Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER'S PERFECT TRAP
Elliot read the message twice.
Then he placed the phone facedown.
“Enzo wants me.”
Norah stared at him.
“Why?”
“Because I found his financial records.”
“He could have destroyed them.”
“He doesn't know where I've stored the copies.”
Norah stepped closer.
“Then we're not giving him what he wants.”
Elliot opened a drawer and removed a small black drive.
“There are three copies. One with my attorney, one encrypted off-site, and one here.”
He placed the drive on the desk.
“Enzo believes I'm incapable of understanding his business.”
“Which means he's underestimated you.”
“Yes.”
For the first time that night, Elliot smiled slightly.
“Repeatedly.”
Norah didn't smile back.
“My mother could be hurt.”
Elliot's expression softened.
“I know.”
The doorbell rang.
Both of them froze.
Margaret checked the security camera.
A tall man stood outside wearing a dark suit.
He held no visible weapon.
“It's Dominic,” Margaret said.
Elliot's shoulders tightened immediately.
His father.
The man who had ignored him at dinner.
The man whose name appeared on Thomas Whitmore's medical records.
Norah stepped toward the door.
“Don't open it.”
But Dominic's voice came through the intercom.
“Elliot, I know you're inside. I came alone.”
Elliot glanced at the camera.
“That is accurate. I can see the entire corridor.”
Norah almost laughed despite her fear.
Margaret opened the door after checking with the building's security desk.
Dominic entered slowly.
For once, the powerful mafia patriarch looked uncertain.
His eyes moved from Norah to the files covering Elliot's desk.
“You've been investigating Enzo.”
Elliot said nothing.
Dominic looked at Norah.
“Your father was never supposed to disappear.”
Norah stepped forward.
“Then why did he?”
Dominic lowered his head.
“Because I made the worst decision of my life.”
Elliot stared at him.
Dominic continued.
“Thomas discovered Enzo's illegal operations. He came to me with evidence.”
“And you protected your son,” Norah said bitterly.
Dominic nodded.
“I believed I could stop Enzo myself.”
“Instead, my father lost five years of his life!”
“Yes.”
For once, Dominic didn't argue.
He looked at Elliot.
“There is something else you deserve to know.”
Elliot's fingers tightened around the back of his chair.
“What?”
Dominic swallowed.
“Five years ago, Enzo told me you caused the security breach that exposed Thomas.”
Elliot went completely still.
Then Dominic said:
May you like
“I believed him.”
And with those two words, Elliot finally understood why his father had treated him like a disgrace for half a decade.
