Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH ABOUT GABRIELViktor stared at the payment record.
Gabriel Morel.
The man who had arrested him.
The man who had saved his life.
The man who had nearly died protecting his mother.
His name appeared beside a payment of two hundred thousand dollars.
Viktor felt the old hatred returning.
“No.”
Rebecca examined the document.
“The payment was made seven years ago.”
Viktor shook his head.
“There has to be an explanation.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“Maybe.”
But her voice carried doubt.
Viktor stepped backward.
He had finally begun to trust Gabriel.
He had believed the detective was trying to make amends.
Now the evidence suggested something darker.
Had Gabriel been working for Meridian all along?
Had he helped cover up Elena's murder?
Had the warehouse robbery been part of a larger plan to silence Viktor?
Rebecca placed the document inside an evidence sleeve.
“We need to verify the account.”
Viktor looked at her.
“And Gabriel?”
“He's in surgery.”
Viktor closed his eyes.
“Is he going to live?”
“We don't know yet.”
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then Rebecca's phone rang.
She answered.
Listened.
Her expression changed.
“Are you certain?”
A pause.
“Send me everything.”
She ended the call.
Viktor looked up.
“What?”
“Bennett's SUV was found abandoned outside an industrial park.”
“Milan?”
“No sign of him.”
Viktor felt sick.
Rebecca continued.
“But we recovered a phone.”
“Whose?”
“Bennett's.”
She studied him.
“And there was a message sent to your brother.”
Viktor stepped closer.
“What did it say?”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then read it aloud.
Your mother left the second archive with Gabriel. Viktor must never learn why.
Viktor stared.
The second archive.
There was another?
Rebecca looked toward the evidence container.
“Your mother may have created multiple copies.”
Viktor thought about the letter.
The most important evidence is somewhere they will never think to look.
Perhaps the garden had only been one part of the plan.
Perhaps Gabriel held the rest.
But why had he hidden it?
And why had Meridian paid him?
Rebecca made another call.
Then turned to Viktor.
“We're going to the hospital.”
Viktor frowned.
“Why?”
“Because Gabriel may be the only person who can explain this.”
At the hospital, federal agents escorted Viktor through a private entrance.
He remained handcuffed.
A nurse led them to the intensive care unit.
Gabriel lay unconscious beneath white sheets.
Machines monitored his breathing.
Jeanne sat beside him.
When she saw Viktor, she stood.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then she walked toward him.
And embraced him.
Viktor froze.
He hadn't expected kindness.
Not from the mother of the man he had threatened to kill.
Jeanne held him tightly.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Viktor swallowed.
“For what?”
“For coming back.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“I almost didn't.”
“But you did.”
She stepped away.
Viktor looked toward Gabriel.
The detective seemed smaller in the hospital bed.
Less invincible.
More human.
Rebecca approached Jeanne.
“Mrs. Morel, we need to ask your son some questions when he's able.”
Jeanne nodded.
“About Meridian?”
Rebecca looked surprised.
“You know?”
Jeanne sighed.
“I know more than Gabriel thinks.”
Viktor turned.
“What?”
Jeanne looked toward her son.
“Seven years ago, Gabriel came home with a suitcase full of cash.”
Rebecca went still.
Viktor felt his stomach tighten.
Jeanne continued.
“He told me it wasn't his.”
“What did he do with it?” Rebecca asked.
“He gave it to a lawyer.”
Viktor stared.
“Why?”
Jeanne looked directly at him.
“Because your mother asked him to protect the families of the patients who died. And that money was stolen from Meridian to pay them back.”
Rebecca frowned.
“Do you know the lawyer's name?”
Jeanne nodded.
“Of course.”
May you like
She spoke quietly.
“Daniel Hargrove's wife.”
