Chapter 7 - THE QUEEN OF RIVERSTONE
"Stefan Moreau used the emergency exit," Jolene said. "And then he let two men die behind him?"
Dominic stood beside her in his office.
"That's what the layout suggests. But it doesn't tell us what he knew."
"Rosa said the workers went back to help him."
"Then we need to learn why he abandoned them."
Jolene looked down at her father's drawing.
Something didn't fit.
The emergency passage was narrow, but it wasn't too small for three men.
If the gate had remained open, they could've escaped together.
Unless someone had deliberately kept them apart.
"Simon knows," she whispered.
Dominic nodded.
"He was the one who closed it."
"Then we need him."
"We do."
Over the following days, Dominic's accountants uncovered the financial trap surrounding Riverstone.
Moreau had purchased the defaulted loan through two investment companies.
The old loan agreement gave the creditor powerful rights if the warehouse became unusable.
The fires and safety violations weren't random.
They were intended to make the market appear financially hopeless.
Then Moreau could pressure Dominic to abandon the property.
But property wasn't his only target.
Moreau also wanted control of three Valcourt freight terminals.
Dominic discovered a proposed settlement prepared by Moreau's company.
In exchange for releasing the Riverstone debt, Dominic would surrender those terminals and withdraw any investigation into Moreau's freight operations.
Jolene read the proposal.
"He's holding the market hostage to take your business."
"Yes."
"Then give him the terminals."
Dominic looked surprised.
"Just like that?"
"Are they worth more than people's lives?"
"No. But they're part of the legitimate business that employs hundreds of people. Moreau could use them to run the same operations he's using Riverstone for."
Jolene looked at the pages again.
"So you need another way."
"We do."
For the first time, they were facing the problem together.
Not as a mafia boss and a market vendor.
As two people trying to stop one man's greed from ruining an entire community.
Meanwhile, Caleb helped the vendors prepare the courtyard for the Harvest Moon Festival.
The market had secured a temporary outdoor-event permit after the dangerous wiring was repaired and the warehouse corridor was sealed off.
The association had posted security volunteers at every entrance.
Dominic hired licensed guards, but Jolene insisted they answer to the festival committee.
He agreed.
There were only three days left.
Jolene was repairing a broken necklace when Simon Kessler appeared at her stall.
She stood immediately.
"You're not supposed to be here."
"I know."
"Dominic's looking for you."
"I know that too."
Simon looked exhausted.
His expensive clothes were wrinkled.
There were dark circles beneath his eyes.
He glanced toward Henry's pocket watch lying beside her tools.
"You found the markings."
Jolene covered the watch with her hand.
"How do you know about them?"
"Because I saw your father make them."
Her heart began pounding.
"Then tell me what happened."
Simon looked toward the green door.
"I was twenty-five. My father worked nights at the dock. Salvatore told me the loading bay had been cleared."
"And you believed him."
"I wanted to. He was my employer. He paid my family's bills. He treated me like someone important."
Simon's voice tightened.
"When the water rose, he ordered me to close the west gate."
"Who was inside?"
"I didn't know."
"Did you check?"
Simon looked away.
"No."
Jolene felt anger rise in her chest.
"Your father died because you didn't check."
"I know."
Two words.
No excuse.
No attempt to make himself the victim.
For the first time, she saw the weight he had been carrying.
"Why are you helping Moreau now?"
"Because he found evidence that my name was on the gate-control log. He said he'd ruin my mother unless I helped him."
"So you gave him Dominic's freight information."
Simon nodded.
"At first, I thought he'd use it to force Dominic into revealing what Salvatore had done. Moreau promised there'd be no violence."
"And you believed him too."
Simon flinched.
Jolene looked at the green door.
"Why remove the emergency release?"
"Moreau ordered it. I told him it was dangerous."
"But you did it anyway."
His silence answered.
She picked up the watch.
"You're still making the same mistake, Simon."
He stared at her.
"What?"
"You're obeying someone powerful and hoping nobody gets hurt."
The words struck him visibly.
He reached for the watch.
"Please. Let me take that somewhere safe."
She pulled away.
"No."
"Moreau believes your father recorded something inside it."
"Did he?"
"I don't know."
"Then he doesn't get it."
Simon stepped back.
"Keep your brother close."
Jolene went cold.
"What have you done?"
"Nothing to Caleb. But Moreau knows where he studies. He knows your schedules."
"Then help us stop him."
Simon looked at her for a long moment.
"I don't know if I can."
"Then decide before somebody else dies."
He left without another word.
That afternoon, Jolene told Dominic everything.
He listened without interrupting.
Then he asked what frightened her most.
"Caleb."
Dominic nodded.
"We'll make sure he's protected."
