Chapter 12 - Geneva
The person entering the Geneva vault identified himself as Lukas Reinhardt.
Forty-seven.
Swiss citizen.
Former private banking compliance officer.
Fired three years earlier.
No criminal convictions.
Heavy gambling debt.
Dominic learned all of that within twenty minutes.
The more important fact was this:
Lukas had Antonio Virelli’s missing archive token.
And he was standing inside the bank.
Lucas Bennett coordinated with Swiss counsel while Dominic remained in the mansion library.
Vivien sat handcuffed in the adjacent sitting room with detectives.
She requested an attorney.
Then refused to answer questions.
Dominic did not need her anymore.
At least he hoped not.
“Can the bank stop Reinhardt?”
Dominic asked.
Lucas shook his head.
“Not without confirming Isabella’s competing authority.”
“She’s right here.”
“Yes.”
Lucas turned toward her.
“We need a live identity verification.”
Isabella nodded.
A secure video connection opened.
A Swiss bank officer appeared.
He verified Isabella’s passport.
Her face.
Her security phrases.
Then asked a question.
“Mrs. Virelli, do you request immediate suspension of all access to deposit archive GV-1948?”
Isabella typed.
YES.
The officer read it.
“I require verbal confirmation if available.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“She cannot speak.”
The officer looked uncomfortable.
“Bank policy—”
Elaine leaned toward the camera.
“Your customer has a documented speech disability.”
“I understand.”
“Then requiring speech is discriminatory.”
The officer hesitated.
Isabella suddenly raised her hand.
Everyone stopped.
She looked at Marin.
Then touched her throat.
Marin frowned.
“Are you okay?”
Isabella nodded.
She took a breath.
A strange strained sound emerged.
Dominic moved closer.
“Ma.”
She tried again.
Air.
A rough broken consonant.
Then something barely recognizable.
“Y…”
Marin’s eyes widened.
Isabella tried again.
“Y…es.”
One syllable.
Damaged.
Weak.
But real.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Isabella looked at the screen.
“Yes.”
The room went completely still.
The banker stared.
Dominic’s eyes filled immediately.
Isabella had not spoken a clear word in eighteen months.
The bank officer recovered.
“Thank you, Mrs. Virelli.”
His voice softened.
“I will suspend the archive immediately.”
Isabella leaned back.
Marin started crying.
Dominic crouched beside his mother.
“You just had to make it dramatic.”
Isabella laughed silently.
Then squeezed his hand.
Lucas’s laptop chimed.
“Access suspended.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
For the first time in almost twenty-four hours, one threat was truly contained.
Then Lucas frowned.
“What?”
Dominic asked.
“There was a transfer.”
“What transfer?”
“Not physical.”
Lucas typed.
“Digital scan request.”
“When?”
“Nine minutes before suspension.”
“How much?”
Lucas looked up.
“All of it.”
Dominic’s relief disappeared.
“Reinhardt scanned the archive?”
“Looks like it.”
“To where?”
“Unknown.”
Dominic looked toward the sitting room.
Vivien.
He walked there.
The detective moved aside.
Vivien sat with her wrists cuffed in front.
Her attorney had not arrived.
Dominic remained at the doorway.
She smiled.
“Did Mommy save you?”
Dominic ignored the insult.
“Reinhardt scanned the archive.”
Her smile faded slightly.
“To where?”
“No idea.”
“Vivien.”
“I asked for counsel.”
Dominic nodded.
“Then don’t answer.”
He turned away.
She stopped him.
“Dominic.”
He looked back.
“If Lukas copied everything…”
For the first time, she sounded worried.
“…then I don’t control it anymore.”
Dominic studied her.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Lukas was supposed to photograph one folder.”
“What folder?”
She hesitated.
Dominic began turning away.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
“The Morrow file.”
Vivien spoke quickly.
“The evidence against my father.”
Dominic stared.
“You wanted to destroy it.”
