Chapter 6 - The Deal
The heavy silence inside the locked SUV was suffocating.
Silas did not pull a gun from his jacket.
Instead, he withdrew a thick manila folder and tossed it onto my lap.
"Open it," Silas commanded, shifting the car back into drive and speeding out of the alley.
My shaking hands flipped the cardboard cover open under the dim streetlights.
Inside were gruesome crime scene photographs of two men I did not recognize.
"The Sterling family deals in illegal arms, not real estate," Silas explained coldly.
"Those two men were Graham's previous accomplices, and the Sterlings found them last week."
I stared at the brutal photos and quickly slammed the folder shut, feeling physically sick.
"Graham used you as the perfect fall guy because of your struggling business," Silas continued.
"He knew the Sterlings would trace the offshore accounts to Bellamy Blooms and execute you in retaliation."
I leaned my head against the cold glass of the window, trying to comprehend the sheer scale of the betrayal.
"Why are you helping me if you work for them?" I asked exhausted.
"I work for myself," Silas corrected smoothly.
"The Sterlings hired me to find the missing money, but I intend to steal it back for my own employers."
He navigated the SUV into the private underground parking garage of a massive glass skyscraper.
"Graham is attending a high-society charity auction tomorrow night under his new billionaire identity."
Silas parked the car and killed the engine, turning fully to face me.
"He plans to launder the stolen two million dollars through offshore art purchases."
I clutched my ruined wedding dress, feeling entirely out of my depth.
"What does this have to do with me?" I asked softly.
"I need a distraction to get past Graham's new Sterling security detail," Silas replied.
He looked me up and down, his gaze lingering on my torn lace and dusty hem.
"I need you to walk into that gala on my arm as my wealthy fiancé."
I let out a harsh laugh of pure disbelief.
"I am a florist from South Boston, not a socialite."
Silas leaned closer, his voice dropping into a persuasive, hypnotic rhythm.
"If you help me steal the ledger proving Graham's fraud, I will clear your name completely."
He promised to restore my bank accounts and ensure the Sterlings never came after me.
"And if I refuse?" I challenged him.
"Then I unlock this door and let the Boston police and the Sterling cartel fight over your corpse."
It was a terrible choice, but it was the only choice I had left.
"Fine," I agreed, my voice shaking with nervous resolve.
"But first, I want to know what Graham meant about my mother's old ledger."
Silas's eyes darkened for a fraction of a second before he reached into the backseat.
He handed me an old, leather-bound notebook that I recognized immediately from my shop's floorboard safe.
I flipped it open to the bookmarked page and gasped.
My mother had owed a massive, dangerous gambling debt to a notorious local loan shark.
May you like
The name signed at the bottom of the loan agreement was Arthur Vale.
Graham's father.
