Chapter 8 - THE MECHANIC'S FINAL WORDS
My hands shook violently as I held the small slip of paper.
The edges were grease-stained, exactly like every receipt and note my father had ever brought home from the auto shop.
Answer One: My father had left a final message before he was murdered.
“Where did you find this?” I choked out, looking at Isabella through blurred vision.
“I found it tucked inside the lining of my car’s glove compartment on the night I escaped,” Isabella explained softly. “Your father slipped it in there while he was preparing the decoy vehicle. I kept it safe all these years, hoping one day I could give it to his family.”
I looked down at the note.
Clara, my brave girl. If you are reading this, I am gone. Do not weep for me. I did a terrible thing by working for the Romanos, but tonight, I did a good thing by saving a mother and her child. Use the proof in the ledger to protect our family. I love you.
A tear dropped onto the paper, smudging the blue ink.
He hadn’t died a corrupt man. He had died a hero trying to right his wrongs.
Open Two: He mentioned the ledger again. But if the ledger wasn't in the dining room, and Vanessa didn't have it... where was it?
“The ledger,” I said, looking up at Dominic. “My father’s note mentions a ledger. It has the proof needed to permanently destroy the Romano family.”
Dominic’s expression sharpened. “Leo said he stole the collateral tonight. The watch.”
“But the watch is just a symbol,” I argued, my mind racing. “A ledger is paper trail. Bank accounts. Offshore transfers. If we find that, the Romanos go to federal prison. They can never threaten you or your family again.”
“Where would it be?” Dominic asked.
The reversal struck me with the force of a freight train.
I remembered something.
A tiny detail from six years ago.
When my father was frantic, the night before he died, he hadn’t hidden anything in the house. He had given something to Leo.
A heavy winter coat.
“Leo,” I gasped. “My brother has it.”
I didn’t wait for Dominic. I sprinted toward the staff quarters at the rear of the estate.
Dominic and two of his guards matched my pace, their heavy boots thudding against the pavement.
We burst through the doors of the staff building and ran down the narrow hallway to the medical room.
The estate’s private doctor was bandaging Leo’s chest.
Leo looked up, startled by our sudden entrance.
“Leo,” I demanded, rushing to his side. “The night dad died, he gave you his old leather coat. The brown one with the torn lining.”
Leo blinked, wincing as he sat up. “Yeah. I wore it when I left town. I’ve had it in the trunk of my car for six years.”
“Where is your car?” Dominic demanded.
“Parked three blocks away, behind the old diner on 5th Street,” Leo answered, looking confused. “Why?”
“Because dad’s ledger is sewn into the lining,” I said.
A tense silence fell over the room.
“I’ll send my best men to retrieve it right now,” Dominic said, pulling out his cell phone.
But before he could dial, the heavy iron door of the staff building slammed shut behind us.
A slow, mocking clapping sound echoed through the hallway.
We all turned around.
Standing in the doorway, bleeding from his shoulder but holding a heavy assault rifle, was Marcus.
He hadn’t run away.
“Very smart, Clara,” Marcus grunted, leaning heavily against the doorframe. Blood stained the left side of his shirt, but his eyes were filled with deadly resolve. “The ledger. The holy grail. The Romanos offered me two million dollars to find it. And you just gave me the location.”
Marcus raised the rifle, aiming it directly at Dominic’s chest.
“Toss your weapons on the floor,” Marcus ordered. “All of you.”
Dominic slowly reached for his pistol, pulling it from his waistband with two fingers, and dropped it onto the linoleum floor. His guards did the same.
I didn’t have my gun. I had left it in the greenhouse.
We were completely unarmed.
“It’s over, Marcus,” Dominic said calmly. “The police are already at the front gates. The Romanos are finished. You have nowhere to run.”
“I have two million dollars waiting for me at a private airstrip,” Marcus spat back. “All I need is the coat.”
Marcus shifted his aim toward Leo.
“Give me your car keys, boy,” Marcus barked.
Leo’s hands shook as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a single silver car key. He tossed it onto the floor.
Marcus stepped forward to pick it up.
He took his eyes off us for exactly one second.
It was a fatal mistake.
Because Marcus forgot who he was dealing with.
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I didn't need a gun to fight in this house.
I reached behind me, grabbed the heavy, industrial-sized fire extinguisher mounted on the wall, ripped the pin out, and squeezed the handle directly into Marcus’s face.
