Chapter 4 - The First Crack
I did not touch the boys.
I touched the world protecting them.
At 9:00 the next morning, Cordova Construction lost a $420 million waterfront financing agreement.
At 9:07, two insurance companies suspended coverage on separate projects.
At 9:16, a private lender demanded clarification regarding undisclosed debt.
None of it was illegal.
None of it required threats.
The Ghost had learned long ago that wealthy men were rarely afraid of fists.
They were terrified of signatures.
At 10:30, Santiago Cordova’s father called my auto-parts company.
I answered personally.
“Daniel Salgado?”
“Yes.”
“This is Rafael Cordova.”
“I know who you are.”
There was a pause.
“My son tells me your daughter has made accusations.”
“My daughter’s jaw is wired shut.”
“I’m sorry she was injured.”
“No, you’re not.”
His voice hardened.
“You need to stop interfering with my business.”
I looked at Mateo across my office.
“I sell brake pads, Mr. Cordova.”
“Don’t play games with me.”
“Then don’t call me.”
I hung up.
Mateo smiled.
“You enjoyed that.”
“A little.”
The smile disappeared when Renata’s doctor called.
She was asking for me.
I reached the hospital twenty minutes later.
Renata was sitting upright.
Her swelling had begun to decrease.
She held a dry-erase board against her knees.
When I entered, she wrote immediately.
WHO IS VICTOR?
I sat beside her.
“You heard his name somewhere?”
She nodded.
WHERE?
She wrote another message.
PROFESSOR HOLLOWAY.
My heart stopped.
“You knew Holloway?”
She nodded again.
Renata explained through the board.
Three weeks earlier, Professor Holloway had asked her to stay after class.
He told her he had known Elena.
He gave Renata the silver key.
He told her not to open the locker unless something happened to him.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
She wrote slowly.
HE SAID YOU WOULD TRY TO STOP ME.
That sounded exactly like Elena.
“What did Holloway tell you about your mother?”
Renata hesitated.
Then wrote.
SHE WAS INVESTIGATING YOU.
The words landed harder than I expected.
“Me?”
Renata shook her head quickly.
NOT YOU.
THE GHOST.
I stared at her.
She continued.
MOM THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS STILL USING YOUR NAME.
The same thing Victor had told me.
“Did Holloway tell you who?”
Renata started writing.
Then the door opened.
Dr. Reeves entered with a uniformed police detective.
“Mr. Salgado, this is Detective Warren.”
The detective offered his hand.
I did not take it.
“What do you want?”
“To speak with Renata.”
“She can barely communicate.”
“I understand.”
He looked at her board.
“Miss Salgado, we recovered security footage from another building.”
My attention sharpened.
“What footage?”
The detective glanced at me.
“It shows Renata entering the science building voluntarily with Santiago, Maurice, and Emmett.”
Renata’s eyes widened.
“That proves nothing.”
“There’s more.”
He placed a printed photograph on the table.
It showed Renata handing Emmett something.
A small envelope.
Detective Warren looked at me.
“The Varela family claims your daughter was attempting to extort them.”
Renata shook her head violently.
The monitor began to accelerate.
I stepped between the detective and the bed.
“Leave.”
“I’m investigating.”
“You’re upsetting a trauma patient.”
Then Renata grabbed my wrist.
She pointed at the photograph.
Her finger moved toward the corner.
A fourth person stood in the reflection of a glass door.
Only part of his face was visible.
May you like
But I recognized him.
Victor Serrano.
