access log.
“That wasn’t me.”
Dante took his gun.
“Then someone cloned you.”
Gabriel slowly raised his hands.
Titan approached him.
For the first time, he did not growl.
He sniffed Gabriel’s right hand.
Then walked past him.
Straight toward Nonna.
Everyone froze.
Titan stopped at her black dress.
His nose pressed against her pocket.
Nonna’s face collapsed.
Dante reached inside.
He pulled out a second security badge.
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It carried the name of a man who had supposedly died three months earlier.
The same man Titan had killed...
