Chapter 9 - THE FERRY TERMINAL
Derek moved toward me.
Gerald stopped him.
“The book first.”
I placed it on the concrete floor.
Carlo picked it up and inspected the cover.
He found the drive inside the spine.
Gerald smiled.
“Twenty-three years.”
“All this damage for something small enough to hide inside a recipe book.”
Rosa looked at me.
Her face was bruised, but her eyes remained clear.
“Lena, leave.”
Derek laughed.
“She never leaves.”
“That is her problem.”
For years, he had mistaken endurance for weakness.
I looked at him.
“I left the moment I made the call.”
Carlo connected the drive to a laptop.
The files appeared.
They were real.
Federal technicians had created a monitored copy that would erase if moved to another device.
Gerald began searching for the account codes.
He did not notice the software transmitting every keystroke.
Derek came closer.
“You made everyone believe I am a monster.”
“You broke my arm.”
“You provoked me.”
Rosa shouted at him.
“She does not have to defend herself to you.”
Derek struck her.
The sound echoed through the terminal.
Something inside me turned cold.
I did not rush him.
I did not scream.
I looked toward the hidden camera Ruiz had placed through a broken window.
Derek had just committed another assault on a federal witness.
The evidence was live.
Gerald found the first account.
Before he could enter the password, the laptop locked.
Carlo realized the trap.
“Police.”
He grabbed Rosa and pulled her toward the loading dock.
Derek caught my good wrist.
“You are coming with me.”
I drove my heel into his foot and twisted away.
The movement tore at my ribs.
I kept running.
Federal agents entered from three sides.
Gunfire struck the ceiling.
Glass fell.
Vincent appeared near the loading dock.
He had followed the alternate route with Ruiz’s approval.
Carlo pointed a weapon at him.
“You destroyed the family.”
Vincent stopped.
“No.”
“I ended the part that required everyone else to remain afraid.”
Carlo fired.
Vincent moved behind a concrete pillar.
Agents returned fire.
Carlo dropped his weapon after a bullet struck his shoulder.
Gerald attempted to escape through the ferry tunnel.
Ruiz tackled him near the water.
Derek reached for me again.
Rosa swung the wooden chair backward into his knees.
He fell.
I moved away.
Derek crawled toward the dropped weapon.
Vincent stepped from behind the pillar.
He could have reached it first.
Instead, he kicked it toward Ruiz.
The detective placed Derek in handcuffs.
My husband stared up at Vincent.
“Kill me.”
Vincent looked at him.
“No.”
“You want to.”
“Yes.”
Derek smiled.
“Then do it.”
Vincent stepped back.
“You have spent your life believing violence proves power.”
“I am not proving anything to you.”
Derek was dragged away screaming.
Rosa collapsed against me.
I held her with my good arm.
Vincent remained several feet away until I looked at him.
Then he approached.
“Are you hurt?”
“Yes.”
The honest answer covered more than my ribs.
He nodded.
“So am I.”
Sirens filled the terminal.
Gerald, Derek, Carlo, and Deputy Commissioner Price were all in custody before sunrise.
May you like
The red ledger was recovered.
For the first time since my father created it, no one needed to hide it.