“Yes.”
“And alter records about me.”
Vivien looked down.
“That was later.”
“You expect distinctions to matter?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“But Lukas was never supposed to scan everything.”
Dominic watched her carefully.
“What does that mean?”
“It means he betrayed me.”
For once, Dominic believed her.
He returned to the library.
“Find Reinhardt.”
Lucas looked up.
“Swiss authorities are already moving.”
“No.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Find where the data went.”
Lucas began working.
Rocco entered.
“Charles wants to talk.”
“About?”
“He says he knows Lukas.”
Dominic turned.
Minutes later, Charles was brought into the library.
He looked at Isabella.
Then lowered his eyes.
“Isabella.”
She stared.
He spoke softly.
“I’m sorry.”
Her tablet answered.
TOO LATE.
Charles nodded.
“Yes.”
Dominic stepped between them.
“Lukas.”
Charles looked at him.
“He worked for me.”
“When?”
“Twelve years ago.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“At St. Joseph’s?”
Charles nodded.
“He took Antonio’s key.”
“Yes.”
Dominic moved closer.
“And the photographs?”
“His.”
“Why photograph Marin?”
Charles looked at her.
“She sat with you.”
“So?”
“We were identifying anyone who might have received something from Antonio before he died.”
Marin stared.
“I handed him coffee.”
Charles looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Dominic’s voice sharpened.
“What did you think my father gave me?”
“The archive location.”
“But he didn’t.”
“No.”
Charles continued.
“Lukas kept the key after the job.”
“You let him?”
“I thought he destroyed it.”
Dominic laughed.
“You surrounded yourself with trustworthy people.”
Charles accepted the insult.
“What does Lukas want?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“However much the archive is worth.”
Lucas Bennett’s computer chimed.
Everyone turned.
“I found an outbound connection.”
“Where?”
“Reinhardt uploaded encrypted packages to a dead-drop server.”
“Can we access it?”
“Not without credentials.”
Charles closed his eyes.
“I may know them.”
Dominic stared.
Charles continued.
“Lukas used the same phrase for years.”
“What phrase?”
“Fortuna favors the patient.”
Lucas typed.
“Latin?”
“No.”
Charles shook his head.
“English.”
Lucas tried it.
Nothing.
Charles frowned.
“Maybe combined with a date.”
“What date?”
“The day he stole the key.”
Dominic looked at Isabella.
“When did Dad die?”
Her eyes filled.
She typed.
OCTOBER 21, 2014.
Tomorrow would be twelve years.
Lucas entered the phrase with the date.
The screen changed.
Access granted.
He stared.
“We’re in.”
Dominic stepped closer.
Folders filled the screen.
Scanned archive.
Financial records.
Photos.
Memos.
And one additional folder.
NEW.
Lucas clicked it.
Documents appeared.
Dominic’s name.
Wire transfers.
Witness statements.
Photographs.
Elaine leaned closer.
“These are fabricated.”
“How can you tell?”
“One says you authorized a payment in Monaco in 2017.”
Dominic nodded.
“I was in Tokyo.”
Another document connected him to an unsolved homicide.
Another suggested bribery.
Another linked Marin Hayes to secret payments.
Marin stared.
“Me?”
Dominic’s eyes darkened.
Vivien had intended to discredit not only him.
But the woman who could contradict her.
Then Lucas stopped scrolling.
A file sat at the bottom.
Scheduled_release.txt.
He opened it.
One line.
12:00 AM EST.
Destination list.
Newspapers.
Federal agencies.
Business partners.
More than sixty recipients.
Rocco checked the time.
10:37 p.m.
Eighty-three minutes.
Lucas looked at Dominic.
“The server is configured to release everything automatically.”
“Can you stop it?”
“I don’t know.”
Dominic stared at the clock.
May you like
For the first time that night, he finally felt what Vivien had wanted him to feel.
Time running out.
