Chapter 12 - Rafael's Last Bargain
Sofia wanted to go home immediately.
Ethan refused.
Mateo agreed with him.
"If you walk in there, Salazar owns the room," Mateo said.
"That's my father."
"The same father who traded us twice."
Sofia looked at him. "And he's still our father."
That silenced Mateo.
They made seven encrypted copies of the ledger, the Wynn recording, Elena's original contract, and the insurance documents.
One went to a federal inspector general office. One to a national newspaper attorney. One to an outside prosecutor Ethan trusted. The rest were scheduled to send automatically if Sofia missed a check-in.
Then she called Salazar.
"I have the original contract and the real ledger."
"Come alone."
"No."
"Then your father dies."
"If you kill him, the files release. If you touch Mateo or Ethan, the files release. If my phone stops moving for more than fifteen minutes, the files release."
Silence.
Then Salazar laughed softly.
"You sound like your mother."
Sofia froze.
"You knew her."
"Better than Rafael ever understood."
The line went dead.
Rafael was being held at the Reyes family restaurant, closed for months.
Sofia entered through the front door with Ethan at her left and Mateo hidden across the street.
Salazar sat at a table with Rafael bound to a chair.
"Where's the ledger?"
"Safe."
"The contract?"
"Also safe."
Salazar smiled. "Then why are you here?"
"To ask what you meant about my mother."
Rafael shouted, "Don't listen to him!"
Salazar looked delighted.
"Oh, Rafael. She deserves one honest parent."
May you like
He turned to Sofia.
"Your mother wasn't a witness to the first deal. She was the person who tried to expose it.
