Chapter 9 - The Honey WarehouseThe Place Where My Father's Last Secret Was Waiting

The old warehouse sat beside the river.

Nobody had used it in years.

My father had.

That was what terrified me.

We arrived at midnight.

Dante parked two blocks away.

"You stay here."

"No."

"Nora."

"I'm done hiding."

"You don't understand what's inside."

"I understand enough."

Dante looked at me for several seconds.

Then he handed me a flashlight.

"Stay behind me."

The warehouse doors were unlocked.

Inside, hundreds of empty wooden crates filled the darkness.

Each had the same bee logo.

My father's logo.

I touched one.

Dust fell away.

There was a date burned into the wood.

Eight years ago.

Dante saw it.

"Your father stored something here."

We moved deeper.

A sound echoed above us.

Metal scraping.

Dante raised his gun.

Someone shouted.

"You're late."

Lights snapped on.

Men surrounded us.

At the center stood Salvatore Russo.

Alive.

Older.

White hair.

Cold eyes.

Dante stopped.

"Uncle."

Salvatore smiled.

"Family reunion."

Dante raised his gun.

"You killed Sofia."

"No."

"You killed my father."

"No."

"You killed half my men."

Salvatore smiled.

"I ordered some of them."

He looked at me.

"But I never wanted you dead."

"Why?"

"Because your father left you everything."

Dante stepped forward.

"You don't get to have her."

Salvatore laughed.

"You still don't understand."

He pointed at me.

"She isn't the heir."

I frowned.

"What?"

Salvatore smiled.

"The heir is Lily."

Dante froze.

"Why?"

"Because Lily carries Sofia's bloodline."

I looked at him.

"So I don't matter."

Salvatore shook his head.

"You matter very much."

He walked closer.

"You're the one who knows where the ledger is."

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't."

He pointed at the jars.

"Your father encoded the location."

Dante looked at me.

The jars.

The labels.

The wing patterns.

I suddenly remembered the first jar I'd sold Dante.

Wildflower.

Six dollars.

A red bee on the lid.

The wings had been painted differently.

I remembered my father's instructions.

Every batch meant something.

I walked toward a shelf.

Dante followed.

"Don't."

I stopped.

"Your father taught you the system."

Salvatore smiled.

"Of course he did."

I picked up a jar.

Turned it.

The label showed three bees.

Two facing left.

One facing right.

I whispered.

"Three."

"What?"

"Three."

I looked at the next.

"One."

Then another.

"Seven."

Numbers.

I began reading.

"317."

Dante stared.

"The key."

Salvatore's smile disappeared.

I took a step backward.

"The key opens the ledger."

"No."

Salvatore moved.

Dante shot him in the shoulder.

Chaos erupted.

Gunfire filled the warehouse.

I dropped behind a crate.

Men screamed.

Glass shattered.

Then I saw Lily.

She was standing on the catwalk above us.

Her hands were tied.

She looked directly at me.

"Mom!"

I stood.

"Don't move!"

Too late.

Someone grabbed me from behind.

A hand covered my mouth.

I struggled.

Dante shouted my name.

Then a needle pierced my neck.

Everything blurred.

The last thing I saw was Dante firing toward me.

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The last thing I heard was Salvatore laughing.

Then darkness.