Chapter 4 - The Blood Beneath the Lies
Bee climbed into the sedan because curiosity had always been more dangerous to her than fear.
Isabella drove without turning on the headlights until they reached a quiet residential street near Lincoln Park. The house she entered looked ordinary from the outside, but every window had reinforced glass, and two armed guards watched the sidewalk.
Inside, Isabella placed a yellowed photograph on the kitchen table.
Bee stared at it.
A younger man stood beside Isabella outside a brick warehouse. He had brown eyes, a crooked smile, and a scar above his left eyebrow.
Bee knew that face.
She had seen it every morning in the mirror.
"My father died when I was eleven," she whispered.
"That's what your mother told you."
"My mother never lied to me."
Isabella's expression softened.
"She lied because your father was the most dangerous man in Chicago before Dominic inherited the organization. His name was Michael Gallagher. He controlled the books, the shipping routes, the hidden accounts, and the agreements that kept the families from destroying one another."
Bee's hands trembled.
Michael Gallagher had supposedly been an accountant who died in a car accident. Her mother had raised her on a modest salary, insisting that their family had no connection to organized crime.
"Why would you tell me this now?"
"Because Michael didn't die in that accident. He disappeared after discovering that someone inside the family was selling information to our enemies."
Bee remembered the sealed box her mother had given her shortly before dying. She had kept it unopened for years, unable to bear the thought of losing the last tangible piece of her childhood.
"Where is he?" she asked.
Isabella looked toward the window.
"That is what Matteo wants you to tell him."
Bee's stomach tightened.
"What does Matteo want from me?"
"Your father's ledger. It contains the real ownership records of the Rossi empire, including the names of every official, banker, and business executive who accepted our money."
"And you think I have it?"
"I know you do."
Bee stood abruptly.
"I don't have anything."
Isabella didn't argue. Instead, she placed a small brass key on the table.
"Your mother left this with me. She said to give it to you when the men who destroyed your family finally came looking."
Bee picked up the key.
A number had been engraved on its surface.
417.
Isabella watched her face carefully.
"There's one more thing you need to understand. Dominic has known who you are since the day he hired you."
Bee felt the room tilt.
"Then why did he let me believe I was nobody?"
May you like
Isabella's answer was almost a whisper.
"Because your father made him promise never to tell you the truth."
