Chapter 7 - Pier Nineteen
Harper went to Pier Nineteen.
She did not go alone.
Roman didn't argue about whether she would go.
He argued about how.
"You wear the tracker."
"Fine."
"You stay within sight of the south entrance."
"Fine."
"If anything changes—"
"I know."
Roman looked at her.
"Do you?"
Harper touched his hand.
"I trust you."
Those three words silenced him.
At 11:58 p.m., Harper entered the warehouse.
Daniel stood beside Evelyn.
Arthur Mercer sat behind a folding table.
He was seventy-two and looked more like someone's grandfather than the architect of a criminal network.
"Harper."
Arthur smiled.
"You have Jonathan's eyes."
"I've heard that a lot lately."
"Your father was brilliant."
"You murdered him."
Arthur sighed.
"Daniel murdered him."
Daniel flinched.
Harper looked at her former mentor.
He appeared twenty years older.
"Tell her," Arthur said.
Daniel whispered, "I caused the crash."
Harper felt the words physically.
"Why?"
"He was going to expose us."
"So you killed him."
"I thought the car would be stopped. I didn't know Arthur had altered the plan."
Arthur chuckled.
"Daniel has always preferred partial responsibility."
Harper wanted to scream.
Instead she remained still.
"What do you want?"
Arthur placed documents on the table.
"Your signature."
Bennett River Holdings.
"Transfer your shares."
"And Evelyn?"
"Walks away."
Evelyn shook her head.
"Don't."
Arthur struck her.
Harper moved.
Daniel raised a gun.
"Stop."
Harper froze.
Arthur slid a pen toward her.
She picked it up.
Then smiled.
Arthur frowned.
"Something funny?"
"You spent sixteen years trying to get my signature."
"Correct."
"And nobody explained contract law to you?"
His face changed.
"The transfer requires trustee approval."
Arthur looked at Daniel.
Daniel looked confused.
Harper continued.
"My father named an independent trustee."
"Who?"
"Me," Roman said from the darkness.
Lights flooded the warehouse.
Falco security surrounded the exits.
Arthur stood.
Gunfire erupted.
Harper dropped.
Roman reached her.
Police sirens screamed outside.
Daniel ran.
Arthur grabbed Evelyn and dragged her toward a side door.
Roman pursued him.
Harper followed despite every order she'd been given.
Outside, Arthur reached the river.
No escape.
He released Evelyn and raised his gun toward Roman.
Daniel appeared behind him.
"Arthur."
Arthur turned.
Daniel fired.
The bullet struck Arthur's shoulder.
Police swarmed the pier.
Arthur fell.
Daniel dropped his weapon.
Harper stared.
"You saved him."
Daniel looked at Roman.
"No."
Then at Harper.
"I saved you."
Police arrested both men.
Evelyn was alive.
For the first time, the nightmare seemed close to ending.
It wasn't.
The next morning, federal investigators raided Davies, Croft and Mercer.
Accounts were frozen.
Partners questioned.
Records seized.
Connor agreed to testify.
Paige did too.
Margaret entered protective custody.
Harper resigned.
By afternoon, reporters surrounded the building.
Someone shouted:
"Ms. Bennett, are you romantically involved with Roman Falco?"
Harper stopped.
Roman stood several feet away.
She looked at him.
Then at the cameras.
"My personal life isn't evidence."
Roman smiled.
The clip went viral within an hour.
Sarah sent it to her with twelve laughing emojis.
But another story followed.
A journalist published documents suggesting Falco Holdings had profited from D.C.M. transactions.
Roman's name became the headline.
Harper read the article twice.
"Is it true?"
Roman didn't answer immediately.
"Some transactions passed through our terminals."
"Did you know?"
"Not then."
"That's not what the article says."
"No."
Harper looked at him.
"Show me everything."
He did.
Every audit.
Every internal report.
Every investigation.
For two days they worked.
The evidence supported Roman.
But one document didn't.
A signed authorization.
Roman Falco.
Ten million dollars.
D.C.M.
Harper placed it on the table.
"Your signature."
Roman stared.
"Forgery."
"Can you prove it?"
"No."
She hated the answer.
He didn't ask her to believe him.
That made her want to.
A forensic expert examined the document.
The signature was genuine.
Harper confronted Roman.
He looked genuinely stunned.
Then remembered.
"Blank authorization sheets."
"What?"
"My father required executives to sign emergency shipping authorizations before international travel."
"Someone used one."
"Yes."
"Who had access?"
Roman went still.
Only one person.
His longtime chief financial officer.
Marcus Vale.
Marcus had worked for the Falco family for thirty years.
Roman called him.
No answer.
Security searched his office.
Empty.
Inside the desk was a photograph.
Roman as a child.
His father.
Marcus.
On the back:
FAMILY IS WHAT YOU PROTECT FROM THE TRUTH.
Harper's phone rang.
Margaret.
She answered.
Her mother's voice trembled.
"Harper, Marcus knows where I am."
A crash sounded.
"Mom?"
Someone shouted.
The call dropped.
Roman's security chief entered at a run.
"Protective detail lost contact."
Harper stood.
"Where?"
Before he could answer, the elevator opened.
Marcus Vale stepped out.
Blood covered his shirt.
He looked directly at Roman.
"Your father wasn't murdered by Arthur."
Roman froze.
Marcus held up an old photograph.
"He was murdered because he discovered who actually created D.C.M."
Harper whispered, "Who?"
Marcus turned the photograph around.
Roman stared at it.
May you like
His face emptied.
Because standing beside Harper's father in the photograph was Roman's own mother.
