Chapter 2 - THE DEAD BROTHER
Dante did not let Khloe leave.
He did not lock the door.
That distinction mattered to him.
Not to her.
“You said I could go.”
“You can.”
“Then move Paulie.”
Paulie stood between her and the curtain.
Dante looked at him.
“Move.”
Paulie moved.
Khloe stared.
She could walk out.
Dante was making that obvious.
Then he said:
“If you leave with no idea who put that phone on you, you will be easier to find than you were tonight.”
Khloe hated that he was right.
So she stayed.
Not because he ordered it.
Because fear had become exhausting.
“What happened to your brother?”
Dante’s face closed.
“Six years ago, my brother Marco handled port logistics.”
“Legal?”
Dante gave her a look.
“Mostly.”
“Comforting.”
“He found discrepancies.”
“In what?”
“Containers arriving under my company seal but never appearing in inventory.”
“Smuggling?”
“Possibly.”
“You don’t know?”
“I know now.”
Dante tapped the burner.
“That number belonged to one shipment Marco was tracing.”
Khloe sat slowly.
“What happened?”
“He died before he could tell me.”
“How?”
“Car accident.”
The way Dante said accident told her he did not believe the word.
Paulie remained silent near the curtain.
Dante continued.
“Two nights later, a container vanished.”
“The one in the picture.”
“Yes.”
“And Jared had the phone?”
“Apparently.”
Khloe shook her head.
“Jared is not some criminal mastermind.”
“That I believe.”
“He sells commercial insurance.”
“Did he always?”
“For three years.”
“Before?”
“Security sales. Warehouse systems. Something like that.”
Dante and Paulie exchanged a look.
Khloe saw it.
“What?”
Paulie asked:
“Which company?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Try.”
She closed her eyes.
Jared loved exaggerating job titles.
Regional asset security.
Integrated logistics protection.
Then the company name surfaced.
“Northwest Meridian.”
Paulie swore.
Dante went very still.
“What?”
Khloe’s heart started racing again.
“Tell me.”
Dante answered.
“Northwest Meridian maintained access-control systems at Pier Nine.”
“And?”
“My brother worked Pier Nine.”
Silence.
Khloe felt the room shrink.
“Jared worked there?”
“Maybe.”
“He never said.”
“People often leave out the parts of their lives that make murder investigations awkward.”
She stared at him.
“You think Jared killed your brother?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“I think Jared is scared of whoever did.”
That felt more plausible.
Jared had always been brave only when the other person was weaker.
Then Paulie placed the burner on the table.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Message log.”
Dante checked.
Multiple deleted messages.
One remained cached.
JARED:
SHE DOESN’T KNOW SHE HAS IT.
Unknown number:
GOOD. KEEP IT THAT WAY UNTIL VARGA TAKES THE BAIT.
Khloe stopped breathing.
Dante read it twice.
Then looked at her.
“They knew you would come here.”
“No.”
“I didn’t plan to.”
“Neither did I say you did.”
“Then how?”
Dante leaned back.
“Because someone knew where your coworker dinner was.”
Khloe thought.
The farewell dinner had been arranged last week.
Office email.
Group calendar.
Nothing secret.
Then she remembered.
Jared had called her office three days earlier claiming he needed to return “important documents.”
Her receptionist had refused to transfer him.
But had she mentioned the farewell dinner?
Maybe.
Khloe whispered:
“He found out from work.”
Dante nodded.
“Then followed you.”
“And put the phone in my coat.”
“Yes.”
“To make me bring it to you.”
“Yes.”
“Why not just give it to you?”
“Because whoever sent it doesn’t trust the person carrying it.”
That chilled her.
Then another message arrived.
Unknown number.
DID HE OPEN IT?
Dante did not answer.
A second message:
IF HE DID, SHE’S USELESS NOW.
Khloe stared at the screen.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Dante’s face hardened.
“It means you were never supposed to walk away from this table.”
