Chapter 13 - THE DAUGHTER AT THE SENATOR'S TABLEVictor had faced rival crime families, corrupt officials, and men who wanted him dead.
Nothing frightened him like the thought of meeting his daughter.
Gabriel located Madeline at a private hotel near the river.
She was twenty-three, recently graduated from college, and employed by a nonprofit organization controlled by Caldwell.
Victor insisted on approaching her without weapons or bodyguards surrounding her.
Chloe accompanied him.
“You don't have to do this alone,” she said.
Victor looked at her.
“I've spent twelve years believing my child was dead.”
Chloe gently squeezed his hand.
“Then she deserves to hear the truth from you.”
Madeline opened her hotel-room door.
Her expression changed when she saw Victor.
“You.”
Victor kept his distance.
“My name is Victor Costello.”
“I know who you are.”
Chloe stepped forward.
“Madeline, we need to talk about Senator Caldwell.”
Madeline's eyes filled with tears.
“He said you'd come.”
Victor stiffened.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you were dangerous. That you would hurt anyone who got close to me.”
Victor swallowed.
“I'm not here to hurt you.”
Madeline looked away.
“Caldwell raised me after my foster parents died. He paid for school. He said I owed him loyalty.”
Chloe recognized the words immediately.
The same manipulation.
The same threats.
The same careful cruelty.
“Madeline,” she said softly, “has he ever threatened someone you loved?”
Madeline nodded.
“He threatened my boyfriend when I refused to work for him.”
Victor's fists tightened.
“Where is Caldwell now?”
“I don't know.”
Madeline hesitated.
Then she opened her handbag and removed a small flash drive.
“He made me keep this. Said if anything happened to him, I should give it to a lawyer.”
Gabriel examined the files through a secure computer.
They contained bank transfers, recordings, and coded correspondence.
One video showed Caldwell speaking to Elena.
Another showed Adrian collecting money from a research contractor.
Then a final recording appeared.
Elena sat across from Caldwell.
“The Costello empire has enough money to bury the investigation,” she said.
Caldwell replied, “Only if Victor remains alive long enough to be blamed.”
Victor watched in silence.
Then Madeline whispered, “There's another file.”
She opened a folder labeled FINAL AUTHORIZATION.
Inside was a signed order for a planned killing.
The intended victim was Victor Costello.
May you like
The scheduled date was tomorrow.
And the person assigned to carry it out was Gabriel.
