Chapter 9 - UNCLE RAYMOND
Raymond Hawthorne lived forty minutes outside the city on an estate surrounded by stone walls and oak trees.
When Damian arrived, Raymond was drinking coffee on the terrace.
No guards stopped him.
That bothered Damian.
Raymond smiled.
“Nephew.”
Damian remained standing.
“When did you meet my son?”
Raymond stirred his coffee.
“Good morning to you too.”
“When?”
Raymond looked up.
“I’ve seen Noah dozens of times.”
“Not alone.”
A pause.
Raymond set the spoon down.
“What has Victoria been telling you?”
Damian’s eyes hardened.
“So you know this is about her.”
Raymond smiled.
“She called.”
“When?”
“Last night.”
“From my house?”
“No.”
Damian froze.
Victoria’s phone had been confiscated.
Raymond saw the question.
“You really believe a woman like Victoria owns only one telephone?”
Damian stepped closer.
“You were working with her before Sofia died.”
Raymond’s smile weakened.
“Careful.”
“Mara Ellis saw Victoria at the hospital.”
Raymond said nothing.
“Crane is dead.”
That got a reaction.
Tiny.
But real.
Damian leaned closer.
“And Vincent is missing.”
Raymond looked toward the garden.
“You always trusted Vincent too much.”
“Sofia trusted him.”
That landed harder.
Raymond’s eyes returned.
Damian knew.
“You didn’t know about the recording.”
For the first time, Raymond’s composure cracked.
“What recording?”
Damian almost smiled.
There it was.
Confirmation.
He had information Raymond did not.
Damian stepped backward.
“Thank you.”
Raymond stood.
“You came here to accuse me and now you’re leaving?”
“I came here to see whether you were afraid of Sofia.”
Raymond’s face hardened.
“And?”
“You are.”
Damian turned.
Raymond’s voice stopped him.
“Sofia was going to destroy this family.”
Damian slowly turned back.
Raymond continued.
“She had no idea what held Hawthorne together.”
“So you killed her?”
“No.”
“Did you order it?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
Raymond smiled sadly.
“You’re still assuming Sofia was the victim.”
Damian’s stomach tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“She wasn’t trying to expose my operation.”
Raymond walked closer.
“She was trying to take it.”
Damian almost laughed.
“You expect me to believe Sofia wanted the criminal side of this family?”
“She wanted control.”
“Why?”
“To dismantle it from inside.”
Damian stopped.
That sounded like Sofia.
Raymond saw it.
“She intended to destroy everything your father built.”
“Maybe it deserved destroying.”
Raymond’s expression chilled.
“You didn’t believe that three years ago.”
“Three years ago I believed my wife died instantly in a car crash.”
Raymond looked away.
A mistake.
Damian saw it.
“What happened after the crash?”
Raymond said nothing.
Damian stepped closer.
“Where was Sofia taken?”
“Leave.”
“Where?”
Raymond’s voice sharpened.
“I said leave.”
Damian grabbed his uncle’s jacket.
The two men stared at each other.
Raymond did not look afraid.
He looked tired.
Then he whispered—
“If I tell you, Noah dies.”
Damian released him.
Silence.
Raymond straightened his jacket.
“There are people above Victoria.”
“Who?”
“People Sofia found.”
“Names.”
“I don’t have them.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
Raymond’s expression changed.
“You still think this is about the Hawthorne company.”
“What is it about?”
Raymond looked directly at him.
“Your son is not valuable because he owns twenty-eight percent.”
Damian waited.
“He’s valuable because Sofia put something in his name.”
“What?”
“I never found it.”
“What did she put in his name?”
Raymond’s voice dropped.
“The only copy of the Black Crown ledger.”
Damian’s blood turned cold.
That ledger could destroy judges.
Businessmen.
Police commanders.
Politicians.
Half the criminal structure his father had built.
“Where?”
Raymond shook his head.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t still be alive.”
Damian stared at him.
Then Raymond added—
“Victoria doesn’t know either.”
“Then who does?”
Raymond’s eyes moved past Damian.
Toward the driveway.
Damian followed his gaze.
A black sedan had stopped outside the gate.
A woman stepped out.
Victoria.
She smiled across the distance.
And beside her stood Vincent Shaw.
Alive.
May you like
Untied.
Holding the car door open for her.
