Chapter 5 - THE SAFE DEPOSIT BOX“Put the gun down, Julian.”
Vince’s men surrounded us.
I looked at Amara.
She was shaking.
That decided everything.
I lowered my weapon.
Grace whispered, “No.”
“I’m not risking her.”
Vince walked toward me.
“Key.”
I reached into my pocket.
Then smiled.
He frowned.
“What?”
“You always taught me to check exits before walking into a room.”
His face changed.
The warehouse windows exploded.
Smoke flooded the floor.
Marcus.
Vince cursed.
Gunfire erupted.
I moved toward Grace.
“Stay low!”
We ran behind a container.
Above us, Amara screamed.
I climbed the stairs two at a time.
A guard turned.
I drove my shoulder into him.
He hit the railing.
Amara ran toward me.
I grabbed her.
“Got you.”
She wrapped her arms around my neck.
“Mister Julian!”
“I’ve got you.”
Below us, Vince disappeared through a side door.
I wanted to chase him.
Every part of me wanted to.
But Amara was crying against my shoulder.
So I let him go.
For now.
Two hours later, we sat inside my armored SUV outside Commonwealth Bank.
Grace held Amara in the back seat.
Marcus looked at the key.
A small brass tag was attached.
B-417.
“Safe deposit box,” he said.
Grace nodded.
“My husband used to come here.”
The bank manager opened the building privately.
Power had advantages.
Some I was no longer proud of.
Box B-417 contained three things.
A flash drive.
A photograph.
And a sealed envelope with my name.
My hands went cold.
The photograph showed Vince meeting another man outside Northline Auto.
I recognized the second man.
Detective Samuel Crowe.
The lead investigator who had ruled Elena and Sophia’s deaths an accident.
Marcus whispered, “Son of a…”
I opened the letter.
Mr. Hale,
If you are reading this, I am probably dead.
My name is Aaron Bell.
I damaged your vehicle.
I will carry that shame until I die.
But there is something you must know.
The brakes did not fail.
Someone changed the plan after I left.
I damaged the brake pressure system enough to frighten you, not destroy it.
Your wife’s vehicle should have lost pressure gradually.
The crash that killed them happened because someone cut the steering control line afterward.
That was not me.
Vince Moretti paid me.
But the second sabotage was ordered by someone else.
Someone closer to you.
I looked at Marcus.
He looked back.
Grace covered her mouth.
There was one final sentence.
Check Elena’s life-insurance trust.
May you like
The person who benefited most from her death was not you.
It was your brother.
