Chapter 6 - THE BODYGUARD WHO WATCHED EVERY BITE
Leo had been Gabriel's most trusted man for sixteen years.
He managed security.
Controlled access to the penthouse.
Selected drivers.
Supervised kitchen staff.
And stood beside Gabriel whenever food was served.
If anyone had an opportunity to manipulate his meals, Leo did.
Gabriel stared at the financial statement.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he said, “I want independent investigators to review it.”
I looked at him.
“You aren't going to confront Leo?”
“Not until we know what the payment means.”
For the first time, I saw how much effort it took him to resist his old instincts.
The Gabriel Hayes people feared would have assumed betrayal and acted immediately.
The man sitting beside me was learning to wait for evidence.
Rebecca arranged for the documents to be preserved.
Financial investigators examined the transactions.
Then another discovery complicated everything.
The account connected to Leo had been accessed using credentials issued to his brother.
Daniel Torres.
A private security contractor who occasionally worked for Saint Agnes.
Leo denied authorizing the payment.
He agreed to provide records.
And when investigators questioned him, he offered information that surprised everyone.
“I knew someone was trying to poison Gabriel,” he said.
Gabriel stared.
“You knew?”
Leo lowered his head.
“I suspected.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know whom to trust.”
The words landed heavily.
Gabriel looked away.
For years, he'd built an organization where fear was treated as loyalty.
Now his oldest friend had been afraid to tell him the truth.
Leo continued.
“Paulie found evidence of missing medical funds.”
I swallowed.
“Did he show you?”
Leo nodded.
“He told me someone inside the organization was involved.”
“Who?”
Leo hesitated.
“He didn't know yet.”
Gabriel stared.
“Then why did he die?”
Leo's expression broke.
“He trusted a message telling him the money had been recovered.”
The investigator leaned forward.
“What message?”
“An invitation to dinner with one of the foundation's financial advisers.”
The same dinner where Paulie collapsed.
I felt cold.
Then Leo revealed something else.
“Paulie didn't die at the table.”
Gabriel frowned.
“What?”
“He collapsed. The ambulance came. The official report said he died on the way to the hospital.”
I stared.
“But?”
Leo swallowed.
“I saw him move after the paramedics said he had no pulse.”
Gabriel went completely still.
For two weeks, he'd believed Paulie was dead.
Now Leo was suggesting the official account might be wrong.
The investigators reviewed the medical records.
Several inconsistencies appeared.
The death certificate had been amended.
The ambulance report contained missing entries.
And the body had been transferred to a private facility before an independent examination.
Then Rebecca received a call.
She looked stunned.
“Gabriel.”
He stood.
“What?”
“We located a man admitted under another name at a rehabilitation center outside Hartford.”
My heart hammered.
Rebecca continued.
“His physical description matches Paulie.”
Gabriel stopped breathing.
May you like
Then she whispered the words none of us expected to hear.
“Paulie Greco may still be alive.”