"Don't hide him somewhere without telling him why."
"I won't."
"And don't hurt Simon."
Dominic looked at her.
"He helped put your life in danger."
"I know."
"Why are you defending him?"
"I'm not. I want him to face what he's done. That's different from wanting him dead."
Dominic stood quietly.
Then he stepped closer.
"You're changing the way I see things."
Jolene looked into his eyes.
"Maybe you're finally looking."
He smiled faintly.
And then he kissed her.
Gently.
Without urgency or expectation.
Jolene had imagined many things about Dominic Valcourt.
She hadn't imagined how careful he could be.
When he stepped back, she was smiling.
"That was unexpected."
"So was meeting you."
She touched his hand.
For one brief moment, the danger outside seemed very far away.
Three days later, the Harvest Moon Festival began.
The courtyard was filled with golden lights.
Vendors decorated their stalls with autumn flowers and ribbons.
A band played near the river.
Children wore paper crowns.
The smell of tamales and roasted corn drifted through the air.
Even after everything that had happened, Riverstone was alive.
Jolene wore a simple midnight-blue dress she'd borrowed from Lupe.
Her dark hair fell over her shoulders.
The old pocket watch hung from a silver chain at her waist.
Caleb walked beside her.
"You look nice."
"That's practically a speech from you."
He grinned.
"Dad would've liked this."
Jolene squeezed his hand.
"He would've."
At eight o'clock, the market association announced the year's charity queen.
Jolene Hartley.
She stared.
"No."
Lupe laughed.
"Oh, yes."
Dani placed the black-and-gold crown on her head.
The crowd applauded.
Jolene stepped onto the small platform, embarrassed and laughing.
"Six weeks ago, I made a joke about becoming the mafia boss's queen. I would like the record to show that I was not submitting an application."
Laughter filled the courtyard.
Then Dominic stepped forward.
The laughter faded.
Everyone recognized him.
He stood beside the platform, wearing a black suit and the dark leather bracelet Jolene had sold him.
"May I say something?"
Jolene looked suspicious.
"That depends."
Marco smiled.
Dominic turned toward the crowd.
"Six weeks ago, Miss Hartley said that if she became a queen, she wouldn't forget the people around her."
He looked at the vendors.
"I didn't know her then. But I've learned that she meant it."
Jolene's smile softened.
Dominic continued.
"For years, the Valcourt family benefited from controlling this property. That control was used to silence people and hide wrongdoing."
The courtyard became completely still.
"My father was responsible for decisions that harmed this community. I won't defend them."
Marco watched from beside the platform.
Dominic's voice remained steady.
"I've instructed my representatives to contest the fraudulent debt claims and begin restructuring the market property so the vendors can own and govern it themselves."
A stunned silence followed.
Then Jolene covered her mouth.
Dominic turned toward her.
"And as for Miss Hartley's joke about becoming my queen..."
He paused.
"I have no intention of asking her to belong to my world."
Her eyes filled.
"If she'll have me, I'd rather earn a place in hers."
The entire courtyard fell silent.
Then Mr. Abernathy began applauding.
Lupe followed.
Soon the applause spread beneath the lights.
Jolene looked at Dominic.
For the first time in years, she felt seen for who she actually was.
Not a struggling vendor.
Not a woman with unpaid bills.
Not someone who needed rescuing.
Someone whose voice mattered.
Then she noticed Caleb near the warehouse fence.
He was arguing with a young man wearing a festival staff jacket.
Jolene stepped down from the platform.
"Caleb?"
Her brother looked frightened.
The young man caught Jolene's attention.
"Ma'am, there's been an accident by the service stairs. Someone says you're an EMT."
She stopped.
"What kind of accident?"
"A man fell. He's bleeding."
Her instincts took over.
"Show me."
She followed him toward the sealed service corridor.
Caleb moved behind her.
"Jo, wait."
She turned.
Two men stepped from the shadows.
One grabbed Caleb.
The other seized Jolene's arms.
She fought.
Hard.
But a hand covered her mouth.
Through the confusion, she saw a familiar gray scarf disappear around the corner.
Moreau.
The young man in the staff jacket looked terrified.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
Jolene tried to scream.
Something struck the back of her head.
The lights blurred.
The crown slipped from her hair and struck the pavement.
When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting on a chair in a concrete basement.
Plastic ties cut into her wrists.
Three men stood near the stairs.
One was the frightened young man from the festival.
He was coughing and staring at the floor.
A single bulb swung overhead.
Stefan Moreau stood before her, holding a phone.
He smiled pleasantly.
"Say hello, Miss Hartley."
May you like
He moved the phone toward her face.
"Let the mafia boss hear that his queen is still breathing."
