Chapter 23 - The Man Who Chose Not to Kill
Daniel Kessler survived prison intake.
Roman considered that a personal achievement.
“You sound disappointed,” Clara said.
They sat together on the estate terrace.
“I’m evolving.”
“Slowly.”
“Cruel woman.”
Clara leaned against him.
For the first time in weeks, there were no armed attackers.
No kidnappings.
No explosions.
But peace lasted exactly three days.
Prosecutor Rhodes returned with a federal warrant.
Roman glanced at it.
“What now?”
“Kessler started talking.”
Marcus frowned.
“Already?”
“He wants a deal.”
Roman laughed.
“Predictable.”
Rhodes’s expression remained serious.
“He claims there are still Duca accounts controlled through illegal shell companies.”
Roman’s amusement disappeared.
“I shut those down after Victor.”
“Apparently not all.”
She handed him a list.
Roman studied it.
His face changed.
“These signatures are mine.”
Clara stepped closer.
“You signed them?”
“No.”
Rhodes nodded.
“Forensic analysts believe they are authentic.”
Roman looked at Marcus.
“What dates?”
“Some from the period when you were recovering from the harbor shooting.”
Clara remembered.
Roman had spent weeks heavily medicated after surgery.
Documents had been brought to his hospital room.
Hundreds.
“Victor?” Marcus asked.
Roman shook his head.
“Dead by then.”
Rhodes pointed to a corporate officer listed on every transaction.
Marcus Vale.
Everyone looked at Marcus.
Silence.
Marcus stared at the page.
Then laughed once.
“You have got to be kidding me.”
Rhodes’s agents entered behind her.
“Marcus Vale, you need to come with us.”
Roman stepped between them.
“No.”
“Roman.”
“He did not do this.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
Marcus touched Roman’s shoulder.
“Boss.”
Roman turned.
Marcus’s face was calm.
“If someone framed me, fighting federal agents proves nothing.”
Roman hated it.
Clara could see that.
Victor’s betrayal had poisoned the deepest part of him.
Now evidence pointed toward the man who had taken Victor’s place.
Marcus removed his weapon.
Placed it on the table.
Then held out his hands.
Rhodes cuffed him.
As he was led away, Roman said one thing.
“I’m getting you out.”
Marcus looked back.
“I know.”
That trust hit Roman harder than any accusation.
The investigation revealed millions had moved through accounts under Marcus’s authority.
Payments to private gun suppliers.
Politicians.
Foreign intermediaries.
All signed after Victor’s death.
Clara spent the night studying scans.
Something bothered her.
“Roman.”
He looked over.
“Your signature.”
“What about it?”
She placed two documents side by side.
One real.
One suspicious.
“Same pressure. Same angle. Same spacing.”
“That supports authenticity.”
“No.”
She pointed.
“Nobody signs exactly the same way twice.”
Roman stared.
Clara smiled.
“These aren’t forged signatures.”
“What are they?”
“Copied signatures.”
Digital reproduction from a signature machine.
Roman immediately understood.
“Who had access?”
They checked.
Three executives.
Two attorneys.
One personal assistant.
And Roman’s longtime chief financial officer.
Samuel Trent.
A man who had worked for the Duca family for thirty years.
Roman found him gone.
His home was empty.
His accounts emptied.
A private jet had departed for the Caribbean six hours earlier.
Marcus was released the next morning.
Roman met him outside the courthouse.
Neither man spoke.
Roman simply handed Marcus his weapon.
Marcus accepted it.
Then said, “You doubted me for half a second.”
Roman looked at him.
“Less.”
“Still counts.”
Roman almost smiled.
Clara watched them.
The damage Victor caused was finally beginning to heal.
But Samuel Trent had escaped with something more dangerous than money.
He had also downloaded the complete Duca corporate network.
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And according to the last file he opened before fleeing, he had been searching for one thing.
Roman and Clara’s wedding security plan.
