Chapter 5 - The Recording That Made a Mafia Boss Cry
The first sound on my father's hidden recording was a piano.
Not a scream.
Not a gunshot.
A piano playing the same waltz I'd danced at the Continental.
I stood inside the old rehearsal studio while an investigator connected the storage device to a secure laptop.
Vincent remained beside the window.
George sat on an overturned wooden chair.
And Levi Garrison was no longer with us.
He'd been detained for questioning after investigators discovered that he'd attempted to leave the club while we examined the evidence.
The recording began.
My father's voice came first.
"Eleanor, start from the beginning."
Then a woman's voice answered.
"I found eighteen million dollars missing from the scholarship accounts."
Vincent closed his eyes.
I watched his expression change.
He hadn't heard his wife's voice in twelve years.
Eleanor continued.
"The money was transferred through companies Levi controls. He used Vincent's authorization credentials."
My heart pounded.
Dad asked, "Does Vincent know?"
"No."
"Why haven't you told him?"
Eleanor hesitated.
"Because someone has convinced him that everyone who questions Levi is trying to destroy the organization."
Vincent lowered his head.
I felt a sudden ache for him.
He'd spent years believing loyalty was the same as honesty.
Now he was discovering that the man he trusted most had controlled what he was allowed to know.
On the recording, Eleanor spoke again.
"Michael, I need you to promise something."
"Anything."
"If something happens to me, make sure the students get their money."
Dad answered immediately.
"I promise."
My throat tightened.
Even then, my father had been thinking about children who couldn't afford dance lessons.
Eleanor continued.
"And there's another thing."
A pause.
"Levi knows Vincent is considering leaving the criminal business."
Vincent looked up sharply.
The recording crackled.
Dad asked, "Leaving?"
"Vincent wants to move everything into legitimate investments. He told Levi last week."
I stared at Vincent.
He looked completely stunned.
"That's true," he whispered.
George turned toward him.
"What?"
Vincent's voice broke.
"I told Levi I wanted out. Three days later, Eleanor died."
The recording continued.
Eleanor's voice trembled.
"Levi said if Vincent walks away, he'll lose everything."
Then came a loud knock.
Dad said, "Who's there?"
A man's voice answered.
"Michael. Open up."
Vincent went still.
Levi.
The sound of footsteps followed.
Then a struggle.
Eleanor shouted.
The recording stopped.
I covered my mouth.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then George whispered, "There's another file."
The investigator opened it.
A photograph appeared.
Eleanor stood beside my father outside the studio.
Between them was a little girl wearing a blue dance dress.
I recognized myself immediately.
I was twelve.
The photograph had been taken at the last competition Dad ever entered me in.
But something about it was wrong.
Eleanor was holding an envelope addressed to me.
Vincent leaned closer.
"What's that?"
George looked toward me.
His expression softened.
"Michael wanted you to have something when you turned twenty-one."
My heart pounded.
"What?"
George swallowed.
"Eleanor's original scholarship trust named you as its first student beneficiary."
I stared at him.
Then came the revelation that made my knees weaken.
The trust hadn't been worth a few thousand dollars.
May you like
It had held enough money to pay for my entire education.
And Levi had spent fifteen years making sure I never received a cent.
