Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS HAD KNOWN EVERYTHING
Catherine Voss had offered me ten thousand dollars to kiss Ravi Greedy.
At the time, I thought she was a spoiled rich woman looking for entertainment.
Now I knew she had helped Gabriel hide evidence connected to my parents' deaths.
My hands shook as I read the investigator's report.
Catherine's father had been Gabriel's longtime business partner.
After her father's death, Catherine inherited several companies used to move money through fraudulent transactions.
She had access to the accounts that received my family's missing inheritance.
And according to Peter Shaw's testimony, she helped arrange payments connected to the sabotage of my parents' vehicle.
I felt sick.
"She knew who I was."
Ravi sat opposite me.
"Yes."
"She knew my parents were dead."
He nodded.
"And she knew Sadi and I were struggling."
His expression darkened.
"She used that."
For several seconds, I said nothing.
Then I remembered Catherine's smile at the charity ball.
Ten thousand dollars. One kiss. That's all.
She had watched me hesitate.
She'd seen the desperation in my eyes.
And she'd enjoyed it.
"I want to confront her," I whispered.
Ravi shook his head gently.
"That's what the investigators are for."
I looked up.
"You're telling me not to fight?"
"I'm telling you that you deserve justice without putting yourself in danger."
Something in his voice made me pause.
This was the man everyone called New York's most feared mafia boss.
And he was asking me to trust the law instead of revenge.
"Why?" I asked.
He looked at me.
"Because I've spent too much of my life believing fear solved everything."
"And now?"
"Now I think people like Gabriel depend on everyone being too frightened to tell the truth."
I studied him.
Then slowly nodded.
That afternoon, authorities arrested Catherine after investigators connected her to the financial conspiracy and witness intimidation.
Gabriel had already been detained while attempting to transfer funds overseas.
The accounts associated with the Harper trust were frozen where legally authorized.
And for the first time in two years, the people responsible for our suffering couldn't simply buy their way out of questioning.
But one problem remained.
The original trust documents were incomplete.
My father's signature appeared on several amendments.
Some were legitimate.
Others appeared forged.
Rebecca Sloan, Ravi's attorney, explained the situation.
"We can establish that money was diverted. But we need the original trust agreement to prove exactly what Diane and Sadi were entitled to receive."
I stared at her.
"Where is it?"
She looked toward Ravi.
"Your father maintained a private archive."
Ravi nodded.
"In our old family estate."
"Can we search it?"
He hesitated.
"The estate was closed after my father's death."
I looked at him.
"Then open it."
For a moment, he stared at me.
Then he smiled faintly.
"You really don't care who I am, do you?"
I folded my arms.
"Should I?"
He laughed softly.
"No."
The following morning, Ravi arranged for his attorney and investigators to examine the family archive.
Inside an old filing cabinet, they found a sealed envelope.
It was addressed to Michael Harper.
But the handwriting belonged to Ravi's father.
Inside was the original trust agreement.
And attached to it was a letter containing a confession nobody expected.
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Ravi's father had known Gabriel kidnapped Kiran.
And he had paid Michael Harper to help recover his son.
