Chapter 7 - The Enemy Who Was Protecting Them
Lucien Barrot had spent years building a reputation as a ruthless shipping broker.
Now he was being accused of protecting the two men who could destroy his own financial interests.
Adrian arranged a meeting through attorneys.
This time, there were no armed men crowding the dining room.
No expensive wine.
No threats hidden inside foreign languages.
Just a conference table, several investigators, and one exhausted Frenchman.
Lucien looked at me.
"Daniel taught you well."
I folded my arms.
"He taught me never to trust men who smile while making threats."
A brief smile crossed his face.
"Then he taught you very well."
Adrian leaned forward.
"Where is Matteo?"
Lucien's expression hardened.
"Somewhere safe."
"Why didn't you tell me he was alive?"
"Because the last time Matteo tried to contact you, Vincent found him first."
Adrian went silent.
Lucien explained that Matteo discovered the port trust fraud fifteen years earlier.
He'd confronted Lorenzo Vescari.
Their father.
Lorenzo ordered him to surrender the records.
Matteo refused.
Then his boat was sabotaged.
He survived because Daniel Vale helped him escape through an old fishing route.
I stared at Lucien.
"Dad saved Matteo?"
He nodded.
"And Matteo helped Daniel disappear when Vincent began searching for him."
Adrian leaned back.
For years, he'd believed his brother died because of a rival family's attack.
Now he was learning that Matteo had spent those years hiding from their own organization.
"Why keep me in the dark?" Adrian asked.
Lucien studied him.
"Because you took over your father's businesses."
Adrian's face tightened.
"That doesn't mean I knew what he'd done."
"No," Lucien agreed. "But Matteo couldn't know whether you'd become like him."
The words hurt.
I could see it.
But Adrian didn't argue.
Then I asked the question that mattered most.
"Why did Dad sign a document last month?"
Lucien looked at me.
"Because Vincent demanded a new transfer agreement."
My stomach tightened.
"Was Dad forced to sign?"
Lucien hesitated.
"Yes."
Adrian's expression darkened.
Lucien continued.
"Vincent found the residence in Toulon. He threatened to reveal the location unless Daniel signed."
"Where is Daniel now?"
Lucien shook his head.
"I moved him."
I stared.
"You moved him?"
"With his consent, after he escaped Vincent's men."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Lucien opened his briefcase.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
Addressed to me.
I recognized Dad's handwriting immediately.
My little bird,
If Lucien gives you this, please know I never stopped trying to find my way home.
Tears filled my eyes.
I made mistakes. I trusted dangerous men. But I never stopped loving you.
I pressed the paper against my chest.
Then read the final paragraph.
The black ledger isn't hidden in Marseille anymore.
I sent it somewhere Vincent would never think to look.
My heart raced.
The last sentence made me go cold.
It has been inside the Vescari estate for eight months.
The same length of time I'd worked there.
May you like
And Dad had written one final instruction.
Look beneath the thing you clean every Friday but never open.
Related Stories
