Chapter 7 - THE PAPERS HIDDEN AT PIER NINE COULD DESTROY THE CALDER EMPIRE, AND ROMAN HAD TO DECIDE WHETHER TO SAVE IT
The records filled fourteen banker’s boxes.
Not cash.
Not weapons.
Paper.
Emma had never seen Roman afraid of paper before.
Now she understood why Sofia liked lawyers.
The boxes dated back more than fifteen years.
Old shipping contracts.
Payments.
Properties.
Names that meant nothing to Emma and too much to Roman.
Authorities took custody.
Roman’s attorneys arrived.
Then more attorneys.
Emma returned to her shop and tried to pretend her life involved dog food.
It failed.
A customer held up two brands of kibble.
“Which is better?”
Emma stared at both.
“I genuinely do not know.”
The customer frowned.
“You own the store.”
“Rough week.”
Titan sat beside her.
The customer looked at him.
“That yours?”
Emma opened her mouth.
Roman entered.
Titan’s tail tapped.
Emma looked at the customer.
“Complicated.”
Roman waited until the customer left.
Then:
“I need to tell you something.”
Emma leaned against the counter.
“That sentence has never improved my day.”
“The records connect to companies I inherited.”
“Okay.”
“Some remain active.”
Emma straightened.
“Are you in trouble?”
“Yes.”
Honest.
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know?”
“Some.”
Her stomach tightened.
“Some what?”
Roman looked at Titan.
Then back.
“When my father died, I inherited structures I knew were dirty.”
“Dirty how?”
“Money moved through businesses that should not have moved through them.”
“People were paid for things they should not have been paid for.”
Emma held up a hand.
“I don’t need details.”
Roman nodded.
“I spent years shutting parts down.”
“But?”
“I did not immediately disclose everything.”
“Why?”
“Because disclosure would have destroyed companies employing thousands of people.”
Emma studied him.
“Is that the reason?”
Roman went quiet.
There.
She waited.
“Not the only one.”
“What else?”
“Fear.”
“Of prison?”
“Yes.”
“Of losing power?”
“Yes.”
“Of becoming my father publicly.”
Emma nodded.
“That one sounds worse.”
“It is.”
He looked around the store.
“I am going to cooperate.”
Emma stopped.
“With the investigation?”
“Yes.”
“Fully?”
“As fully as my attorney will let me without lying.”
Emma almost smiled.
“Very lawyer answer.”
“I have many now.”
“What happens?”
“Some businesses may be sold.”
“Some investigated.”
“I may face charges or civil penalties.”
“You could go to prison.”
“Yes.”
Titan stood.
Moved toward Roman.
Then stopped halfway.
Roman did not call him.
He waited.
Titan took another step.
Emma watched.
Roman whispered:
“I don’t deserve him.”
Emma shook her head.
“Dogs don’t run moral courts.”
“Good.”
“Because people are already doing that.”
Roman looked at her.
“Do you think I’m a bad man?”
Emma hated the question.
“Sometimes.”
He almost laughed.
“That was fast.”
“You asked badly.”
“What would a better question be?”
“Do I think you can choose better than you have?”
Roman’s expression changed.
“And?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I watched you call police on your own guard.”
“I watched you not hit Julian when every cell in your body wanted to.”
“I watched you sit on a clinic floor because your dog needed you to stop being in control for five minutes.”
“That is not absolution.”
“No.”
“It is evidence.”
Roman looked down.
“Evidence.”
“Yes.”
“Paper.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled faintly.
Then:
“My attorneys want Titan moved.”
“Where?”
“A secure facility.”
“No.”
Roman’s eyebrows lifted.
Emma continued:
“He is finally stabilizing.”
“Moving him into unfamiliar kennels with rotating security is terrible.”
“What do you suggest?”
Emma realized too late.
Roman waited.
She sighed.
“He can stay with me.”
Roman looked at the apartment stairs.
“Above the store?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“I regret offering.”
“Emma.”
“Roman.”
He stared.
Then:
“I’ll put security outside.”
“One person.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Dante.”
“Fine.”
“No weapons visible in the store.”
“Fine.”
