Chapter 7 - THE FRIEND WHO WATCHED ME DROWN
"Harrison still breathing."
I read those words again and again.
Not Daniel is injured.
Not Send help.
Just three cold words describing me like damaged merchandise.
Adele stood beside the desk, struggling to control her anger.
"My brother was out there."
"I know."
"He had a wife. Two sons. Rafael's youngest was barely three."
Her voice cracked.
"And Gordon knew."
I reached for her hand.
She withdrew it.
For a terrible moment, I understood why.
For years, I'd made Gordon the second-most powerful man in my organization.
I'd given him money, protection, and unquestioned authority.
Adele had warned me more than once that too much power was concentrated in his hands.
I'd told her she was being paranoid.
Now her brother was dead, and I was sitting in a wheelchair looking at the consequences of my arrogance.
"You trusted him," she said quietly.
"Yes."
"And when I questioned him, you told me to stop."
I lowered my eyes.
"Yes."
She waited.
"I'm sorry, Adele."
She stared at me for a long moment.
Then she said, "I don't need you to be sorry. I need you to help me find out what happened."
"I will."
"And this time, don't protect your friends from the truth."
I nodded.
An hour later, Gordon Pryce arrived at my study.
I hadn't called him.
Adele had requested a meeting through his office, saying we needed to discuss a security breach.
He entered smiling.
"Daniel. I hear you've been having quite an eventful evening."
I placed the roadside assistance log on the desk.
"Sit down."
He glanced at the document.
His smile disappeared.
"Where did you get that?"
"Does it matter?"
"It could be fabricated."
"Detective Grant has already verified the archived dispatch entry."
Gordon looked toward Adele.
"So you've brought the police into a private family matter."
Adele's expression didn't change.
"My brother's death isn't a private family matter."
Gordon lowered himself into a chair.
For the first time, he looked old.
"Daniel, there are things you don't understand."
"Then explain them."
He rubbed his hands together.
"Three years ago, our operation was falling apart. You were talking about shutting down certain routes and moving into legitimate transportation."
"I remember."
"You wanted to dismantle businesses we'd spent twenty years building."
"I wanted to stop people from getting killed."
"And you thought we could simply walk away?"
His voice rose.
"We owed people money. Dangerous people. Charles had contracts tied to our shipping network."
"Charles Beaumont."
Gordon nodded.
"He was furious when you announced the restructuring."
"Did he order the crash?"
Gordon looked away.
"I don't know."
"Don't lie to me."
"I knew Charles wanted you removed from active control. He said you'd spend a few months recovering from an incident and I'd take over the business."
I stared at him.
"You knew there would be an incident?"
He swallowed.
"I knew he was planning something."
"And you did nothing."
"I tried to slow it down."
I nearly laughed.
"You tried to slow down an assassination?"
Gordon's face twisted.
"You don't understand what Charles had on me."
"Money?"
"Records. Transfers I'd approved without your permission. Millions moved through companies you didn't know existed."
"Then you were stealing from me."
"At first, I was covering losses. Then Charles used the records to control me."
I looked at the man I'd once called my brother.
"How did Tomas become involved?"
Gordon closed his eyes.
"He discovered an unauthorized vehicle inspection. He asked too many questions."
"What happened to him?"
"I warned Charles to leave him alone."
"That isn't what I asked."
Gordon stared at the carpet.
"I didn't kill Tomas."
"But you knew he was dead."
A long silence.
Then a whisper.
"Yes."
Maria, who had been waiting in the adjoining sitting room, stepped into the doorway.
"You knew?"
Gordon looked at her.
"Maria—"
"You came to my apartment. You stood beside my daughter and told me my husband was a criminal."
His face reddened.
"I was trying to keep you both alive."
"You watched me bury an innocent man."
Gordon had no answer.
I leaned toward him.
"Tell me about the forty-five minutes."
He rubbed his face.
"When I reached the lake, your SUV had already gone down the embankment. The doors were jammed."
"Did you see my bodyguards?"
"Yes."
"Were they alive?"
His hands began trembling.
"Gordon."
He looked at me with wet eyes.
"Rafael was conscious."
Adele made a strangled sound.
"He was trying to get out," Gordon whispered. "He kept shouting that another vehicle had forced you off the road."
I felt physically sick.
"Why didn't you send help?"
"Charles said emergency crews would expose everything. He wanted the scene controlled before anyone arrived."
"And you obeyed him."
Gordon bowed his head.
"I told myself I could still save you."
"But not Rafael."
He began crying.
I'd seen Gordon do terrible things without remorse.
His tears didn't make him innocent.
They only made him human.
Adele left the room before she lost control.
When Gordon finally looked up, I asked one last question.
"Why was Tomas killed?"
Gordon shook his head.
"I don't know exactly what he found."
"Then why did Charles want him dead?"
"Because Tomas wasn't the only person who noticed the vehicle switch."
I went still.
"Who else?"
Gordon looked toward the doorway Adele had just passed through.
His voice dropped.
"Rafael Torres."
I stared at him.
Gordon continued.
"Your bodyguard met Tomas the day before he disappeared. Rafael was preparing to tell you everything."
I turned toward the cracked wristwatch lying on my desk.
For three years, Adele had kept it as a reminder of her brother.
Now I realized Rafael hadn't simply died protecting me.
He'd been trying to protect me from the men I trusted.
May you like
And Gordon's next words made the betrayal even worse.
"Daniel, Rafael left the garage that night carrying Tomas's evidence. Charles believed it was still on him when the SUV went into the lake."
