Chapter 9: The Woman Behind the Entire Conspiracy
Clara Whitmore looked nothing like the elegant woman I had seen at the gala.
Her hair was pulled back tightly. Her coat was splattered with rain, and a small pistol rested in her right hand.
Behind her stood Dmitri.
He was holding Nina by the neck.
“Let her go!”” Victor shouted.
Dmitri shoved Nina toward the wall.
“Everyone stays where they are.””
Clara stepped into the apartment.
“It's amazing how quickly a family reunion can become unpleasant.””
My father moved in front of me.
“Clara, this ends tonight.””
She laughed.
“You've been saying that for five years.””
“You murdered Victor's father.””
Clara tilted her head.
“Your accusations are getting repetitive.””
Victor stepped forward.
“Did you kill him?””
She looked at him.
“Victor, don't do this.””
“Did you?””
Clara sighed.
“Your father was going to destroy everything. He had discovered the accounts, the payments, the names. He was going to hand all of it to federal investigators.””
“And you killed him?””
“I protected what we built.””
Victor's face twisted with disgust.
“We?””
Clara smiled.
“Did you really think your father built Romano Holdings alone? Your family had money. My family had connections.
Leon had the intelligence. Together, we created an empire.””
“You murdered innocent people.””
“People who got in the way.””
Victor's fists clenched.
“And you were going to marry me?””
Clara's expression softened.
“I did love you once.””
“Don't insult me.””
She shrugged.
“Fine. I loved what you represented.””
My mother stepped forward.
“You destroyed our family.””
Clara looked at her.
“Margaret, you should be grateful. You were supposed to die five years ago.””
My mother went pale.
I felt something inside me snap.
“You tried to kill my mother?””
Clara turned toward me.
“Your mother was a liability.””
I stepped forward.
“Then why are you still standing here?””
Clara raised her gun.
“Because unlike your father, I don't make emotional decisions.””
Dmitri moved toward Victor.
“On your knees.””
Victor refused.
Dmitri struck him across the face.
He fell against the coffee table.
“Victor!”” I screamed.
My father lifted his weapon.
Clara immediately pointed hers at my chest.
“Put it down, Daniel.””
My father froze.
“Don't hurt her.””
“Then cooperate.””
Clara gestured toward the music box.
“Where is the original ledger?””
My father said nothing.
“Daniel, I'm running out of patience.””
“You'll never get it.””
Clara smiled.
“Actually, I already have.””
She reached into her coat and produced a small brass key.
My mother's face drained of color.
“The key from the townhouse.””
Clara nodded.
“Thank you for keeping it safe for me.””
My mother shook her head.
“You switched it?””
“Of course. You really should stop trusting people so easily.””
Victor slowly lifted his head.
“Clara, if you have the key, why are you here?””
She looked at him.
“Because I need Lena.””
My stomach tightened.
“For what?””
Clara approached me.
“Your father made a mistake when he hid the ledger. He encrypted the financial records using a code only you could understand.””
I shook my head.
“I don't know anything about a code.””
She smiled.
“Of course you do. You just don't remember.””
My father stepped forward.
“Leave her alone.””
Clara raised her gun.
“Tell me the code, Daniel.””
“I don't know it.””
“Liar.””
She turned toward me.
“Your sixteenth birthday. The night your father gave you the music box. What did he tell you?””
I remembered his words.
Sometimes you just have to turn the key the right way.
Clara watched my expression.
“There it is.””
My father closed his eyes.
“Lena, don't.””
Clara grabbed my wrist.
“Tell me what the numbers mean.””
I looked at the key in her hand.
Then at the music box on the floor.
Suddenly, I remembered something.
The ballerina hadn't been broken.
The music had stopped because the mechanism was waiting for a particular sequence.
My father had shown me once.
Three turns clockwise.
Two counterclockwise.
One final turn.
I had laughed because the ballerina spun backward.
But there had been numbers engraved beneath the mechanism.
I looked at my father.
He nodded almost imperceptibly.
I understood.
The code wasn't a date.
It was a sequence.
And I wasn't going to give it to Clara.
“Fine,” I whispered.
“I'll tell you.””
Clara loosened her grip.
“Good girl.””
I took a breath.
“Three. Two. One.””
She frowned.
“What?””
“That's the sequence.””
Clara smiled and stepped toward the music box.
Dmitri released Nina and approached the table.
My father suddenly shouted.
“LENA, NOW!””
I slammed my elbow into Clara's ribs.
Her gun fired.
The bullet struck the ceiling.
Victor lunged at Dmitri, sending both men crashing into the wall.
Nina grabbed the fallen weapon and kicked it beneath the sofa.
My mother pulled me toward the kitchen.
But Clara recovered quickly.
She grabbed my hair and dragged me backward.
“You stupid little girl!””
She slapped me so hard that my vision blurred.
Then she pressed her gun against my cheek.
“Where is the ledger?””
I looked at her.
“You'll never find it.””
Clara smiled coldly.
“Then I'll kill your father first.””
She turned toward Daniel.
But before she could pull the trigger, a voice came from the hallway.
“That's enough, Clara.””
Everyone froze.
A woman in a dark federal jacket stood at the doorway.
Two armed agents were behind her.
Rebecca Shaw.
She raised her identification badge.
“Federal Bureau of Investigation. Drop your weapons.””
Clara slowly lowered her gun.
Then she began laughing.
“Rebecca. You really are your father's daughter.””
Rebecca didn't smile.
“Step away from Lena.””
Clara looked at her.
“Do you know why your father died?””
Rebecca's expression hardened.
“Put the weapon down.””
“Because he was investigating the wrong person.””
Rebecca raised her gun.
“NOW!””
Clara dropped hers.
Dmitri was handcuffed moments later.
Victor struggled to his feet, breathing heavily.
Rebecca approached him.
“Mr. Romano, you're coming with us.””
Victor frowned.
“For what?””
“Your company has been under federal investigation for eighteen months.””
My father stepped forward.
“Agent Shaw, Clara and Leon are responsible for everything.””
Rebecca looked at him.
“Daniel Hart, you're also under investigation.””
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“What?””
Rebecca opened a folder.
“Your father has been accused of falsifying financial records, transferring illegal funds, and helping conceal the original ledger.””
My father stared at her.
“Those charges are fabricated.””
“Perhaps. But we have evidence.””
Victor stepped forward.
“Rebecca, I can explain.””
She turned toward him.
“I'm sure you can. But there's something you should know.””
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Leon Mercer standing outside a private bank.
Beside him was a woman wearing a red scarf.
I recognized her immediately.
Clara did too.
Her smile disappeared.
Rebecca spoke quietly.
“Leon isn't trying to retrieve the ledger anymore.””
Victor frowned.
“Then what does he want?””
Rebecca looked at me.
“He wants to destroy the only person who knows the real code.””
I swallowed.
“Me?””
Rebecca nodded.
Then she turned the photograph over.
On the back was a handwritten message.
The girl must never learn who her real father is.
I stared at the words.
My mother began shaking.
Victor slowly turned toward Daniel.
And my father, the man I had spent five years mourning, lowered his head.
Because the handwriting belonged to him.
May you like
But the message had been signed by someone else.
*VICTOR ROMANO.*
