Chapter 5 - The Clocks of Midnight
The realization hit us like a tidal wave. Vincent wasn't just hunting a rogue brother; he was racing against an ironclad countdown that would destroy his empire before the business day even began.
“If the system broadcasts at eight, why did he need to kill you?” Clara asked, her voice tight with tension.
“Because the master console requires a dual authentication,” I said, pointing to the diagram Julian had drawn. “One key belongs to the accountant—Julian’s silver key. The other key belongs to the head of the Moretti family. My father gave me that key on his deathbed, not Vincent. Vincent thought he could torture me into giving up my key, but when I escaped, he realized he had to track me down before I could pair them together.”
I reached into my inner coat pocket, reaching past the dried blood, and pulled out a heavy golden signet key wrapped in silk. I laid it beside Julian’s silver key on the desk.
Two keys. Two families broken by the same evil.
“If you put both keys in,” Clara said, studying the map, “what happens?”
“It releases the encrypted files immediately, bypassing the timer, and sends a direct signal to the Federal District Court,” I replied. “It brings the entire Moretti Syndicate down in one blow. But it also means we have to walk into the heart of the Harbor Trust building before Vincent’s men surround it.”
Suddenly, the silent air of the basement was shattered by the faint vibration of a cell phone.
It wasn't mine. It wasn't Clara’s.
It was coming from the pocket of my discarded coat hanging near the entrance. I pulled out a burner phone I had taken from one of my attackers during the alley fight. The screen lit up with an unsaved number.
I answered, holding the phone to my ear without saying a word.
“I know where you are, brother,” Vincent’s voice echoed through the speaker, crisp and entirely lacking the rain-muffled filter from earlier. “Did you really think Julian’s old workshop wasn’t monitored? I let him build it. I let him think he was clever. It made it so much easier to trap him when the time came.”
My blood ran cold. I looked at Clara, signaling her to pick up Lily immediately.
May you like
“You’re too late, Vincent,” I said into the phone, keeping my voice cool. “I have both keys. By eight AM, you’re finished.”
“Check the time, Dominic,” Vincent chuckled softly. “It’s seven fifteen. And my men are already on the roof of your little mill. You have three minutes to bring me the keys, or I blow the building’s gas line. The waitress and her kid won’t even have time to scream.”
