Chapter 14 - The Man Who Wanted the Wolf Dead
Gideon stared at Rafael.
"You knew?"
"No."
"Think carefully."
Rafael closed his eyes.
"Your father gave me something before he died."
"What?"
"A key."
Norah's pulse quickened.
"To what?"
"I never knew."
Rafael had kept it for nine years.
A small brass key.
Stamped with two letters.
E.B.
Evelyn Blake.
Norah stared at it.
"My mother."
The key opened a deposit box under a company Evelyn had controlled.
Inside wasn't money.
It was evidence.
Enough financial documentation to dismantle the criminal network Anthony had spent decades building.
Accounts.
Companies.
Names.
Politicians.
Businessmen.
Corrupt officials.
Everything.
Evelyn hadn't died because she'd discovered a fortune.
She'd discovered a weapon.
Truth.
Norah looked at Gideon.
"What happens now?"
"We give it to federal investigators."
Rafael stared.
"Everything?"
"Everything tied to Anthony."
"And us?"
Gideon knew what he was asking.
The Wolf organization had committed crimes too.
Gideon sat silently.
Then looked at Norah.
She didn't tell him what to do.
That mattered.
He made the choice himself.
"Everything."
Rafael stared.
"Boss."
"I'm done inheriting my father's sins."
The evidence went out.
Multiple copies.
Multiple attorneys.
Multiple agencies.
Anthony could no longer destroy it.
Neither could Gideon.
The following days changed everything.
Arrests began.
Businesses were frozen.
Old cases reopened.
Gabriel surrendered voluntarily and agreed to cooperate.
Samuel did the same.
Mercer testified about the threats against his daughter.
Hart provided medical evidence.
Natalie gave investigators years of records.
And Gideon?
Gideon Wolf dismantled the illegal side of the empire bearing his name.
It cost him money.
Power.
Allies.
Perhaps more than Norah understood.
But he survived.
Weeks later, he walked through the estate without assistance.
Norah saw him near the kitchen.
"Lost?"
"No."
"This is the staff area."
"I own it."
"Unfortunately."
He smiled.
A real smile this time.
"You haven't called me Mr. Wolf in weeks."
"You haven't fired me."
"I tried."
"You suggested I leave."
"Same thing."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"What are you going to do now?"
Norah had thought about it.
"I don't want to be your maid."
His expression didn't change.
"Good."
"Good?"
"You were terrible at following orders."
She laughed.
"I want nursing school."
"You should."
"I can't afford—"
"Don't."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Don't what?"
"Assume I was going to offer money."
"You were."
"Possibly."
"No."
"Stubborn."
"Controlling."
"Observant."
"Annoying."
Their faces were close now.
Neither moved.
Then Rafael entered.
"Sorry."
He clearly wasn't.
"Gideon. We have a problem."
The warmth vanished.
"What?"
"Anthony escaped transport."
Norah's stomach dropped.
"How?"
"Inside help."
Gideon's expression hardened.
"Where would he go?"
Rafael looked at Norah.
"We know."
He handed her a photograph.
Her mother's grave.
Taken ten minutes earlier.
Anthony stood beside it.
Holding a gun.
And beside the headstone was Natalie.
On her knees.
Norah stopped breathing.
Her phone rang.
Anthony.
She answered.
"Come alone."
Norah looked at Gideon.
Anthony continued.
"Your mother started this at that grave."
May you like
A gun cocked through the phone.
"And tonight, one of her daughters will finish it."
