Chapter 3 - The Man Arthur Could No Longer Trust
Norah nearly dropped the recorder.
Her father’s voice continued.
“If Arthur found you, listen carefully. His father was dangerous. Arthur may be dangerous too. But the man beside him is worse.”
Static swallowed the next words.
Norah hit the button.
Nothing.
The battery died.
“Dad?”
Silence.
She ran to the storage door.
“Hello!”
No response.
Her phone showed one bar.
She called Arthur.
He answered immediately.
“Where are you?”
Norah stopped.
Not hello.
Not why are you calling.
Where are you?
“How do you know I’m gone?”
“Norah.”
“I’m locked inside my father’s storage unit.”
Arthur’s voice changed.
“Address.”
She gave it.
“Do not hang up.”
Twenty-one minutes later, metal crashed outside.
The door lifted.
Arthur stood there with Tommy, one of his drivers.
His expression when he saw Norah was terrifying.
Not because it was directed at her.
Because it was not.
“Who did this?”
“I don’t know.”
Arthur stepped inside.
Norah handed him the note.
He read it.
Then read it again.
“The man beside him,” he murmured.
Norah retrieved the brass key.
“Does that mean anything?”
Arthur stared at it.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“That key belongs to a private deposit system my father used.”
“Where?”
“First National.”
Norah folded her arms.
“You’re telling me my father had access to your family’s private deposits?”
“I’m telling you we need to leave.”
Arthur looked toward Tommy.
“Take the car around.”
Tommy disappeared.
Norah caught Arthur’s sleeve.
“No.”
He looked down.
“You don’t get to order me around every time something becomes inconvenient.”
“Someone locked you inside a storage unit.”
“And somebody knew I’d come here.”
Arthur’s jaw tightened.
“You think I followed you?”
“I think somebody did.”
He looked toward the security camera.
Then his expression hardened.
“You were followed from the estate.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I told no one you left.”
They returned after dark.
Arthur brought Norah through a side entrance.
For the first time, he did not pretend she was merely staff.
He took her directly to his private office.
Vincent was waiting.
“So,” Vincent said. “There she is.”
Norah disliked the way he looked at her.
Arthur stepped subtly between them.
“She was sick.”
Vincent smiled.
“Of course.”
“Leave.”
Vincent’s smile disappeared.
“We have business.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Arthur—”
“Leave.”
Vincent obeyed.
But before exiting, his eyes met Norah’s.
She understood the message.
He knew.
Arthur locked the door.
“You think it’s him,” Norah said.
“I think my father trusted Vincent more than anyone.”
“That doesn’t answer me.”
“It answers more than you realize.”
Arthur poured water.
Not bourbon.
Norah noticed.
“You’re not drinking.”
“No.”
“Because of last night?”
Arthur looked at the glass.
“Because I remember what it cost me.”
She said nothing.
Arthur sat.
“My father died six years ago. Vincent became my adviser the next morning.”
“And?”
“And three years before my father died, money started disappearing.”
“Millions?”
“Eventually.”
“Your friend stole it?”
Arthur shook his head.
“He confessed to helping move it.”
“For Vincent?”
“He never said.”
Norah pulled out the recorder.
“I need batteries.”
Arthur found some.
They sat together.
Norah pressed play.
Daniel Reed’s voice returned.
“If you’re hearing this, I failed to keep you outside their world.”
Norah closed her eyes.
“I found records hidden in refrigeration shipments. Payments. Shell companies. Names. Someone was stealing from Salvatore Costello and framing Arthur’s people before Arthur had even taken control.”
Arthur leaned forward.
Daniel continued.
“I tried to tell Salvatore. Vincent Rizzo intercepted the evidence.”
Arthur went still.
Norah looked at him.
The recording crackled.
“Vincent told me if I spoke again, my daughter would pay for it.”
Norah’s eyes filled.
“He made me leave. He made me promise silence.”
Arthur stood so quickly his chair fell.
Norah grabbed his arm.
“Don’t.”
“He threatened you.”
“Eleven years ago.”
“He threatened you.”
“And if you run downstairs and confront him, he knows we have proof.”
Arthur’s chest rose and fell.
Norah tightened her grip.
“Sit down.”
He looked at her hand.
Then her face.
Slowly, Arthur sat.
Daniel’s recording continued.
“The original ledger is safe. The key opens box 417.”
Norah held up the brass key.
Arthur stared.
“But if Arthur is listening,” Daniel said, “there is something he needs to know.”
Static.
Then:
“Your father did not die naturally.”
Arthur stopped breathing.
The recorder clicked.
Daniel’s final words came softly.
“Vincent Rizzo killed Salvatore Costello.”
A noise sounded outside Arthur’s office.
The doorknob moved.
Arthur killed the lamp.
May you like
Someone inserted a key from the hallway.
And the lock began to turn.
