Chapter 4 - THE DOCK AT 14TH STREET
Rain was pouring heavily over the Hudson River when Elena reached the deserted pier at 14th Street.
The air smelled of salt, diesel fuel, and damp wood. Old shipping containers stood stacked like colossal metal building blocks along the concrete apron.
A single black SUV sat idling near the water's edge, its headlights cutting through the fog.
Elena stepped out of her rusty sedan, clutching the leather ledger tightly beneath her coat. She walked carefully toward the SUV, her boots splashing in oily puddles.
The driver's door opened, and Julian stepped out holding a wide black umbrella.
"You got it?" Julian asked, his eyes fixing on the coat wrapped around her chest.
"I got the ledger," Elena said, her breath fogging in the cold air. "And I met Dr. Mercer in your father's study."
Julian's expression hardened instantly. "Mercer was there?"
"He admitted it," Elena said, stepping under the umbrella. "It wasn't a stroke. It was a concentrated sodium channel blocker. Victor pressured him into switching the batches. But your father knew, Julian! He knew Mercer was compromising his dosage for months!"
Julian took a deep breath, his knuckles turning white against the umbrella handle. "Where is the ledger?"
Elena opened her coat and handed him the brown book.
Julian flipped through the pages quickly under the faint light of his phone screen. His eyes stopped on the red ink entry at the end.
The lake house ledger.
"My father's estate in upstate New York," Julian murmured. "He kept a secondary vault there. That's where he stored his personal evidence files."
"Julian," Elena said, stepping closer. "We need to go to the police. Or the federal prosecutors. If Victor takes control of the family captains tomorrow morning, he'll lock down every asset your father owned."
Julian looked down at her, his face shadowed in the rain. "The police can't help us, Elena. Half the precinct captains in this district are on my uncle's payroll. If we hand this to the authorities, the ledger will disappear before it reaches an evidence locker."
Suddenly, three pairs of high-beam headlights illuminated the pier from behind them.
Engine roars cut through the sound of the falling rain. Three black sedans screeched to a halt, blocking the pier exit.
Doors slammed open. Six armed men stepped out, their dark overcoats flying open as they pulled automatic weapons from their belts.
Standing in the middle of them was Victor Russo.
Victor stepped forward, his leather gloves gleaming in the headlight beams. He was wearing a dark trench coat, a cigar burning between his fingers.
"Julian," Victor said, his voice booming over the sound of the river. "I told you to stay at the house and comfort your stepmother."
Julian stepped in front of Elena, placing her behind his back. "Where is my father, Victor?"
"Your father is receiving specialized care," Victor smiled coldly. "Care appropriate for a man who can no longer make decisions for his empire."
Victor's eyes shifted toward Elena. "And you brought the maid. How sweet. The girl who thinks she's an investigator."
"She knows the truth, Victor," Julian shouted back. "And so do I! You bought off Mercer!"
Victor took a long drag from his cigar, exhaling smoke into the rain. "Mercer is an old fool who talked too much. Which is why he had a tragic heart failure in Marcus's study fifteen minutes ago."
Elena gasped behind Julian. Mercer was dead.
"Hand over the book, nephew," Victor said, pointing his cigar toward Julian. "You're a civilized boy. You like art, law, and expensive wine. Don't die on a filthy pier over a father who never loved you enough to put your name on the syndicate papers."
Julian looked back at Elena. He pressed something small and metallic into her coat pocket.
"On three," Julian whispered to her, so quietly only she could hear.
"Julian, what—"
"One."
Victor raised his hand, gesturing to his enforcers. "Take the ledger."
"Two."
Julian reached into his suit jacket.
"Three!"
Julian pulled a compact road flare from his pocket, struck the cap against the heel of his boot, and threw the blinding white-hot flare directly into the windshield of the lead sedan!
The blinding light exploded in the rainy darkness. The enforcers shouted in surprise, shielding their eyes.
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"RUN!" Julian yelled, grabbing Elena's arm and shoving her toward the edge of the pier where an old iron fire escape hung above the riverbank!
Gunfire erupted behind them, automatic rounds tearing through the wooden planks of the pier, sending wood splinters flying like shrapnel through the air.
