Chapter 4 - The File Called Mayflower
Mave did not tell Vincent about Dominic’s email.
She hated herself for it.
But Dominic had specifically warned her.
Find MAYFLOWER first.
So she searched.
The Costa accounting system contained thousands of files.
No Mayflower.
The logistics server?
Nothing.
Archived corporate records?
Nothing.
Then she remembered Vincent’s calendar.
Mayflower was not necessarily a filename.
It could be a code.
She searched appointments.
One recurring entry appeared every November.
MAYFLOWER—11:00.
No location.
No attendees.
She clicked.
Access restricted.
Only Vincent could open it.
Mave stared.
Someone Vincent trusted more than Salvatore.
Maybe Dominic had meant Vincent himself.
The thought made her sick.
She closed the tablet.
Vincent entered.
“You’re hiding something.”
Her pulse jumped.
“What?”
“You close spreadsheets when I walk in only when you’re angry or hiding something.”
“You monitor my spreadsheet behavior?”
“I monitor everything.”
“Healthy.”
“Mave.”
She stood.
“I need access to Mayflower.”
Vincent froze.
“How do you know that name?”
“Dominic.”
His expression changed.
“What did he tell you?”
“He sent me an email.”
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“He said not to.”
“Dominic is dead.”
“Which makes his paranoia slightly more credible.”
Vincent’s anger rose.
“What did the email say?”
She showed him.
He read it.
Then sat down.
“What is Mayflower?”
Vincent stared at the screen.
“My mother.”
Mave blinked.
“What?”
“Mayflower was the name of the restaurant where my mother worked before marrying my father.”
“What’s the calendar entry?”
“The anniversary of her death.”
Mave softened.
“I’m sorry.”
Vincent entered a password.
A hidden archive opened.
Photographs.
Financial documents.
Letters.
Then video files.
Mave frowned.
“What is all this?”
“My mother kept records.”
“Of your father?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“She planned to leave him.”
Vincent’s voice changed.
“She never got the chance.”
Mave looked at him.
“How did she die?”
“Car bombing.”
“Enemies?”
“That’s what I was told.”
They opened the final video.
Vincent’s mother appeared.
Young.
Beautiful.
Terrified.
“If anything happens to me, Enzo did it.”
Vincent stopped breathing.
Enzo Costa.
Vincent’s father.
Mave reached for his hand.
This time he let her.
The recording continued.
Enzo had discovered his wife intended to cooperate with prosecutors.
She had documentation of money laundering, murders and bribery.
But there was another name.
A man who helped her gather evidence.
Peter Collins.
Mave’s father.
Her hand dropped from Vincent’s.
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Mave?”
“My father’s name was Peter Collins.”
The room went silent.
Peter Collins had died when Mave was nine.
Supposedly during a convenience-store robbery.
She watched the video.
Vincent’s mother spoke directly into the camera.
“Peter has copies. If I don’t survive, he promised to protect both children.”
Both.
Vincent.
And Mave.
Mave’s eyes filled.
“Our parents knew each other.”
“Yes.”
“And died within months.”
“Yes.”
The truth became obvious.
Neither death had been random.
Enzo Costa had eliminated both.
Vincent stood abruptly.
“My father killed yours.”
Mave whispered:
“And your mother.”
The betrayal crossed generations.
Vincent looked sick.
“I built my life on his name.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I defended him.”
“You didn’t know.”
“I became him.”
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
Mave stepped closer.
“You became dangerous. You did terrible things. I’m not pretending otherwise.”
He flinched.
“But right now you’re standing here horrified by what he did.”
She touched his face.
“That means you are not him.”
For several seconds, Vincent did not move.
Then he covered her hand with his.
“Mave.”
Her heartbeat changed.
He leaned closer.
Stopped.
Giving her the choice.
She closed the distance.
Their first kiss was quiet.
No urgency.
No possession.
Just three years of restraint finally breaking.
When they separated, Vincent rested his forehead against hers.
“I’ve wanted to do that for almost three years.”
“Two years and eleven months?”
He smiled.
“Exactly.”
Then the security alarm screamed.
Leo’s voice came through the intercom.
“Vincent! Get down!”
Gunfire erupted outside.
The windows shattered.
Vincent threw Mave to the floor and covered her.
May you like
The shadow organization had arrived.
And this time, they were not hiding.
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