Chapter 13 - THE KEY TO ROOM 417
My father had told me the brass key opened a storage locker.
I'd never believed him.
It looked too old.
Too heavy.
And the number 417 meant nothing to me.
Until Agent Miller examined it.
"Where did Patrick Nolan work before the warehouse fire?"
"At Pier Seventeen," I answered.
She nodded.
"There's an old administrative building beside the pier. It has private document lockers."
Arthur looked at the key.
"Room 417."
A cold feeling spread through me.
My father had hidden something important enough to make dangerous men wait eight years for me to find it.
And Vincent had known.
He'd been watching.
Waiting.
Perhaps even arranging the night behind the dumpster.
The thought terrified me.
But I was finished being afraid of questions.
With investigators handling the search, the locker was opened that afternoon.
Inside was a sealed metal case.
A notebook.
And a photograph of my father holding a newborn baby.
The baby wore a pink hospital bracelet.
On the back, Dad had written:
Rose Romano. Safe for now.
I covered my mouth.
He'd held her.
He'd saved her.
But the case contained something much bigger.
Encrypted financial records.
Names of officials who accepted bribes.
Payments made through the illegal adoption network.
Evidence connecting Walter Carmichael, Evelyn Carmichael, and Vincent Russo to years of criminal activity.
There were also recordings.
One showed Vincent discussing Arthur's assassination.
Another contained evidence that several children had been placed with families using fraudulent documents.
Agent Miller examined the files.
"This is enough to support a much broader investigation."
Arthur looked at me.
"Your father was incredibly brave."
My eyes filled.
"He died trying to stop them."
"Yes."
I looked toward the photograph.
For eight years, I'd believed Dad died in a tragic accident.
Now I knew he had risked everything to save children who weren't his own.
And he'd entrusted the truth to me.
Agent Miller carefully documented the contents.
Then she discovered one final envelope.
It was addressed in my father's handwriting.
FOR MAEVE, WHEN SHE FINDS THE RIGHT MAN.
My heart skipped.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
My beautiful Maeve,
If you're reading this, then you found what I couldn't bring home.
I'm sorry for leaving you with questions.
There are two children who need someone brave enough to stand up to powerful men.
Their father doesn't know the truth.
But one day, if you meet Arthur Romano, tell him Luca never betrayed him.
I looked at Arthur.
His eyes filled with tears.
I continued reading.
And tell him something else.
The man who ordered Luca's death wasn't Walter Carmichael.
It was Vincent Russo.
Arthur went completely still.
Then the final sentence revealed the darkest secret of all.
May you like
Vincent did not kill Luca because Luca discovered the adoption network.
He killed Luca because Luca had discovered Vincent was Arthur's half-brother.
