Chapter 11 - Marco's Father
Marco stared at the photograph for a long time.
"My father worked security for Carlo."
Adrian nodded.
"He died three months after my father."
Officially, Vincent Bell had died in a boating accident.
The recorder explained why Carlo had trusted him.
Carlo's voice filled the room.
"If Adrian hears this, then I failed to fix the family before it reached him."
He described Meridian's predecessor network.
Then he named the person helping Salvatore keep the system alive.
Senator David Ward.
Vanessa Ward's father.
Adrian closed his eyes.
"Of course."
The gala was not merely a marriage market.
It was a loyalty test.
If Adrian chose Vanessa, the Moretti-Ward alliance would seal the political side of the network.
If he chose Celeste, Salvatore gained shipping protection.
Mara brought prosecutorial legitimacy.
Bianca brought casino cash flow.
Evelyn Sterling brought investment capital.
Then Carlo said something unexpected.
"The daughters may know nothing. Do not punish children for the contracts their fathers sign."
I looked at Bianca.
She gave a small shrug.
"Your father had more sense than ours."
The recording ended with Carlo naming Vincent Bell as the man holding duplicate evidence.
Marco whispered, "My father died because of this."
Adrian stood.
"We don't know that."
Marco looked furious.
"You think two accidents are coincidence?"
"I think grief isn't evidence."
The sentence stopped him.
Then the door opened.
Vanessa Ward walked in.
Three security men moved.
Vanessa looked at Adrian.
"My father knows you found the recording."
"How?"
"Because Salvatore called him."
"What does he want?"
Vanessa turned to me.
"He wants Adrian to announce our engagement tomorrow."
I laughed because the alternative was throwing something.
Vanessa did not.
"And if he refuses, my father releases a file proving Eleanor Hart stole from St. Vincent twenty years ago."
May you like
Mom went white.
The old frame-up was still alive.
