Chapter 2 - THREE MAFIA BOSSES DISCOVERED THEIR MOST TRUSTED ALLY WAS STEALING MILLIONS—BUT WHEN THE FLOWER GIRL REFUSED THEIR REWARD, ONE OF THEM REALIZED SHE COULD NEVER BE BOUGHT
By sunrise, Victor Haines had disappeared.
His apartment was empty.
His bank accounts had been drained.
And the security footage from Luca Marino's headquarters showed him leaving through a service entrance fifteen minutes after Maeve questioned the transportation reports.
Knox wanted to send men after him immediately.
Adrian insisted they preserve the records.
Luca called an independent forensic accounting firm.
Maeve watched the argument from the far side of the conference room.
She had been awake for nearly twenty hours.
Her stomach hurt.
Her eyes burned.
And nobody had remembered to ask whether she wanted breakfast.
Finally, she stood.
"I need coffee."
All three men stopped speaking.
Knox stared at her.
"Coffee?"
"And something to eat."
Luca looked at his watch.
Adrian glanced toward the door.
Then he pressed a button on the intercom.
"Breakfast for four."
Maeve crossed her arms.
"That doesn't solve the bigger problem."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"Which problem?"
"You're all still treating me like something you own."
Silence.
Knox looked away first.
Luca adjusted his cuffs.
Adrian studied her.
"The contracts are being reviewed."
"Then review them faster."
***
The forensic accountants confirmed the first part of Maeve's theory within forty-eight hours.
Eastbridge Logistics Consulting had received millions in payments through inflated invoices and fabricated service agreements.
Some transfers had been approved by Victor Haines.
Others carried authorization codes belonging to executives who claimed they had never seen the invoices.
The total was larger than Maeve's estimate.
Eleven point four million dollars.
And the accountants believed more money might be missing.
Knox read the report and slammed it onto the table.
"Eleven million."
Luca's face was pale with anger.
Adrian remained silent.
Maeve looked at the figures.
The theft was impressive.
Not because of its size.
Because of how carefully it had been hidden.
The payments had been distributed across unrelated businesses.
No single account showed a catastrophic loss.
No single invoice looked extraordinary.
Whoever designed the scheme understood how three competing organizations divided responsibility.
That suggested insider knowledge.
Possibly years of it.
Maeve pointed toward a table of transactions.
"Look at the dates."
Luca leaned closer.
"Again?"
"Yes."
She traced the sequence.
"These payments increase after your annual joint meetings."
Adrian looked up.
"Why does that matter?"
"Because someone is using information from those meetings to predict where money will move next."
Knox swore.
"Rourke."
Maeve shook her head.
"Maybe."
All three men looked at her.
She continued.
"But don't decide he's guilty because the evidence points toward him. Find out whether someone is making it point toward him."
Adrian's expression shifted.
For the first time, Maeve saw genuine approval.
"Exactly."
***
Gabriel Rourke arrived that evening.
He was fifty-eight, silver-haired, and elegantly dressed.
He had the warm voice of a man who knew how to make strangers feel like old friends.
He greeted Adrian first.
Then Luca.
Then Knox.
Finally, his eyes settled on Maeve.
"Ah. The famous flower girl."
Maeve said nothing.
Gabriel smiled.
"I've heard you've been causing quite a stir."
"Only because someone has been stealing."
His smile remained.
"An unfortunate accusation."
"An expensive one."
Knox almost smiled.
Gabriel turned toward Adrian.
"Surely we're not taking financial advice from a young woman who sells roses on the sidewalk."
Maeve felt the insult.
But she had spent too many years being underestimated to let it distract her.
She looked at him.
"How long has Eastbridge been working for you?"
Gabriel's smile faded slightly.
"For us, you mean."
"No."
Maeve held his gaze.
"I mean for you."
The room went quiet.
Gabriel laughed.
"You're confused."
"Possibly."
She placed a report on the table.
"Then explain why Eastbridge received payments before certain service agreements were signed."
Gabriel glanced at the paper.
"Administrative delays."
"And why its invoices reference warehouses that hadn't opened yet."
His expression tightened.
"Young lady—"
"And why Victor Haines disappeared the same day we asked for the underlying records."
Gabriel's voice became colder.
"Careful."
Adrian stood.
"Gabriel."
The older man looked at him.
Adrian's expression was unreadable.
"Answer her."
***
Gabriel denied everything.
He claimed Eastbridge was a legitimate consulting firm.
He insisted the invoices were routine.
He accused Maeve of misunderstanding complex financial arrangements.
Then he suggested the three bosses were allowing a frightened young woman to manipulate them.
Maeve listened.
She didn't argue.
Instead, she watched his hands.
Gabriel touched his cufflink whenever he mentioned Eastbridge.
He looked toward Luca whenever the subject turned to banking records.
And when Adrian asked about Victor Haines, he answered too quickly.
Finally, Maeve spoke.
"There's one question you haven't answered."
Gabriel turned.
"What?"
"Why did Patrick Donovan borrow from all three organizations?"
The room went silent.
Knox frowned.
"What does her father have to do with this?"
Maeve looked at him.
"Everything."
She placed the three debt contracts beside the Eastbridge reports.
"Patrick didn't borrow randomly."
Luca approached.
Maeve continued.
"Each loan was issued through a different subsidiary. Each subsidiary had a financial relationship with Eastbridge."
Adrian looked at the documents.
"You're saying the loans were arranged?"
"I think someone wanted the three of you to claim the same collateral."
Knox's face darkened.
"To start a war."
Maeve nodded.
