Chapter 5 - THE SECRET SAMUEL BURIED
Rosa confronted Adrian before dawn.
"You know."
Adrian stood by the fireplace.
"I know what?"
"The photograph."
He didn't answer.
"Tell me about my father."
Adrian looked at her.
"Samuel saved my life."
"How?"
"Your father discovered someone inside my father's organization was planning a coup."
"Matthew?"
"Not then."
Rosa folded her arms.
"Who?"
"Your mother."
The room went silent.
Rosa stared.
"My mother died when I was six."
"Yes."
"She wasn't involved in crime."
Adrian said nothing.
Rosa's voice shook.
"You knew her."
"Yes."
"How?"
"She worked for my father."
Rosa laughed bitterly.
"My mother was a bookkeeper."
"Among other things."
"Why didn't my father tell me?"
"Because he wanted you to have a normal life."
She looked toward the window.
"Was she killed?"
Adrian hesitated.
"Yes."
"By whom?"
"We never proved it."
Rosa closed her eyes.
"Matthew?"
"We don't know."
A long silence followed.
Then Adrian approached.
"Your father believed your mother hid something before she died."
"What?"
"The ledger."
Rosa stared at him.
"The black ledger?"
"Not the one you found."
Adrian took out another photograph.
It showed Samuel, Rosa's mother, Adrian's father, and a fourth person.
A young woman.
Rosa stared.
"Who is she?"
Adrian's voice dropped.
"Gianna."
Rosa looked at him.
"Your sister?"
"Yes."
"Why would she be there?"
"Because twenty-three years ago, they were all working together."
Rosa felt the room tilt.
"Working on what?"
Adrian answered.
"Taking down Matthew's father."
Rosa's breath caught.
"Matthew inherited this?"
"Yes."
"And my father knew?"
"He knew everything."
Rosa turned away.
Suddenly her father's final words made sense.
Trust him when you have no one else left to trust.
Adrian stepped closer.
"Rosa."
She looked at him.
"Why me?"
He didn't answer.
"Why did my father choose me?"
Adrian's silence became the answer.
"Because you weren't random."
He finally spoke.
"Your father believed Matthew would eventually come for you."
"Why?"
"Because you are the last living person connected to the original evidence."
Rosa swallowed.
"What evidence?"
Adrian looked toward the ledger.
"The truth about who killed my father."
Before she could respond, every light in the penthouse went out.
A second later, the windows exploded.
Adrian pulled Rosa to the floor.
Gunfire ripped through the room.
Violet screamed.
Adrian covered Rosa with his body.
Then came a voice through the darkness.
"Valenti!"
Matthew.
"Give me the girl!"
Rosa's blood ran cold.
Adrian whispered into her ear.
"Don't move."
But Rosa already understood.
May you like
Matthew wasn't asking for Violet.
He was asking for her.
