Chapter 5 - The dead man was called Daniel Ashford.Margaret's husband.
Sienna's father.
And according to every public record in Chicago, he had been dead for fifteen years.
Maeve stared at the security screen.
“That's him?”
Margaret nodded.
“Yes.”
“But he's dead.”
“He was supposed to be.”
Elias's voice was flat.
“Why?”
Margaret finally looked at him.
“Because he knows what happened to your father.”
The air seemed to disappear.
Elias stepped forward.
“What did you say?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“Your father wasn't killed by the Capellos.”
“I know.”
“He was killed by someone inside your family.”
Elias went still.
“Who?”
Margaret swallowed.
“I never saw his face.”
“That isn't good enough.”
“I heard them talking.”
“Who?”
Margaret shook her head.
“I was twenty-eight. Daniel had just started working with Salvatore.”
Elias's eyes narrowed.
“My uncle?”
“No.”
She hesitated.
“Not Salvatore.”
Silence.
“Then who?”
Margaret looked at Elias.
“Your mother.”
The words struck like a bullet.
Gabriel immediately stepped forward.
Elias did not move.
Maeve looked at him.
He seemed carved from stone.
“My mother died three years after my father,” he said.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Suicide.”
“That's what everyone said.”
Margaret nodded.
“It wasn't.”
Elias's hand slowly rotated his ring.
“Tell me everything.”
Margaret looked toward Sienna.
“Leave.”
Sienna stared.
“No.”
“Leave this room.”
“I want to hear.”
“You don't.”
Sienna shook her head.
“I deserve to know.”
Margaret looked at her daughter with sadness.
“Then you're going to hate me.”
Before she could continue, every light in the mansion went out.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Gabriel pulled Maeve down.
Elias drew his weapon.
“Stay behind me.”
Maeve heard men shouting.
Then a scream.
Then another gunshot.
The windows shattered.
Bullets ripped through the room.
Elias fired back.
Gabriel dragged Sienna toward the hallway.
Maeve saw Margaret standing frozen.
“Mom!”
A figure appeared behind Margaret.
A gun raised.
Maeve moved without thinking.
She threw herself forward.
The shot exploded.
Margaret collapsed.
Maeve felt warmth against her hand.
Blood.
For one second she thought it was hers.
Then Elias grabbed her shoulder.
“Maeve!”
It was the first time he had called her by her real name.
Her heart stopped.
Margaret's blood spread across the floor.
The attackers vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Gabriel's men secured the mansion.
Elias knelt beside Margaret.
“She was grazed.”
“Alive?” Maeve whispered.
“Yes.”
Maeve sat down.
Her hands were covered in blood.
Elias looked at them.
Then looked at her.
“You protected her.”
“She was going to die.”
“You could have died.”
Maeve stared at him.
“So could you.”
Their eyes met.
Something changed.
Not love.
Not yet.
Something more dangerous.
Trust.
Later that night, Margaret regained consciousness.
Elias stood beside her hospital bed.
“Tell me about my mother.”
Margaret looked exhausted.
“She loved your father.”
Elias said nothing.
“She loved him enough to discover what he was planning.”
“What?”
“He was going to leave the organization.”
Elias frowned.
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he had discovered the black circle.”
“The same group?”
Margaret nodded.
“The circle isn't a symbol.”
“What is it?”
“A network.”
“How powerful?”
“Powerful enough to control politicians, judges, police officers, businessmen.”
Elias's face hardened.
“And my father wanted to expose them?”
“Yes.”
“Who stopped him?”
Margaret closed her eyes.
“I don't know.”
“You do.”
“No.”
“Margaret.”
“I know who gave the order.”
“Who?”
Her lips trembled.
“Salvatore.”
Elias stepped back.
Impossible.
His uncle.
The man who had raised him.
The man he trusted.
The man who had told him power could never buy loyalty.
A nurse entered.
“Family meeting.”
Elias left.
Maeve remained beside Margaret.
The older woman opened her eyes.
“You shouldn't have protected me.”
Maeve frowned.
“Why?”
“Because now he will protect you.”
“Who?”
Margaret looked toward the door.
“Elias.”
Maeve's heart beat faster.
Margaret whispered:
“And that is the one thing that can get you killed.”
Before Maeve could respond, Elias returned.
His face was different.
Colder.
More dangerous.
“Gabriel found something.”
“What?”
“Daniel Ashford is not alone.”
Maeve stood.
“Who is with him?”
Elias looked at her.
May you like
“Your brother.”
Maeve's blood turned cold.
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