"And if you started fighting, who would have benefited?"
Nobody answered.
They didn't need to.
***
Gabriel Rourke left the building under the supervision of independent investigators.
He was not arrested that night.
The evidence still needed to be verified.
But his access to shared business records was suspended.
Victor Haines remained missing.
And Patrick Donovan had become a much more important man than anyone expected.
Maeve sat alone in the conference room after midnight.
The city lights reflected against the windows.
She had spent years imagining what would happen if her father finally disappeared.
She had thought she would feel relief.
Instead, she felt something worse.
The possibility that Patrick had not merely abandoned her.
He had knowingly placed her inside a criminal conflict.
The door opened.
Adrian entered carrying two cups of coffee.
He placed one beside her.
"You're still awake."
"So are you."
He sat across from her.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Maeve asked, "Do you think my father knew?"
Adrian considered the question.
"I think he knew more than he told you."
She looked down.
"He always said he loved me."
Adrian was quiet.
Maeve laughed bitterly.
"Funny how often people say that when they need something."
He looked at her.
"Love should not require someone to surrender their freedom."
She raised her eyes.
"Then why am I still here?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately.
Finally, he said, "Because three men made a decision before asking whether you had any rights in the matter."
Maeve stared at him.
He continued.
"It was wrong."
She hadn't expected that.
"You're admitting it?"
"Yes."
"Does Luca know?"
"He will."
"And Knox?"
"He'll survive hearing it."
For the first time in days, Maeve smiled.
Adrian looked at her for a moment.
Then he said, "Tomorrow, you'll meet an independent attorney. You may choose your own representation."
Maeve's smile disappeared.
"Really?"
"Really."
She studied him.
"Why?"
Adrian looked toward the city.
"Because you were right."
"About Eastbridge?"
"About more than Eastbridge."
***
The following morning, Maeve met attorney Evelyn Brooks.
Evelyn was a sharp, practical woman in her forties who specialized in coercive contracts and financial exploitation.
She examined the three agreements.
Then she looked at Maeve.
"These documents do not give anyone ownership of you."
Maeve stared.
"What?"
"Your father cannot legally sell your freedom to satisfy his debts."
Tears filled Maeve's eyes.
"Then I can leave?"
"Yes."
She pressed a hand over her mouth.
For the first time since the men had entered her apartment, someone had said the words she needed to hear.
You can leave.
***
That afternoon, Adrian, Luca, and Knox met Maeve in the conference room.
Evelyn sat beside her.
The attorney explained that the contracts were unenforceable as claims over Maeve herself.
The debts remained matters between Patrick and his creditors.
Maeve had no obligation to work for them.
No obligation to remain under their supervision.
And no obligation to repay money she had never borrowed.
Knox looked furious.
But not at Maeve.
At Patrick.
Luca closed his folder.
Adrian nodded.
"Then she's free."
Maeve looked between them.
"Just like that?"
Knox leaned forward.
"You want us to argue?"
"No."
He smiled faintly.
"Good."
Luca placed a separate document on the table.
"There's something else."
Maeve looked at it.
An employment offer.
Independent financial analysis consultant.
Six-month contract.
Professional compensation.
No residential requirement.
No personal obligations.
Maeve stared at the amount.
It was more money than she'd earned in three years selling flowers.
"I can't accept this."
Luca frowned.
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want another contract deciding my life."
Adrian nodded.
"Then don't sign."
Maeve looked at him.
He continued.
"Take the document. Have Evelyn review it. Decide later."
Knox folded his arms.
"And if you walk away, you walk away."
Maeve looked at the three men.
For the first time, they were not claiming her.
They were offering her a choice.
***
That evening, Maeve returned to her apartment.
Knox insisted on arranging a ride, but she refused the private security detail.
She wanted to walk through her own door without anyone deciding where she belonged.
The apartment was still damaged.
The furniture remained overturned.
Patrick was gone.
But Maeve stood in the center of the room and breathed.
It was hers.
Not because it was beautiful.
Not because it was safe.
Because she could decide what happened next.
Her phone rang.
Unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A familiar voice spoke.
"Maeve."
Her blood turned cold.
"Dad?"
Patrick Donovan exhaled.
"Sweetheart, listen carefully."
Maeve gripped the phone.
"Where are you?"
"There's no time."
"Where are you?"
Patrick's voice shook.
"I didn't know what they were going to do."
Maeve closed her eyes.
"Who?"
A pause.
Then he whispered, "Rourke."
Maeve went still.
Patrick continued.
"He told me the contracts were just paperwork. He said nobody would hurt you."
Tears filled her eyes.
"You signed me away."
"I was desperate."
"You were always desperate."
Patrick began crying.
"Maeve, I'm sorry."
She looked around the apartment.
At the broken furniture.
At the life she'd spent trying to repair.
"Sorry doesn't fix this."
"I know."
"No. You don't."
Patrick was silent.
Then he whispered, "Rourke is planning something bigger."
Maeve straightened.
"What?"
"He doesn't just want their money."
"What does he want?"
Patrick's breathing became uneven.
"He wants all three organizations destroyed."
Maeve gripped the phone.
"How?"
A sound came through the line.
A door opening.
Patrick gasped.
Then the call ended.
Maeve stared at the screen.
A message arrived seconds later.
A photograph of Patrick tied to a chair.
Beneath it were six words.
STOP LOOKING OR HE DIES NEXT.
Maeve's hands began to shake.
She had finally been given her freedom.
May you like
And now someone was trying to take it away again.
END OF CHAPTER 2
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