Chapter 3 - Four Million Reasons to Lie
Amelia stared at Vincent.
"My father died twelve years ago."
"I know."
"No. You know what a file says."
Vincent held the receiver away from his ear.
The line had gone dead.
Amelia's father, Jonathan Barrett, had died when she was twenty-one.
A highway accident.
A funeral.
A closed coffin.
Her mother had spent years rebuilding her life afterward.
There was nothing uncertain about it.
Except suddenly Amelia remembered something she had never questioned.
She had never seen his body.
"Who called?"
"Voice was distorted."
"What exactly did they say?"
Vincent repeated it.
"Ask Amelia why her father is still alive."
Elena closed the hidden office door.
"This is manipulation."
Amelia wanted to agree.
Then she saw the trust name again.
BARRETT FAMILY TRUST.
"Search it," Vincent said.
Amelia sat at the dusty computer.
The database contained decades of records.
She entered Barrett.
One result appeared.
Jonathan Barrett.
Her hands stopped.
Vincent watched her.
"Open it."
She did.
Jonathan had been employed by Moretti Holdings.
Position:
Senior Financial Controller.
Amelia whispered, "He told us he worked in insurance."
Elena leaned closer.
"Dates?"
"Seventeen years."
His employment ended twelve years ago.
The day before his supposed death.
Amelia opened another document.
A photograph appeared.
Her father stood beside Salvatore Moretti.
Behind them were two teenage boys.
Vincent.
Dante.
Vincent stared.
"I remember him."
Amelia turned.
"What?"
"I didn't know his name."
"You knew my father?"
"I was nineteen. He worked with my father."
Amelia stood.
"And you hired me without recognizing my name?"
"Barrett isn't rare."
"But you recognized him."
"After seeing the photograph."
She wanted to accuse him of lying.
She couldn't.
His confusion looked as genuine as hers.
Elena opened another file.
"Jonathan was investigating the original accounts."
Amelia read over her shoulder.
Her father had flagged unexplained transfers.
Then, abruptly, his reports stopped.
One day later, he supposedly died.
Six years afterward, Salvatore died.
The transfers continued.
"What happened to Salvatore?" Amelia asked.
Vincent's voice became distant.
"Heart attack."
"Dante was with him?"
"Yes."
Elena looked at Vincent.
"Was anyone else?"
Vincent thought.
"His attorney."
"Name?"
"Richard Vale."
Elena's face changed.
Amelia noticed.
"You know him."
"Richard established Verdant Consulting."
Silence.
The shape of the conspiracy shifted.
Dante was connected.
But perhaps Dante wasn't its beginning.
Vincent walked to his father's desk.
He opened drawers.
The third was locked.
Amelia noticed scratches around the keyhole.
"Someone has opened that recently."
Vincent forced the old lock with a letter opener.
Inside was a ledger.
Not digital.
Paper.
Salvatore's handwriting covered the pages.
Vincent recognized it immediately.
Dates.
Amounts.
Initials.
Then one repeated notation:
J.B.
Amelia touched the letters.
"My father."
Near the final page was a sentence.
If anything happens to Jonathan, protect the daughter.
Amelia stopped breathing.
Below it was another sentence.
She already sees numbers the way he does.
Her eyes filled.
"How old was I when this was written?"
Vincent checked the date.
"Twenty."
A year before Jonathan died.
Amelia turned the page.
It had been torn out.
Only a fragment remained.
Three words were visible.
Dante knows that—
Nothing else.
Amelia looked at Vincent.
"Your father knew Dante was involved."
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"We don't know what the rest said."
A noise came from behind the wall.
Vincent raised a hand.
Everyone fell silent.
A hidden mechanism clicked.
Another panel opened.
Dante stepped into the office.
Amelia backed away.
Vincent moved in front of her.
Dante looked exhausted.
His shirt collar was open.
There was dust across his jacket.
"You're difficult to find," Vincent said.
Dante looked at Amelia.
"So are you."
Vincent's voice hardened.
"Choose your next words carefully."
Dante glanced at the ledger.
Then the computer.
"You found Father's office."
"You've been stealing from me."
Dante laughed once.
"No."
"Your authorization is on four million dollars."
"I put it there."
Amelia stared at him.
"So you admit it."
"Yes."
Vincent stepped closer.
"Why?"
Dante looked at his brother.
"Because I needed Amelia to find it."
Amelia felt a chill.
Elena had said the same thing.
She turned toward Elena.
Dante followed her gaze.
"You too?"
Elena said, "I created the Verdant discrepancy."
Dante shook his head.
"I created it first."
Nobody spoke.
Dante approached the desk slowly.
"The money isn't stolen."
Amelia said, "It went to Delano-controlled companies."
"Temporarily."
"Why?"
"To make Richard Vale believe his system still worked."
Vincent stared at him.
"You expect me to believe you've secretly protected me by moving millions through my competitor?"
"No."
Dante's expression changed.
"I expect you to believe Dad."
He pointed at the ledger.
"Read the inside cover."
Vincent opened it.
There was handwriting beneath the leather flap.
He read silently.
Then passed it to Amelia.
If Richard learns Jonathan survived, everything begins again.
Amelia's knees weakened.
"Survived."
Dante nodded.
"Your father didn't die in that accident."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I wish I was."
"Why did you say your people would come upstairs when the lights went out?"
"Because Richard was supposed to think I was turning on Vincent."
Vincent's jaw tightened.
"You could have told me."
"No, I couldn't."
"Why?"
Dante looked at Elena.
"Because somebody close to you has been feeding Richard information."
Elena stiffened.
"You're accusing me?"
"I'm accusing everyone."
Amelia looked between them.
"Then who shut off the power?"
Dante's face lost color.
"Not me."
Vincent stepped closer.
"You said when the lights go out."
"I arranged a controlled blackout for twelve-oh-five."
Amelia looked at the clock.
"The lights went out at midnight."
"Exactly."
Silence.
Someone else had moved first.
Dante walked toward the computer.
"Richard knows we found the ledger."
"How?"
"Because this machine woke up tonight."
Amelia looked at the glowing monitor.
Dante pointed to the payment request.
"That transfer isn't a payment."
"What is it?"
"A signal."
"To whom?"
Dante stared at Amelia.
"Your father."
The computer beeped.
A new window appeared.
INCOMING SECURE MESSAGE.
Everyone froze.
One line typed itself across the screen.
AMELIA, IF YOU ARE READING THIS, DO NOT TRUST THE MAN STANDING BESIDE VINCENT.
Amelia slowly looked around.
Dante.
Elena.
May you like
Then toward the doorway.
Marco had just stepped inside.
