CHAPTER 4 – The Ghost From Twenty-Five Years Ago
CHAPTER 4 – The Ghost From Twenty-Five Years Ago
At sunrise, Callahan stood alone in his penthouse office.
The city stretched beneath him like an empire he no longer cared about.
His desk was covered with June's letters.
Maisie's drawings.
Hospital reports.
One small crayon picture showed a man holding a little girl's hand beneath a smiling sun.
Across the top, crooked handwriting read:
"Me and Daddy Someday."
Callahan gently closed his eyes.
Someone knocked.
Miles entered carrying a sealed evidence box.
"We searched Graham's townhouse."
"Anything?"
Miles placed the box on the desk.
"He burned most of it."
"But..."
He removed a thick envelope marked:
PROPERTY OF ELIAS VOSS
Callahan froze.
His father's name.
His father had been murdered twenty-five years ago.
No police officer had ever solved it.
He slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was an old cassette tape.
A newspaper clipping.
And a handwritten confession.
Not from Graham.
From someone named Vincent Hale.
The confession read:
If you're reading this, I'm probably dead. Elias Voss didn't die because of rival families. He died because he discovered someone inside his own organization was selling children through the shipping ports...
Callahan stopped reading.
His pulse thundered.
Selling children?
His father had never mentioned anything like that.
He continued.
The man responsible called himself "The Shepherd." Only three people knew his real identity.
Below the paragraph were three names.
Elias Voss.
Vincent Hale.
...
The third name had been torn from the page.
Someone had deliberately removed it.
Miles looked over his shoulder.
"Whoever tore that out didn't want us knowing."
Callahan nodded.
"Graham."
"Most likely."
"But why keep the rest?"
Callahan stared at the confession.
"Because he wanted me to find it."
Miles frowned.
"A trap?"
"No."
"Worse."
"A message."
Across the room, Maisie wandered in wearing oversized pajamas and carrying her stuffed rabbit.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes.
"Daddy?"
Callahan instantly softened.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"I had a dream."
She climbed into his lap.
"There was a man with a burned face."
Callahan exchanged a glance with Miles.
"What did he say?"
Maisie frowned.
"He told Mommy..."
She hesitated.
"...that if she ever told you the truth..."
"...everyone would die."
The room fell silent.
June appeared in the doorway.
Her face had turned completely white.
"I've heard those words before."
Callahan slowly stood.
"From who?"
June looked toward the window.
"Not Graham."
She swallowed hard.
"There was another man."
"He never gave his name."
"He always wore black leather gloves."
"And..."
Her voice trembled.
"...half his face had burn scars."
Callahan's eyes widened.
The burned face.
The missing name.
His father's confession.
None of this had been about betrayal alone.
Someone far more powerful had been hiding behind Graham for decades.
And somewhere in New York...
That man had just learned that June Bell was alive.
Outside the penthouse, a black sedan stopped across the street.
A man wearing black gloves watched the building through binoculars.
The left side of his face was covered with scar tissue.
He lowered the binoculars and smiled.
"So..."
"They finally opened the first door."
He picked up his phone.
"Prepare the second phase."
May you like
Then he gave the order that would throw New York into chaos.
"Bring me the little girl."
