Chapter 14 - The Brother Nobody Mentioned
Raymond Davis was Dominic’s older brother.
Hannah had never heard his name.
That told her everything.
Victor placed himself between Raymond and the open vault box.
“I thought you were dead.”
Raymond laughed.
“Dominic preferred that story.”
“You disappeared after Sicily.”
“I retired.”
“Men like you don’t retire.”
“Neither do men like you.”
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“I did.”
Raymond glanced at Hannah.
“So this is the waitress.”
Hannah sighed.
“Apparently that title has excellent brand recognition.”
Raymond smiled.
“I see why you like her.”
Victor did not appreciate the familiarity.
“What do you want?”
“The ledger.”
“No.”
“You don’t understand what you’re holding.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“No. You understand morality. Dominic understood leverage.”
Raymond stepped closer.
“That book protects people powerful enough to collapse your company, freeze your accounts, and turn every investigation you survived into a new one.”
“Then they can try.”
“Still stubborn.”
Raymond’s eyes shifted toward the notebook.
“Dominic always hated that you inherited Sofia’s conscience.”
Victor’s hand curled into a fist.
“Don’t say her name.”
Raymond raised both palms.
“Easy.”
Marcus entered from the corridor.
Two private guards stood behind him.
Raymond remained calm.
He had expected them.
“Take the ledger,” Victor told Marcus.
Raymond’s smile vanished.
“You do that, and Eleanor Vale dies.”
Hannah’s stomach dropped.
Victor went still.
“What did you say?”
“She has been difficult to kill.”
“You’re threatening her?”
“I’m explaining consequences.”
“Where is she?”
Raymond looked at Hannah.
“You are clever. Ask the right question.”
Hannah understood.
“You don’t have her.”
Raymond’s expression shifted slightly.
“You’re bluffing.”
“Hannah,” Victor warned.
“No. If he had Eleanor, he would have brought proof.”
Raymond smiled slowly.
“Very clever.”
“So what do you actually have?”
“A network Dominic built.”
Victor scoffed.
“Dominic’s network collapsed.”
“You dismantled the obvious pieces.”
Raymond stepped closer.
“But old families do not survive by keeping only one ledger.”
The vault suddenly felt smaller.
Raymond continued.
“Your father expected you might someday choose legitimacy. He considered it betrayal.”
Victor’s voice darkened.
“He was dying.”
“He was preparing.”
“For what?”
“For Matthew.”
Hannah’s breath caught.
Victor looked murderous.
“You will not speak about my son.”
“Dominic believed you lacked the stomach to preserve the family. Matthew was his insurance.”
“He was six when Dominic died.”
“Exactly.”
Victor moved so fast Hannah barely saw it.
He grabbed Raymond by the collar and slammed him against the vault wall.
“Say one more word about my son.”
Raymond did not flinch.
“Kill me.”
Victor’s fist tightened.
“Prove Dominic was right about you.”
Silence.
Hannah touched Victor’s arm.
“Don’t.”
Victor released Raymond.
Raymond straightened his jacket.
“Better.”
Marcus looked disgusted.
“What does the ledger say about Matthew?”
Raymond smiled.
“Not the ledger.”
“Then what?”
“There is a trust.”
Victor frowned.
“What trust?”
“Dominic placed assets outside the estate.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“What does that mean?”
“Roughly eight hundred million dollars.”
Hannah actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because Victor’s family apparently measured insanity in nine digits.
Raymond continued.
“The trust transfers to Matthew when he turns twenty-one.”
Victor stared.
“I would know.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are not trustee.”
“Who is?”
Raymond smiled.
“I am.”
Victor lunged again.
This time Marcus stopped him.
Raymond buttoned his jacket.
“The money comes with conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“Matthew must assume control of the old Davis interests.”
“There are no old Davis interests.”
“There are always old Davis interests.”
Hannah understood the purpose.
Dominic had created a time bomb.
A fortune large enough to attract every surviving criminal associate.
A child as beneficiary.
Raymond as gatekeeper.
Victor’s reformed life had not ended the family legacy.
It had merely delayed the next war.
Raymond turned toward the door.
“You have seventy-two hours.”
“For what?”
“Return the ledger.”
“Or?”
“Your engagement party becomes a funeral.”
Marcus raised his weapon.
Victor held up one hand.
Let him go.
Raymond walked away.
When the corridor emptied, Hannah looked at Victor.
“You’re not giving him that book.”
“No.”
“You’re also not keeping this secret.”
“No.”
That answer surprised her.
Victor looked toward Marcus.
“Call federal prosecutors.”
Marcus blinked.
“You’re serious?”
“My father’s empire ends with me.”
He looked at Hannah.
“Every name. Every account. Every crime.”
Hannah’s heart pounded.
“And Matthew’s trust?”
Victor’s expression became colder than she had ever seen.
“We find it.”
May you like
“Then?”
“We burn the legacy without burning the money.”
