Chapter 3 - The Fiancée Who Was Not Innocent
Gabriel’s private office occupied the top floor of a waterfront building that officially belonged to Reed Maritime Holdings.
The office had glass walls, dark wood, and an impossible view of the harbor. Ships moved below like shadows across black water.
Ava stood by the window while Gabriel’s security team traced the photograph of Dylan.
Jennifer sat across the room with a blanket around her shoulders, her white suit stained with champagne and humiliation.
No one had asked her to leave.
That told Ava Gabriel did not trust her.
Jennifer looked at Ava’s cheek.
“I am sorry,” she said quietly.
Ava did not turn around.
“You already said that.”
“I know. But I mean it now.”
“That does not make a difference to my brother.”
Jennifer flinched.
“No,” she said. “It doesn’t.”
Gabriel stood near his desk, reviewing documents Marcus placed before him.
The bug on his pocket square had transmitted for only nine minutes before Marcus disabled it. But those nine minutes included several conversations between Gabriel, Jennifer, investors, and a city commissioner.
Someone had wanted information.
Or leverage.
“Your father knew about the gala,” Gabriel said to Jennifer.
“My father knows about every gala in this city.”
“He knew the guest list included commissioners, developers, and state officials.”
“That still proves nothing.”
Gabriel placed a photograph on the desk.
It showed Judge Kelly meeting with Arthur Vane, a billionaire real-estate developer who had been trying to acquire waterfront properties controlled by Reed Maritime.
Jennifer stared at the image.
“I knew they met,” she whispered. “Dad said it was political.”
“Political is what wealthy men call business when they want to avoid prison,” Gabriel replied.
Ava looked at the papers.
“Arthur Vane,” she said. “That name was on the phone.”
Gabriel turned toward her.
“You saw it?”
“Mr. Strauss had a message preview. It said Vane.”
Marcus nodded. “We traced the encrypted number. It connects to a server used by Vane Development.”
Jennifer closed her eyes.
“My father is working with him.”
Gabriel’s voice was cold. “Your father is working for him.”
Ava’s phone rang.
Dylan.
She answered immediately.
“Dylan?”
His breathing came through the line.
“Sis,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
“Where are you?”
“I don’t know. It smells like gasoline. There are shipping containers.”
A voice interrupted.
“Ms. Lo.”
Ava’s hands shook.
“Who is this?”
“Someone who needs Gabriel Reed to understand that the city is changing.”
Gabriel stepped closer, listening.
The caller continued. “Bring the original harbor ledgers to Pier 19 before midnight. Come with the waitress. No police. No games.”
The line went dead.
Gabriel’s face remained still.
But Jennifer looked terrified.
“The harbor ledgers,” she whispered.
Ava turned toward her. “What are they?”
Jennifer hesitated.
Gabriel answered.
“Documents proving who truly owns half the waterfront.”
“And Vane wants them?”
“He wants them destroyed.”
Jennifer stood slowly.
“My father has been protecting Vane for years. He approved zoning changes, blocked investigations, and buried complaints from families forced out of their homes.”
Ava stared at her.
“You knew?”
Jennifer’s eyes filled.
“I knew enough to ask questions. I never asked them.”
The words sounded painfully familiar.
Gabriel’s gaze settled on Jennifer.
“Your father planned this engagement.”
Jennifer looked at him.
“What?”
“He wanted access to my companies. My routes. My private records. You were not chosen because he loved you.”
Gabriel’s voice became quieter.
“You were sent because you were useful.”
Jennifer’s face collapsed.
For the first time, Ava saw her not as the woman who slapped her, but as someone who had spent her life being used by powerful people too.
That did not erase anything.
But it changed the shape of Ava’s anger.
Gabriel opened a secure drawer and removed a leather-bound ledger.
“This is what they want.”
Ava looked at it.
“And you’re going to give it to them?”
Gabriel’s eyes met hers.
“No.”
He handed the ledger to Ava.
“You are going to tell me what is wrong with it.”
Ava frowned.
“What?”
“You said you are good with numbers. Look.”
The ledger contained decades of shipping accounts, real-estate transfers, shell companies, and coded payments. Ava scanned the pages.
At first, the entries seemed chaotic.
Then she saw the pattern.
Vane had inserted false transactions into Reed accounts years earlier. If the ledger reached federal investigators as it was, Gabriel could be blamed for crimes Vane committed.
“They’re setting you up,” Ava said.
Gabriel’s mouth moved slightly.
“Yes.”
“But there are duplicate entries. Same transfers, different dates. Whoever changed this did not understand accounting.”
Marcus looked impressed.
Ava continued, flipping pages faster.
“The original data must exist somewhere else. If Vane wants this ledger destroyed, then the real evidence is probably stored at Pier 19.”
Gabriel looked toward the harbor.
“Then we will retrieve it.”
Jennifer stepped forward.
“I’m coming.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No.”
“My father used me in this. I can identify his people.”
“You are a liability.”
Jennifer looked at Ava.
Then back at Gabriel.
“I know. But I can also help.”
For a long moment, Gabriel said nothing.
Then he gave Marcus one instruction.
“Prepare three vehicles.”
Outside, rain continued falling over the harbor.
May you like
At Pier 19, Dylan was waiting.
And someone had already decided that not everyone would leave alive.
