Chapter 3 - The Night Her Father Died.
Elena did not remember crossing the room.
One moment she stood by the table.
The next she was directly in front of Adrian.
"What happened the night my father died?"
Adrian's eyes changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
As if he had known this question would eventually arrive.
"Sit down."
"No."
"Elena."
"Do not tell me to sit down."
Her voice broke on the last word.
She hated that.
Her father, Samuel Marlowe, had died eight years earlier when his car went through a guardrail on a rain-soaked road outside the city.
The official report blamed speed and bad weather.
Victor had handled the funeral.
Victor had handled the lawyers.
Victor had handled everything while Elena, twenty-one and shattered, barely understood what was happening.
Adrian opened a drawer in the credenza.
He removed a thin gray folder.
Not new.
The corners were worn.
Elena noticed the date on the tab.
Eight years ago.
Her stomach tightened.
"You've had a file on my father for eight years?"
"Longer."
"Why?"
Adrian did not answer immediately.
That delay felt like a confession.
"Because Samuel Marlowe knew my father."
Elena stared at him.
"My father hated organized crime."
"He hated what my father did for a living."
"That's not the same as knowing him."
"They were business partners once."
Elena laughed once, sharply.
"No."
Adrian opened the folder.
A photograph lay on top.
Samuel Marlowe stood outside a warehouse near the Hudson.
He looked younger.
Beside him was a man Elena recognized from newspapers and documentaries.
Dominic Vale.
Adrian's father.
The man federal prosecutors had accused of building one of the most sophisticated criminal networks in the city.
A man who died in prison twelve years ago.
Samuel and Dominic were shaking hands.
Behind them stood a teenage Adrian.
Elena felt the air leave her lungs.
"When was this?"
"Fourteen years ago."
"What business?"
"Shipping security."
"Meaning?"
"Your father developed tracking software for cargo."
Elena knew that much.
That software had become one of Marlowe Systems' first major products.
"My father funded the expansion," Adrian continued.
"With criminal money?"
"Some of it."
Elena pushed the photo away.
"You expect me to believe my father built his company with mafia money?"
"I expect you to believe he regretted it."
Adrian's voice remained controlled.
"Samuel discovered Dominic was using the tracking platform for more than cargo security."
"What did he do?"
"He tried to terminate the partnership."
"And your father killed him?"
The accusation came out before she could stop it.
Adrian's expression hardened.
"No."
"How do you know?"
"Because Dominic was already in federal custody the week Samuel died."
Elena remembered that.
The arrest had been national news.
"Then why does Victor want me to ask you?"
Adrian turned another page.
A copy of the accident report appeared.
A line had been highlighted.
BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE CONSISTENT WITH LINE DAMAGE.
Elena's heart hammered.
"I was told he lost control in the rain."
"That was the public conclusion."
"This says the brake line was damaged."
"The first examiner wrote that."
"First examiner?"
"The report was revised two days later."
Elena read the next page.
The sentence about damage had disappeared.
She looked up slowly.
"Who requested the revision?"
Adrian's eyes held hers.
"Victor Marlowe."
The room went silent.
Elena shook her head.
"No."
"I have the correspondence."
"No."
"Elena."
"Stop saying my name like that."
She walked away from him.
Her chest felt too tight.
Her father had not been perfect.
He had worked too much.
He had been stubborn.
He had missed birthdays and forgotten dinners.
But he had loved her with a certainty she had never doubted.
On the morning he died, he had left a voicemail.
Call me when you wake up, kiddo.
I need to tell you something important.
She had slept through the call.
For eight years she had wondered what he wanted to say.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Adrian's answer was quiet.
"Because I didn't know who caused the crash."
"But you suspected Victor."
"I suspected several people."
"Including your own family?"
"Especially my own family."
Elena turned back to him.
"And all these years you just watched me?"
"No."
"You said we've met twice before."
"We did."
"When?"
"Once when you were nineteen."
"I don't remember you."
"You weren't supposed to."
The answer chilled her.
Adrian saw it.
"I was at a fundraiser with my father."
"And the second time?"
He looked toward the gray folder.
"The night after Samuel died."
Elena froze.
"I would remember that."
"You didn't see me."
"Then we didn't meet."
"You came to the Marlowe office at three in the morning."
Her brow furrowed.
She vaguely remembered walking through empty hallways because she could not stand being in her father's apartment.
"You were looking for something in his desk," Adrian said.
"How do you know?"
"Because I was already there."
Elena took one step back.
"Why?"
"Your father sent me a message six hours before he died."
Adrian pulled a folded paper from the back of the file.
It was a printed email.
The sender was Samuel Marlowe.
The recipient was Adrian Vale.
The subject line read simply: IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME.
Elena's hands trembled as she read.
Adrian,
Victor is moving faster than I expected.
I made a mistake trusting him.
If anything happens to me, do not let Elena sign anything connected to Northstar.
Do not tell her until you can prove it.
She will hate you for waiting.
Let her.
Better she hates you alive than trusts the wrong man and loses everything.
Elena stopped reading.
Her vision blurred.
"Northstar existed eight years ago."
"Yes."
"Then Preston wasn't the beginning."
"No."
"He's just the latest person Victor used."
"That's what I believe."
A knock sounded at the bedroom door.
Adrian opened it.
A security officer stood outside.
"Sir, we found the car from the photo."
Elena moved closer.
"Where?"
The officer looked at Adrian before answering.
"Abandoned near the old Marlowe warehouse in Red Hook."
"And Preston?"
"Not there."
The officer held out a clear evidence bag.
Inside was a gold cuff link.
Elena recognized it immediately.
Victor wore the same pair every day.
But that was not what made her blood run cold.
May you like
Written across the inside of the bag, in black marker, were four words.
ASK ELENA ABOUT THE KEY.
