Another note appeared from one week earlier.

G.T. wants out.

My pulse shifted.

Out of what?

I photographed the pages with my phone.

Then I called Anthony.

He answered after the second ring.

Anthony Leone was sixty-one and had worked for my father long before he worked for me.

He was among the few men still alive who remembered the years I’d spent pretending I understood what I was doing.

“Boss?”

“Were you working with my father fourteen years ago?”

There was a pause.

“I worked with your father for twenty-three years.”

“October fourteenth.”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

“What about it?”

“Pier Seventeen.”

Silence.

I leaned back.

Interesting.

“You remember.”

“I remember plenty of things.”

“Gabriel Torres.”

Silence again.

Then Anthony asked, “Where did you hear that name?”

That was enough of an answer.

“Come to the house.”

“It’s past midnight.”

“I know.”

Anthony sighed.

“I’ll be there.”

He ended the call.

I remained inside the darkened office.

Five minutes later, a quiet knock sounded.

My hand moved toward the drawer automatically.

Then Maria’s voice came through the door.

“Daniel?”

I opened it.

She stood barefoot in the hallway, still wearing the same clothes.

“Sofia?”

“Asleep.”

“What is it?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

I looked at her.

“That makes two of us.”

She noticed the notebook.

“You discovered something.”

I stepped aside.

She came inside.

I showed her the entry.

Her expression changed when she noticed Gabriel’s initials.

“You knew him.”

“My father did.”

“And you were there.”

“Apparently.”

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

She studied me as if trying to decide whether that could possibly be true.

I couldn’t blame her.

“I was twenty years old,” I said. “Half my life was spent following my father into rooms where nobody explained what anything meant.”

“What kind of father does that?”

“The kind who thought explanations were weakness.”

She sat opposite me.

“Was he harsh?”

I nearly gave her the simple answer.

Yes.

But reality was more complicated.

“He was afraid.”

Maria looked surprised.

“Of what?”

“Losing control.”

“How do you know?”

“Because he raised me to become exactly like him.”