Chapter 8 - No More HidingDennis Harrow lasted twelve minutes inside the Castellano estate before asking for whiskey.
Anthony DeLuca stood inside the darkened library with a pistol in one hand and rain on his shoulders.
He looked older.
But not weak.
His eyes were the same pale gray as Marco’s.
“Put the gun down,” Marco said.
Anthony smiled.
“You still stand like me.”
“I’m nothing like you.”
“That’s what every son says before thirty.”
“I’m thirty-eight.”
Anthony’s smile widened.
“Then you lasted longer than most.”
Mina slowly shifted in front of Anna.
Anthony noticed.
“Marina.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“It’s your name.”
“My name is Mina.”
“Anna always hated tradition.”
Anna stood.
“You leave her out of this.”
Anthony looked at her with almost affectionate disappointment.
“You were always dramatic.”
“You murdered Gabriel.”
“He left me no choice.”
Mina felt her mother flinch.
There it was.
No denial.
No hesitation.
“You admit it?” Mina asked.
Anthony looked at her.
“Your father was going to destroy everything generations had built.”
“So you killed him.”
“I protected the family.”
Evelyn’s voice came from the front entrance.
“No.”
Anthony turned.
Evelyn stepped through shattered glass with Victor beside her.
“You protected yourself.”
Anthony’s face changed.
“You should have stayed home.”
“You should have died years ago.”
Victor moved slightly ahead of her.
Anthony pointed the gun at him.
“Careful.”
Victor smiled faintly.
“You were always a coward with excellent posture.”
“Victor.”
Mina whispered to Marco, “Can you get the gun?”
“Not cleanly.”
“Meaning?”
“Somebody might get hit.”
“Great.”
Anthony’s gaze remained on Evelyn.
“You have the papers?”
“No.”
“Anna?”
“No.”
“Mina?”
She said nothing.
He nodded.
“So the girl has them.”
Marco stepped forward.
“Let them walk out.”
Anthony laughed.
“You still think this is about documents.”
“What else?”
“Control.”
Anthony’s expression hardened.
“For twenty years, Evelyn pretended the Castellanos could become respectable. Politicians. Foundations. Hospitals. Real estate. She wanted family history erased.”
Evelyn’s voice was cold.
“I wanted men like you removed.”
“And yet every building you own rests on the money men like me made.”
Mina looked toward Anna.
“Safe-deposit box.”
Anna nodded almost imperceptibly.
Anthony saw.
“Thank you.”
He reached into his coat.
Marco moved.
The gunshot was deafening.
Mina screamed.
Marco hit the floor.
For one terrifying second, she thought he had been shot.
Then Victor slammed Anthony into a bookshelf.
The weapon skidded across the floor.
Evelyn kicked it away.
Marco rose.
He had tackled Mina before the shot.
Security poured into the room.
Anthony was pinned facedown.
He laughed.
Even with his cheek against the floor, he laughed.
“You think this ends because you found me?”
Marco grabbed his collar and hauled him up.
“My father is dead.”
Anthony looked at him.
“No, son.”
Marco’s eyes were ice.
“He is now.”
Police arrived minutes later.
Anthony was arrested.
But his warning followed them all the way back to Chicago.
You think this ends because you found me?
Anna explained why during the drive.
“Anthony built a network.”
“Who?” Mina asked.
“Judges. city officials. businessmen. police.”
“How many?”
“I don’t know.”
Marco sat across from her.
“Enough to protect him for eighteen years.”
Anna nodded.
“The evidence Gabriel collected names them.”
Victor looked out the window.
“And the safe-deposit box?”
“First Chicago Federal.”
Evelyn frowned.
“That bank closed twelve years ago.”
“The boxes transferred to Metropolitan Trust.”
Marco immediately called.
The account still existed.
Access required Anna and Mina together.
Mina gave her mother a look.
“You planned this.”
“I planned for the day you were old enough to know.”
“I was old enough ten years ago.”
Anna flinched.
Mina immediately regretted it.
But regret did not erase eighteen years.
They reached the bank the next morning.
A private manager led them downstairs.
Box 771.
Anna inserted her key.
Mina used the tiny gold pendant from her necklace.
The oval charm opened.
Inside was another micro-key.
The lock clicked.
The box contained three thick folders.
A video cassette.
A notebook.
And a sealed plastic bag containing a bloodstained cuff link.
Marco picked it up.
Initials were engraved into the gold.
A.D.
“Anthony.”
Anna nodded.
“Gabriel grabbed it during the attack.”
Mina opened the notebook.
Names.
Dates.
Payments.
One name appeared repeatedly.
JUDGE THOMAS HELLER.
Mina looked at Marco.
“Who’s that?”
His face darkened.
“The judge assigned to Anthony’s arraignment.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“The network is still active.”
Before they could react, the bank manager rushed in.
“There’s a problem.”
Marco stood.
“What?”
“The court just ordered Anthony DeLuca released.”
“On what basis?”
“Insufficient evidence.”
Victor laughed bitterly.
“Of course.”
Mina stared at the files in front of her.
They had the killer.
They had his confession witnessed by half a dozen people.
They had physical evidence.
And still he was walking free.
Anna gripped Mina’s hand.
“That’s why I ran.”
Mina looked at the notebook.
“No.”
“What?”
“That’s why you stayed hidden.”
She stood.
“But we’re not hiding anymore.”
Marco looked at her.
“What are you thinking?”
Mina lifted Gabriel’s notebook.
“He built his power in secret.”
Victor smiled slowly.
“So?”
“So we destroy it in public.”
Evelyn understood first.
“The press.”
“Not just the press.”
Mina looked around the room.
“We make copies. Hundreds. Lawyers. reporters. federal investigators. Every person on this list gets exposed at the same time.”
Marco’s mouth almost curved into a smile.
Anthony had spent two decades protecting his secrets one person at a time.
Mina intended to make that impossible.
But when they returned to the estate, someone was waiting.
Dennis Harrow.
Released on bond.
Standing outside the gates.
Bleeding from the mouth.
He raised both hands.
“I need protection.”
Marco lowered the window.
“From who?”
Dennis looked terrified.
“Anthony.”
May you like
Then he said the words that changed everything.
“He knows Mina has the files.”
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