Chapter 4 - The Prison Transfer That Never Reached Prison

They left Benny’s before midnight.

Gabriel ate six more bites first.

Norah noticed.

So did Leo.

Nobody said anything.

At the mansion, Dominic—Gabriel’s attorney, not security; wait, no Dominic not established. Keep continuity with Leo only. Let's avoid new conflicting role.

Gabriel’s security team pulled prison records.

Evan Mercer.

Forty-one.

Convicted seven years earlier for racketeering and conspiracy.

Scheduled transfer eight months ago.

From federal custody to a medical facility.

The transfer occurred.

But the receiving signature was wrong.

Leo stared at the record.

“That’s not a federal marshal.”

Gabriel looked at him.

“You know the name?”

Leo nodded.

“Martin Keane.”

Norah sat nearby with a cup of broth.

She had refused to leave until Gabriel ate.

He had refused to eat unless she stayed.

Neither acknowledged the arrangement.

Gabriel asked:

“Who is Keane?”

Leo answered:

“He worked for my father.”

Silence.

“Doing what?”

“Transportation.”

Gabriel almost smiled.

“Of course.”

Leo continued:

“He moved cash.”

“People.”

“Cars.”

“Anything that needed to cross state lines quietly.”

Gabriel looked at the transfer sheet.

“And he moved Evan.”

“Yes.”

“Eight months ago.”

“Yes.”

Norah frowned.

“Why wait eight months to poison someone?”

Gabriel looked at her.

“Because killing me was not the first goal.”

Leo’s face changed.

“What was?”

Gabriel leaned back.

“To make me suspicious.”

“Of the kitchen.”

“Of the house.”

“Of you.”

Norah looked between them.

“Paulie died to isolate you.”

Gabriel nodded.

Leo stared.

“My brother killed Paulie to make Gabriel stop trusting me.”

“Maybe.”

Leo’s jaw tightened.

“No.”

Gabriel looked at him.

“You don’t know that.”

“I know Evan.”

Gabriel’s voice stayed quiet.

“You knew him seven years ago.”

That landed.

Leo looked away.

Then Norah asked:

“Why was Evan in prison?”

Neither man answered quickly.

Gabriel finally said:

“He tried to sell us.”

“To who?”

“Federal agents.”

Leo looked at Gabriel.

“He was scared.”

“He was paid.”

“Both can be true.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.

Leo continued:

“Evan thought you were going to kill him.”

“Why?”

“Because my father told him you would.”

Silence.

Gabriel leaned forward.

“Your father.”

Leo nodded.

“My father hated how close I was to you.”

“Why?”

“He thought I chose you over blood.”

Gabriel looked at him.

“Did you?”

Leo did not hesitate.

“Yes.”

That answer hurt more than it helped.

Norah saw.

Gabriel asked:

“Did your father know Rosa?”

Leo froze.

That was enough.

Gabriel’s eyes sharpened.

“He did.”

Leo nodded slowly.

“How?”

“He grew up on the same block.”

Gabriel stood.

“What did he do?”

Leo looked down.

“I don’t know everything.”

“Tell me what you know.”

“My father collected debts for bookmakers.”

Gabriel’s face hardened.

“Rosa’s husband owed money.”

Norah whispered:

“She never mentioned a husband.”

Leo continued:

“He left before you knew her.”

“My father said Rosa helped him disappear.”

Gabriel stared.

“Why?”

“Because he was beating her.”

Norah’s face changed.

Leo continued:

“My father hated her for it.”

Gabriel asked:

“What does that have to do with me?”

Leo looked at him.

“Rosa helped your mother too.”

Silence.

Gabriel froze.

“My mother.”

“Yes.”

“Helped her with what?”

Leo took a breath.

“Leaving your father.”

The room went still.

Gabriel stared.

“My father abandoned us.”

Leo shook his head.

“No.”

Norah looked at Gabriel.

His face emptied.

Leo continued:

“Your mother ran.”

Gabriel whispered:

“From him.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Leo’s voice lowered.

“He hit her.”

Gabriel looked away.

Memories shifted.

Doors closing.

His mother flinching at footsteps.

Rosa appearing with groceries.

The night his father vanished.

Gabriel had been told:

He left.

Never came back.

Now Leo said:

“Rosa arranged a bus ticket.”

“For my mother?”

“And for you.”

Gabriel turned.

“We never left.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“My father found out.”

Gabriel’s eyes hardened.

“What did he do?”

Leo swallowed.

“He stopped the bus.”

Norah whispered:

“How?”

Leo looked at Gabriel.

“He told your father where they were.”

Silence.

Gabriel’s hands tightened.

“My father came back.”

“Yes.”

Gabriel remembered one night.

Shouting.

Broken glass.

Then police.

Then his father truly disappeared.

Gabriel had been eleven.

“What happened after?”

Leo looked down.

“My father beat Rosa.”

Norah covered her mouth.

Gabriel stared.

“How bad?”

“Hospital.”

“And my mother?”

“She never tried to leave again.”

Gabriel looked toward the dark windows.

His entire childhood shifted again.

Then security entered.

“Boss.”

Gabriel turned.

“What?”

“We found Martin Keane.”

“Alive?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Outside Milwaukee.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed.

“And Evan?”

The man hesitated.

“Keane says Evan was never the person who ordered the transfer.”

Leo frowned.

“Then who did?”

The security man handed Gabriel a photograph.

A woman.

Older.

Gray hair.

Standing beside Keane eight months earlier.

Norah looked.

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Then stopped breathing.

“Rosa.”