Chapter 5 - DECLAN TOLD ME WHAT KIND OF MAN HE REALLY WAS
Norah expected Declan to lie about his empire.
He didn’t.
That almost made the truth worse.
They returned to a secure Gallagher property near Lake Michigan.
Not his home.
Norah refused that.
A corporate guest apartment with independent security.
She sat opposite him while a doctor stitched the cut over his eyebrow.
When the doctor left, Norah asked:
“What did you mean by internal wars?”
Declan looked tired.
“Exactly what you think.”
“People died?”
“Yes.”
“Because of you?”
A pause.
“Some because of decisions I made.”
Not an answer designed to attract a woman.
Good.
Norah waited.
Declan continued.
He inherited Gallagher Enterprises at thirty-two after his father’s death and years of internal fighting.
The public company moved freight.
Warehouses.
Distribution.
Waste contracts.
The private organization underneath it collected illegal debts, controlled gambling, paid officials, and used threats to protect territory.
“Have you killed people?”
Norah asked.
Declan looked directly at her.
“Yes.”
Her stomach tightened.
He did not give details.
She did not ask.
“This isn’t the part where you explain they were all bad men.”
“No.”
“Good.”
He leaned forward, forearms on his knees.
“I spent years believing control was the same thing as safety.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“What?”
“My mother always said dangerous men describe cages as protection.”
That landed.
Declan looked away.
Then told her why tonight began with blood.
Three hours before entering her office, he met Martin Keane privately after discovering irregular freight payments.
Keane denied everything.
On the drive back, Declan’s car was struck near Lower Wacker.
Men attacked.
Declan escaped.
His driver did not.
The blood on his shirt had not all been his.
His driver, Anthony Russo, was now in surgery.
“I came back to the tower because I thought internal records could tell me who ordered it.”
“And found me.”
“Yes.”
“You told me to go home.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the only employee still there.”
He had not yet known Norah was part of the setup.
Then the elevator stopped.
Norah stared at Row Forty-Two on her screen.
“When did you start investigating your uncle?”
Declan’s expression tightened.
“Six months ago.”
“What happened six months ago?”
“I decided to close the illegal side of the business.”
Norah blinked.
“Why?”
His answer surprised her.
“Because a seventeen-year-old courier got beaten over a debt I had never even heard about.”
Declan learned the money originated from an operation Seamus still controlled through legacy crews.
A criminal empire Declan believed he commanded had become a machine that no longer needed his permission.
“So you shut it down.”
“I started.”
“And Seamus decided to kill you.”
“Apparently.”
Norah almost laughed.
“Family dinners must be exhausting.”
“You have no idea.”
Then Declan turned Daniel Bennett’s notebook toward her.
One name had been underlined repeatedly.
MARTIN KEANE.
Next to the final entry, Daniel wrote:
KEANE ISN’T THE BOSS.
Norah looked at Declan.
“Seamus.”
“Probably.”
Then she noticed another note.
If anything happens to me, Patrick has the second ledger.
Declan stared.
“My father had a copy.”
“Where is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Then his face changed.
Actually, he did.
Patrick Gallagher had kept one object locked away until his death.
An old leather Bible that Declan never opened because he had stopped believing in anything his father believed.
May you like
It was still inside the private Gallagher family vault.
And the only other person with access to that vault was Seamus Gallagher.