“No customers questioned.”
“Fine.”
“You will not buy the building.”
Roman actually looked offended.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I was.”
“No.”
“Fine.”
She pointed.
“And Titan goes where he wants.”
Roman looked at his dog.
Titan had returned to Emma’s foot.
Roman sighed.
“Apparently.”
For the next three weeks, Titan lived above Second Chance.
Roman visited daily.
Sometimes twice.
He started bringing coffee.
Emma stopped pretending she did not know his order.
Roman learned her store schedule.
He repaired a broken back step himself once.
Badly.
Emma stared at it.
“You own construction companies.”
“I don’t personally build stairs.”
“Clearly.”
He paid a carpenter the next day.
With permission.
Progress.
Their conversations changed.
Less conspiracy.
More life.
Roman learned Emma’s mother’s name was Joanne.
That Emma had studied veterinary nursing but left before finishing after Joanne became ill.
That Second Chance had been both inheritance and obligation.
Emma learned Roman hated opera despite owning a hotel that hosted an opera fundraiser annually.
That Sofia had once broken his nose with a tennis racket at twelve.
That Roman slept four hours a night.
“That is not impressive.”
Emma said.
“It’s efficient.”
“It’s cardiac risk.”
“You and Lena are conspiring.”
“Yes.”
One evening, Roman arrived without a coat.
Rain soaked his shoulders.
Emma stared.
“You own umbrellas.”
“Yes.”
“Then?”
“I forgot.”
“That is upsetting.”
Roman sat beside Titan.
The dog now allowed him to touch his neck.
Not harness area.
Not yet.
Roman said:
“Victor wants to see me.”
Emma’s smile disappeared.
“Why?”
“He says he wants to tell me what he knew.”
“Are police involved?”
“My attorney.”
“Good.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“I trust your ability to turn family conflict into something a prosecutor has to document.”
Roman almost smiled.
Victor met Roman at the Calder estate with attorneys present.
Emma was not there.
She did not need to be.
Roman came to the store afterward.
His face looked tired.
“What happened?”
Victor admitted he knew about the Pier Nine books.
He had ordered the camera outage.
He knew Julian wanted the inspection delayed.
He did not know Felix had put an aversive device on Titan.
Emma asked:
“Do you believe him?”
Roman sat.
“Mostly.”
“That sounds painful.”
“Yes.”
“Why did Victor hide the books?”
Roman looked toward Titan.
“My father made him promise.”
Emma closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
“Family loyalty?”
“Yes.”
“What happens to Victor?”
“Investigation.”
“Board resignation.”
“Maybe more.”
“And you?”
Roman looked at her.
“I voted to remove him.”
“That must have hurt.”
“Yes.”
“Does he hate you?”
“Yes.”
“Do you hate him?”
“No.”
Roman’s voice cracked slightly.
“That would be easier.”
Emma sat across from him.
“Family usually is.”
Titan lifted his head.
Roman continued:
“Victor said my father would be ashamed.”
Emma rolled her eyes.
“Dead fathers are very convenient in arguments.”
Roman stared.
Then laughed.
Actually laughed.
Titan’s tail thumped.
Emma smiled.
“There.”
“What?”
“He likes that sound.”
Roman looked at Titan.
Then laughed again, quieter.
Titan stood.
Walked toward him.
Emma stopped breathing.
Roman remained still.
Titan reached Roman.
Sniffed his hand.
Then rested his head on Roman’s knee.
Roman closed his eyes.
No command.
No reward.
Just his hand slowly touching the dog’s neck.
Emma looked away.
Some moments belonged to people who had lost each other.
Even if one of them had four legs.
Then the store phone rang.
Emma answered.
“Second Chance.”
Silence.
“Hello?”
A distorted voice said:
“You should have let Calder lose the dog.”
Emma froze.
The line disconnected.
Roman saw her face.
“What?”
She looked at Titan.
The conspiracy was supposed to be collapsing.
Julian was cooperating.
Victor had resigned.
Felix and Colin were in custody.
May you like
So whoever just called had not been part of the original plan.
Or the original plan had never been the only danger.
Related Stories
