Chapter 12 - At the Harbor, My Mother Finally Spoke the Name Everyone Feared
The harbor smelled of salt and diesel.
Police lights reflected across the water.
Investigators had stopped the vessel before departure.
I waited behind the security line.
A paramedic appeared carrying an oxygen cylinder.
Then I saw her.
My mother stepped slowly onto the dock.
Her face was thinner.
Her hair was tangled.
But she was alive.
I ran toward her.
The cast knocked against my coat.
She opened her arms carefully.
"Katie," she whispered.
I buried my face against her shoulder.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she saw Damon.
Her expression changed.
"You look like your father."
Damon lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry for what he did."
My mother touched his sleeve.
"You are not responsible for his sins."
She told us Vale had used threats for years.
Preston handled the intimidation.
The senator protected the contracts.
And Vale controlled the money.
But there was another person.
Someone who had warned my mother about the transfer.
Someone inside the Blackwell household.
I looked at Eleanor.
My mother shook her head.
"Not Eleanor."
She named the person quietly.
"Matteo."
Damon looked stunned.
Then my mother explained.
Matteo had been sending warnings anonymously.
He had risked his position to keep her alive.
I looked toward the man guarding the dock.
May you like
He simply nodded.
For once, the quietest man had been telling the truth.
