Chapter 3 - UNIT 318
The freight depot stood beneath an elevated train line on the south side
of Chicago. It had once been a busy shipping hub. Now most of its
loading bays were empty, and rainwater collected in the cracks of the
concrete.
Gabriel insisted that Rachel and Lily stay at the mansion with Marcus
and a trusted female security officer named Elena. Rachel argued that
she should come.
“Daniel left that key for a reason,” she said. “If there are records
about what happened to him, I have a right to see them.”
“You do,” Gabriel replied. “But whoever is involved may still be
watching.”
“Then don’t make me sit in another room while men decide what I’m
allowed to know.”
Gabriel held her gaze.
He remembered Daniel saying that Rachel was the bravest person he knew.
He had dismissed it as the kind of thing a devoted husband said.
Now he understood.
“All right,” he said. “You come with me. Lily stays with Elena.”
Lily hugged her mother.
“Bring Daddy’s things back.”
Rachel kissed her forehead. “I promise.”
At the depot, Marcus checked the exterior cameras while Gabriel and
Rachel entered the storage corridor. Unit 318 was at the far end.
The brass key turned with a reluctant click.
Inside were three plastic document boxes, a dusty laptop, and a small
framed photograph of Daniel, Gabriel, and Rachel at a summer picnic.
Daniel was laughing. Gabriel had one arm around his shoulders.
Rachel picked it up.
“He kept this?”
Gabriel nodded. “He said it was the only picture where I looked happy.”
They opened the first box.
It contained copies of shipping manifests, invoices, bank transfers, and
handwritten notes. The documents showed that money had been diverted
from legitimate company contracts into shell companies controlled by a
network of intermediaries.
The second box contained photographs of containers being loaded after
midnight. Several were marked with false destinations.
Rachel studied one image.
“That truck was at the warehouse the night Daniel died.”
Gabriel took the photograph.
He recognized the vehicle. It belonged to a subcontractor hired by the
company.
The third box held a sealed envelope addressed to Gabriel.
He opened it carefully.
Gabe,
If you found this, I didn’t get the chance to tell you in person. Arthur
is moving money through the shipping division and using your name to
approve it. Vanessa has been arranging introductions to buyers. I think
they’re planning to blame you if the operation is exposed.
I tried to get the records to you. Someone followed me.
I don’t know who I can trust anymore.
I am sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I thought I could fix it quietly.
Take care of Rachel and Lily. They are my whole world.
Your brother, Daniel.
Gabriel lowered the letter.
Rachel stared at him.
“He knew they might come after him.”
“Yes.”
“And he still tried to protect you.”
Gabriel could not answer.
A noise sounded outside the unit.
Marcus’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Movement in the corridor. Two men. They’re not depot staff.”
Gabriel closed the box.
“Get Rachel out.”
They moved toward the rear exit, but a metal door slammed shut at the
far end. Footsteps approached.
Marcus stepped into the corridor, weapon drawn but held low.
“Stop there.”
One man ran. The other reached inside his jacket.
Marcus tackled him before he could pull anything free. Gabriel guided
Rachel through the side passage and out into the rain.
The second man was caught, but he refused to identify who had sent him.
When they returned to the mansion, Priya examined the laptop. It
contained encrypted files and a draft email Daniel had never sent.
The message was addressed to an outside federal investigator.
The subject line read: EVIDENCE OF FRAUD AND THREATS WITHIN MORETTI
HOLDINGS.
Daniel had been preparing to expose the operation.
May you like
He had not betrayed Gabriel.
He had been trying to save him.
