Chapter 8 - What Evelyn Did to Their Mother
The messages changed the investigation.
Not because they proved murder.
They didn’t.
But they established something almost as important.
Evelyn had been in contact with Victor Kane long before she married Rockford.
Long before Rebecca Jones died.
One text mentioned “the highway solution.”
Another referenced “Duvall confirming mechanical failure.”
Adelaide read them until the letters blurred.
Mateo took the tablet from her hands.
“Enough.”
“No.”
“You’ve read them fourteen times.”
“Maybe I missed something.”
“You didn’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because you don’t miss things.”
She looked at him.
The confidence in his voice broke her more effectively than sympathy.
Adelaide turned away.
“My mother knew Evelyn.”
Mateo remained silent.
“She invited her into our house.”
“You were a child.”
“I remember her.”
Fragments returned.
Perfume.
A red coat.
A woman laughing with Rebecca in the kitchen.
Aunt Evie.
Not an aunt.
Her mother’s colleague.
Later her father’s wife.
Adelaide covered her mouth.
“I remember her at the funeral.”
Mateo’s hand touched her shoulder.
“She stood beside me.”
Adelaide’s voice collapsed.
“She hugged me.”
He said nothing.
“She helped choose the dress I wore to bury my mother.”
Rage finally came.
Pure.
Clean.
Adelaide stood so suddenly the chair fell.
“I want to see her.”
“No.”
Mateo’s answer was immediate.
“She’s in custody.”
“I know.”
“You’re emotional.”
“Yes.”
“That’s why you shouldn’t.”
She turned.
“Don’t tell me how to feel.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re telling me what to do.”
“Because walking into a detention room furious is exactly what Evelyn wants.”
Adelaide glared.
“I don’t care.”
“I do.”
The words stopped them both.
Mateo looked almost annoyed he had said it aloud.
Adelaide’s anger softened by one degree.
“Why?”
He laughed once.
No humor.
“You’re asking now?”
“Yes.”
He approached.
Slowly.
“Because you walked into my house expecting to die and still asked me to protect your employees.”
Adelaide’s breath caught.
“Because you look at financial crimes like other people look at chess.”
He moved closer.
“Because you argue with me more than anyone I employ.”
“That isn’t romantic.”
“I’m not finished.”
Her heartbeat became dangerously loud.
“Because when everyone in your life tried to convince you that your scar was the most important thing about you, somehow you still became the smartest person in every room they put you in.”
Adelaide could not speak.
Mateo lifted a hand.
Stopped.
Waited.
Just like the first night.
She nodded.
His fingers touched her cheek beside the scar.
Not hiding it.
Not worshiping it.
Simply touching her.
“I care,” he said quietly.
Adelaide closed her eyes.
Then opened them.
“You’re still annoying.”
A small smile.
“I can live with that.”
She kissed him.
It surprised them both.
One second.
Maybe two.
Then Adelaide stepped back.
Mateo looked stunned.
“You did that.”
“I noticed.”
“You’re terrible at apologies.”
“It wasn’t an apology.”
“Better.”
For thirty seconds, the world felt almost normal.
Then his phone rang.
Of course.
Victor Kane had requested a meeting.
Public.
Boston.
He claimed he could prove Evelyn had acted alone.
“It’s a trap,” Adelaide said.
“Yes.”
“You’re going.”
“Yes.”
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
She folded her arms.
Mateo sighed.
“Adelaide.”
“You’ve learned nothing.”
He laughed despite himself.
Kane selected a private club overlooking Boston Harbor.
He looked nothing like a criminal mastermind.
Seventy.
Silver hair.
Perfect suit.
Gentle grandfather smile.
He stood when Adelaide entered.
“Rebecca’s daughter.”
She hated hearing him say it.
“You knew my mother.”
“Very well.”
“Did you kill her?”
Mateo’s security shifted.
Kane smiled sadly.
“No.”
“Did Evelyn?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Vittorio?”
Kane looked toward Mateo.
“Your uncle was an impulsive man.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No. It isn’t.”
Adelaide placed copies of the messages on the table.
Kane’s smile disappeared.
“Where did you get these?”
“Does that matter?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She sat.
“For once, you can be the one without information.”
Kane looked at Mateo.
“She’s impressive.”
Mateo’s answer was cold.
“I know.”
Kane offered a deal.
He would surrender evidence proving Evelyn ordered the sabotage that caused Rebecca’s crash.
In exchange, Mateo would drop all claims against Kane Strategic Partners.
“No,” Adelaide said.
Mateo had not yet spoken.
Kane smiled.
“This concerns Mr. Moretti.”
“It concerns my dead mother.”
“Justice requires compromise.”
“No. Deals require compromise.”
Adelaide leaned forward.
“Justice requires truth.”
For the first time, Kane’s pleasant mask cracked.
“Your mother said things like that.”
“I know.”
“It got her killed.”
Silence.
Mateo moved.
Kane’s bodyguards moved too.
Adelaide raised one hand.
“Don’t.”
She looked at Kane.
“You just admitted she was killed.”
He realized it.
Too late.
A tiny light blinked beneath Adelaide’s brooch.
Recording.
Kane’s face changed.
Adelaide smiled.
“My mother taught me to pay attention.”
She stood.
“And Evelyn taught me never to trust powerful people who think quiet women aren’t dangerous.”
Mateo almost looked proud.
Then Kane began laughing.
“You think one recording ends this?”
“No.”
Adelaide stepped away.
“I think frightened men start making mistakes when they realize the woman they underestimated has evidence.”
Kane’s eyes hardened.
Adelaide turned to leave.
Behind her he said:
“Ask Mateo why he really demanded a Jones marriage.”
She stopped.
Mateo went still.
Kane smiled.
“There are secrets in both families, Miss Jones.”
Adelaide slowly turned toward Mateo.
“What is he talking about?”
May you like
For the first time since she arrived at the Moretti estate, Mateo did not meet her eyes.
And that frightened Adelaide more than anything Kane had said.
