Chapter 4 - The Shadows in the Carriage House
At midnight, Vance entered Caleb’s study, holding a yellow manila folder.
Outside, the rain had turned into a thick, dreary fog rolling in from Boston Harbor, wrapping the mansion in a shroud of gray mist.
"I finished the background check on Clara Miller," Vance said, placing the folder on the desk.
Caleb leaned forward under the desk lamp. "What did you find?"
"Her real name is Clara Rossi," Vance revealed. "She is the widow of Marco Rossi."
Caleb froze. The name hit him like a physical blow.
Marco Rossi had been Caleb’s chief financial accountant eight years ago—the man who managed the offshore accounts for the Marino family. Three weeks after Caleb’s car was attacked on Atlantic Avenue, Marco Rossi was found dead in a burned-out car in the East Boston marshes. The police had ruled it a mob execution, assuming Marco had tried to steal from the syndicate.
"Marco’s wife..." Caleb whispered, his brow furrowing deep. "Why is she here? Under a fake name?"
"She applied for the live-in housekeeper position four months ago through an agency owned by one of our legal shell companies," Vance explained. "She knew who owned this house, Caleb. She deliberately sought out this job."
Caleb’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "Is she working for Dominic Moretti?"
"I don't think so," Vance said, opening the folder to reveal bank records. "She’s broke. Living on minimum wage, raising two kids alone. But look at this: two weeks ago, someone tapped her phone line. A digital tap originating from an IP address in the South End—Moretti’s territory."
Caleb tapped his fingers against the mahogany desk, his mind racing through the tactical realities.
Clara hadn't come to kill him. She had come to hide.
She knew that the safest place to protect her children from Dominic Moretti was inside the heavily fortified compound of Moretti’s greatest surviving enemy. She was using Caleb’s security perimeter as an unwitting shield.
And her little daughter had just walked into his garden and sparked the return of his strength.
"Vance," Caleb said quietly.
"Yes, Boss?"
"Double the perimeter guards on the carriage house. Assign two discreet shooters to watch the children whenever they go to school."
Vance looked surprised. "You're protecting Marco Rossi's family?"
"Marco died because he was loyal to me," Caleb said, his voice cold as iron. "He refused to give Moretti the encryption keys to my shipping accounts, so Moretti put a bullet in his head and set his car on fire. I couldn't save Marco eight years ago because I was lying in an ICU bed bleeding out."
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Caleb reached down, pressing his right boot firmly against the carpet, feeling the clear, distinct sensation of his foot pressing into the floor.
"I won't let them touch his children," Caleb said.
