Chapter 7 - Maya Walked Into The Lion’s Den
The attack had changed everything.
Maya stopped thinking of herself as someone being protected.
She became part of the investigation.
Her ability to recognize coded stitching proved invaluable.
She discovered hidden messages in old uniforms.
Financial records.
Smuggling routes.
Names.
The entire Bellini operation had been hiding in plain sight for decades.
And someone inside the Russo organization was still feeding them information.
They finally discovered who.
Henry.
The maître d’.
Maya could barely breathe.
“He knew everything.”
Dominic nodded.
“He has been working for Bellini for eleven years.”
Maya stared.
“He hired me.”
“Yes.”
“And sent me to Booth Nine.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To put you near me.”
Maya felt sick.
“What did they want?”
“Your memory.”
“My memory?”
“You spent years around wealthy clients.”
Dominic looked at the records.
“They believed you had seen something without realizing it.”
Maya suddenly remembered.
A customer from three years ago.
He had dropped a suitcase.
Another man had shouted.
She had noticed a mark on the handle.
Three stitches.
Bellini.
She remembered.
Maya told Dominic.
He looked stunned.
“That suitcase contained the missing ledger.”
“So I've known this whole time.”
“Without knowing.”
The final piece fell into place.
Bellini was planning a shipment.
The evidence had to be intercepted.
Dominic wanted to handle it himself.
Maya disagreed.
“No.”
“You're staying behind.”
“No.”
“You've done enough.”
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You are impossible.”
“I learned from you.”
She stepped closer.
“I'm going.”
He studied her face.
Then nodded.
“Then stay beside me.”
The shipment arrived at midnight.
Maya entered the warehouse disguised as a clerk.
Dominic entered from another side.
The operation went smoothly.
Until Henry appeared.
He held a gun to Maya's head.
“Drop it.”
Dominic froze.
Henry smiled.
“You should have listened to me years ago.”
Maya stayed calm.
“You're shaking.”
Henry frowned.
“What?”
“You're scared.”
“I'm not.”
“You are.”
She leaned slightly backward.
“Because you know you're about to lose.”
Henry pressed the gun harder.
“You don't understand.”
“I understand men who use fear because they have nothing else.”
Henry's hands trembled.
Dominic waited.
Maya kept talking.
“You think Bellini will save you.”
“They will.”
“No.”
Henry looked uncertain.
“You've been useful.”
“Yes.”
“They don't need you anymore.”
That was the moment Henry's expression changed.
He knew.
Maya saw it.
Dominic moved.
The gun was knocked away.
Henry was arrested.
The shipment was seized.
But Bellini was still free.
And then Maya saw something.
A stitching mark on one of the crates.
Three lines.
Then one diagonal.
A message.
She decoded it.
Tomorrow.
St. Vincent's.
Midnight.
She looked at Dominic.
“He wants the final ledger.”
“Then he gets us.”
They went.
The church was empty.
Too empty.
Maya walked through the aisle.
Then a voice came from the balcony.
“Elena was always my favorite mistake.”
Gabriel Bellini stepped into view.
He was older than Dominic had expected.
Elegant.
Calm.
Maya stared.
“You killed my father.”
“Yes.”
“You tried to kill my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You used my sister.”
“Yes.”
She stepped forward.
“And you humiliated me because you were afraid of what I might know.”
Gabriel smiled.
“Exactly.”
Dominic raised his gun.
Gabriel laughed.
“Shoot me and the ledger disappears.”
Maya looked at Dominic.
Then at Gabriel.
“You've made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You assumed we still need the ledger.”
She pulled a phone from her pocket.
“The evidence has already been transmitted.”
Gabriel's smile vanished.
Maya stepped closer.
“You lose.”
The church doors opened.
Federal agents flooded the room.
Gabriel looked at Maya in disbelief.
“You.”
May you like
She smiled.
“Yes.”
