Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Watched the FirePalmira survived.
The bullet had passed through her shoulder.
She would live.
But Carmine had stopped caring about survival.
Someone had walked into his world and rewritten the past.
By morning, every assumption he had carried for decades felt rotten.
Nell stayed beside Palmira's hospital bed.
Carmine waited outside.
Benny approached.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“A camera.”
“Where?”
“In the bakery.”
Carmine looked up.
“The burned one?”
“Yes.”
“Still working?”
“No.”
“Then what did you find?”
“An old backup drive.”
Carmine took it.
Security footage from the night of the fire.
The files were damaged.
Most were unreadable.
One remained.
He opened it.
Black-and-white footage.
The bakery hallway.
A timestamp.
2:17 a.m.
Nell appeared on-screen.
Young.
Sixteen?
No.
Twenty-four.
She was running.
A second figure entered.
The face was hidden.
The man walked to the rear exit.
He bent down.
Something flashed.
A chain.
Nell stared at the screen.
“That man.”
Carmine paused the video.
“Recognize him?”
“No.”
She stepped closer.
Then she froze.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“The coat.”
It was dark.
Heavy.
With a narrow stripe across the sleeve.
Nell whispered:
“My father's business partner wore coats like that.”
Victor Marrow.
Carmine rewound.
A second person entered the frame.
This one carried a gasoline can.
The image was blurry.
But the shape of the face was visible.
Nell covered her mouth.
“No.”
Carmine looked at her.
“Who?”
She pointed.
“Daniel.”
“Your uncle?”
“He was dead.”
Carmine replayed it.
The man turned.
It was unmistakable.
Daniel Fontaine.
Alive.
Carmine asked quietly:
“When did you last see him?”
“Three days before the fire.”
“Did he tell you anything?”
“He told me not to trust my father.”
The video continued.
Daniel placed the gasoline can on the floor.
Then he looked directly at the camera.
He smiled.
The footage ended.
Nell began shaking.
“He was there.”
Carmine's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered.
“Carmine.”
A male voice.
“Bring the ledger to the old river terminal.”
“Who is this?”
“You know.”
The call ended.
Benny entered.
“We checked the terminal.”
“And?”
“Empty.”
Carmine looked at Nell.
“Someone wants us to go there.”
Nell shook her head.
“It's a trap.”
“Of course.”
“Then why go?”
“Because they think we don't understand the game.”
They arrived at the terminal just before midnight.
Rows of abandoned shipping containers stretched into darkness.
Carmine carried a copy of the ledger.
The real one remained hidden.
A light came on.
Victor Marrow stepped out.
Nell stopped breathing.
He looked older.
But he was alive.
“Eleanor.”
“You're dead.”
Victor smiled.
“That's what I paid for.”
Carmine stepped forward.
“You burned the bakery.”
Victor shook his head.
“Not exactly.”
“You chained the door.”
“No.”
“You were there.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To make sure someone else finished the job.”
Nell's voice cracked.
“My uncle?”
Victor nodded.
“Daniel.”
“Why would he?”
“Because your father betrayed them.”
“Who?”
Victor looked at Carmine.
“Your father's old friends.”
Carmine's eyes hardened.
“Name them.”
Victor opened his mouth.
A gunshot rang out.
Victor jerked backward.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Nell screamed.
Carmine shoved her down.
Benny returned fire.
The terminal erupted into chaos.
Victor fell behind a crate.
Carmine dragged him to cover.
“Who shot you?”
Victor coughed.
“The foundation.”
“What foundation?”
Victor grabbed Carmine's jacket.
“Bellweather.”
His grip loosened.
“Where's the original list?”
“I don't know.”
Victor smiled weakly.
“Your grandmother does.”
Carmine stared.
“She was there that night.”
“What?”
Victor's breathing became shallow.
“Palmira saw everything.”
Then Victor's eyes closed.
Dead.
Carmine stood.
Behind him, Nell whispered:
“My father told me my grandmother hated him.”
Carmine turned.
“She never said why.”
Nell looked at the dark terminal.
“Maybe she lied.”
The wind shifted.
From somewhere inside the warehouses came the sound of a metal door closing.
Benny raised his weapon.
Carmine stared into the darkness.
May you like
Someone else was there.
Someone who had just heard everything.
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