Chapter 4 - The Secret Inside the Castellano Estate
Vincent refused to stay in bed when Marcus showed him the message.
The monitors protested immediately.
Dr. Morales pushed him back.
“You've been out of surgery for six hours.”
“They have Camille.”
“And tearing your stitches won't help her.”
Vincent glared.
Lena didn't blink.
Marcus almost admired her.
Very few people told Vincent Castellano no.
Fewer survived doing it repeatedly.
“Listen to her,” Marcus said.
Vincent looked at him.
“Don't enjoy this.”
“I'm enjoying it tremendously.”
For half a second, Vincent almost smiled.
Then his expression hardened.
“They think Adeline saw something.”
Marcus nodded.
“So we need to know what.”
Adeline arrived at the hospital shortly after nine.
Clara carried her through the private entrance.
The toddler was sleepy and confused.
When she saw Vincent through the glass, she immediately pointed.
“Uncle Vin fixed.”
“Working on it,” Marcus said.
Adeline was allowed inside briefly.
She approached the bed with Albert tucked beneath one arm.
Vincent looked at her.
“You saved me.”
Adeline frowned.
“Doctor saved.”
“The doctor had help.”
She considered that.
“Okay.”
Vincent smiled.
“Okay.”
Marcus sat nearby.
“Addie, can I ask you something?”
She looked at him.
“Do you remember being near Uncle Vincent's office today?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see anybody?”
“Uncle Vin.”
“Before Uncle Vin.”
She thought.
“Mama.”
“Anybody with Mama?”
“Aunt Fia.”
“Anybody else?”
Adeline's brow wrinkled.
“Man.”
Marcus leaned forward.
“What man?”
“Hat man.”
Vincent looked at Marcus.
“What kind of hat?”
Adeline touched the top of her head.
“Black.”
“Did you know him?”
“No.”
“What was he doing?”
Adeline pointed.
“Door.”
“Which door?”
“Uncle Vin door.”
Marcus's pulse quickened.
“Did the man go inside?”
She nodded.
“Did he come out?”
“Yes.”
“What happened then?”
Adeline's expression changed.
“He dropped shiny.”
“What shiny thing?”
She looked around.
Marcus removed his security badge.
“Like this?”
Adeline nodded.
“Badge?”
“Yes.”
“Did he pick it up?”
“No.”
“Where is it?”
Adeline pointed at Albert.
Everyone stared at the stuffed alligator.
Clara frowned.
“What?”
Adeline turned the toy over.
A small zipper ran along its belly.
Camille sometimes stored tissues or crackers inside.
Adeline opened it.
Then reached inside.
She pulled out a black plastic access card.
Marcus took it.
The name printed across the front made him stop breathing.
DANIEL PRICE.
Anthony stared.
“That isn't possible.”
Vincent's expression turned to stone.
Daniel Price had been Vincent's security chief before Marcus.
He had supposedly died eighteen months earlier in a boating accident.
No body had ever been recovered.
But wreckage from his boat had washed ashore.
His blood had been found inside.
The family had held a memorial.
Marcus examined the card.
“This was deactivated after his death.”
“Run it,” Vincent said.
Marcus called security.
Five minutes later, the result came back.
The card had been used seven times during the previous month.
Including once at 2:09 that afternoon.
Vincent looked at Marcus.
“Daniel's alive.”
“Or somebody has his badge.”
Adeline interrupted.
“Hat man has funny finger.”
Marcus turned.
“What?”
She held up her right hand and bent her index finger.
“Funny.”
Vincent's face changed.
Daniel Price had broken his right index finger years earlier protecting Vincent during an ambush.
It had healed crooked.
Marcus whispered, “Jesus.”
Adeline had seen him.
Daniel Price was alive.
And he had been inside Vincent's office minutes before the attack.
Marcus immediately sent the information to every security team.
But Vincent was thinking about something else.
“Why come back now?”
Marcus knew.
“The audit.”
“Exactly.”
Daniel had managed security during the years the missing money disappeared.
If Raymond was involved, Daniel might have helped.
Or Daniel might have been the person stealing from Raymond.
Either way, Camille had seen him.
That was why she had been taken.
At 11:10 p.m., Marcus prepared to leave for Cypress Landing.
Vincent said, “I'm coming.”
“No.”
“Marcus.”
“You can't stand.”
“I can.”
“You nearly died eight hours ago.”
“They took Camille because of me.”
“They took Camille because they're criminals.”
Vincent's eyes hardened.
“That's supposed to make me feel better?”
“No. It's supposed to keep you alive.”
Anthony entered.
“I'll go.”
Both men looked at him.
“What?” Anthony said. “They expect somebody from the family.”
“They specifically said Marcus.”
“Then they'll be watching Marcus.”
Vincent stared at his brother.
Anthony had spent years being treated as the harmless Castellano.
The younger brother.
The charming one.
The man who attended charity dinners while Vincent handled the dangerous parts of the family empire.
But Anthony wasn't stupid.
“If Marcus goes alone,” Anthony continued, “they control the meeting. If security swarms the location, they may hurt Camille. So let Marcus go exactly as ordered.”
“And you?” Vincent asked.
“I'll already be there.”
Cypress Landing sat seventeen miles south of the estate.
Once it had been a marina.
Now it was mostly abandoned warehouses and rotting docks.
At 11:53, Marcus arrived carrying a leather case.
Inside was a fake ledger.
A voice came through his phone.
“Warehouse Three.”
Marcus walked.
Inside, one overhead bulb illuminated Camille.
She sat in a chair.
Peter Vance stood behind her.
Marcus held up the case.
“Let her go.”
Peter laughed nervously.
“You think I'm in charge?”
“No.”
“Smart.”
“Where's Daniel?”
Peter's face changed.
That was enough.
Marcus continued.
“He's alive.”
Peter looked toward the shadows.
A man stepped forward.
Black jacket.
Dark cap.
Right index finger crooked.
Daniel Price.
“Hello, Marcus.”
Marcus stared at the man whose funeral he had attended.
“You look good for a corpse.”
Daniel smiled.
“You took my job.”
“You abandoned it.”
“I upgraded.”
“Where's Raymond?”
Daniel's smile faded.
“Raymond was never smart enough to understand what we built.”
“We?”
Another figure moved in the darkness.
Marcus turned.
His stomach dropped.
Sofia had told the truth.
Raymond wasn't the mastermind.
Daniel wasn't either.
The person who stepped into the light was someone Marcus had trusted for twelve years.
Someone who had been inside the hospital that afternoon.
Someone who knew Vincent's schedule, his finances, and every weakness in the Castellano security network.
Dr. Lena Morales.
Marcus stared at her.
She smiled calmly.
“You really should have left the toddler out of this.”
And suddenly Marcus understood why Vincent had survived.
Perhaps Lena had never intended him to die immediately.
Perhaps the entire attack had been designed to make everyone look in the wrong direction.
But before Marcus could ask why, Lena raised her phone.
On its screen was a live camera feed.
Adeline was sleeping in a hospital room.
May you like
And someone was standing outside her door.
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