Chapter 34 Athena
ATHENA
Dimitri moves to the laptop, plugging in cables while I stay seated, hyper-aware of Ares and Theo watching our every move.
The TV flickers, and suddenly we can all see the laptop screen on it. He moves around, and Dimitri logs into the software he'd shown me back in Piraeus, the one that mirrored Cosmo's phone.
Even though I've already seen the files, the recordings, the evidence, a sick twist of anxiety coils in my stomach as everything pops up again.
He leans over the screen, checking things.
"Thank God for the program," Dimitri says, typing on the keyboard. "Even though they took the actual phone, the software copied everything. We have what we need."
"And how was this unlocked?" Theo asks.
Dimitri glances over his shoulder. "She unlocked it. Was her mother's birthday."
I keep my focus on Dimitri, but out of the corner of my eye, I see Ares and Theo glance at me and then back at the TV.
"And without the phone, you sure everything's here?" Ares asks.
"Yes." Dimitri's gaze meets mine briefly before he looks back to his brothers. "It's all here."
He looks back and navigates to the first folder, and I feel like I'm going to throw up.
Here we go.
"I'll play the voice memos we found first," he says, clicking on the file.
The sound of my father's voice fills the room. I still can't believe I never knew the real man behind the carefully constructed image he'd shown the world. I guess my mom didn't either.
We listen to the one about making payments, then the one about the six million and more needs to be met. Each one drives it home that Cosmo was being forced.
After the voice memos, Dimitri goes through the copies of the financial records I found showing the increasing payments to H. S. Holdings and the pressure mounting on my father, the desperate attempts to satisfy whoever was pulling his strings.
Once he goes through everything, Dimitri exits out back to the main screen and turns to his brothers.
"Athena was also able to find that S, via his H. S. Holdings company, liquidated Cosmo's accounts right after his death."
Ares sits back, taking in everything. I can see Theo doing the same.
"It's a lot, but we also have a number so—"
"What's that?" Ares asks suddenly, cutting off Dimitri.
"There," he continues, pointing to a file on the screen.
Dimitri turns and looks at it. "This one? Not sure. The software says it's not addressed to anyone. Draft text."
"That's a fucking large draft," Ares says. "It's got something. Click it."
Dimitri hesitates only a second before opening the file. His eyes scan the contents. "Shit," he says and then glances at me. "This is something we didn't hear before."
"Play it," Theo says, leaning forward.
Dimitri clicks it.
We sit in silence as the audio buffer loads.
Then Cosmo's voice again, so close, so clear it feels like he's sitting in the room.
"If you're hearing this, that means I'm dead."
No one moves.
"The man you're looking for, the one who caused all this shit that got me killed, he goes by 'S.' His number is in this phone."
Theo's gaze lifts to Dimitri, but neither of them speaks.
"He'll never stop. Not until the entire Kastaris family is buried."
The voice cracks, and muffled sounds are heard.
I press a hand to my chest, as if that might ease the crushing tightness there.
"Fuck. They're gaining access to the hidden—"
The recording cuts off.
For a moment, no one does anything. We just sit there.
Theo is the first to move. He rubs a hand over his face, exhaling hard.
Dimitri looks at him. "Do you think he recorded that in the room right before we found him?"
Theo nods his head. "Sounds like it."
It's weird to think my father knew he was going to die. He knew who was after him, and he tried to leave a message.
For me? For whoever found his phone? I'll never know.
"So we have a number for S on this phone," Dimitri says. "I wanted to wait until we were here. We're all in on this. We started together. We end this together."
Ares nods, leaning forward, his face hard as stone. "Let's call this motherfucker."
Theo lifts a hand. "Wait."
Ares turns his glare on him.
"If we call from this line, whoever answers might know it's us or be able to trace it to us," Theo says. "We need to be smart."
Ares doesn't argue. "Dimitri, set up the secure line," he says.
Dimitri starts typing, pulling up an encrypted calling app.
"Also, put a voice mask on us, just in case," Theo adds.
Dimitri nods while typing, and as he's working, Ares gets up and leaves the office without a word.
Theo and I exchange a look, but he just turns back to the TV.
A minute later, Ares returns with Stassi and Katerina trailing behind him.
"Might as well all be here," he says. "Since this affects them, too."
The two women move to their husbands' sides. Katerina stands tall next to Ares, and Stassi slips her hand into Theo's, her face grim.
"Calli?" Theo asks.
"She's not answering," Ares says. "Must be busy at that retreat."
After a few moments, Dimitri gets up and points at the box on Ares's desk. "It's connected. When you're ready, hit the call button on the speaker."
Ares looks at everyone and then leans over and presses a button.
I hold my breath. My heart pounds. The air in the room feels electric, charged with anticipation and dread.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I register that I'm in a room with some of the most dangerous men in Greece. But all I can think about is the man beside me, and the way his jaw flexes when he's holding back rage
There's a pause, and then two short rings come out of the speaker.
Two more.
Two more.
We all look at the speaker. If I could burn through it with my eyes, I would.
And then, there's a pause, and someone answers.
"Yeah?"
No one speaks. I glance at Dimitri, whose eyes have narrowed to dangerous slits, trying to focus on the caller.
The voice again. "Hello? Who's this?"
Ares leans in, his eyes go wide, and Katerina covers her mouth and gasps.
"Stavros?" Ares asks, his voice low, almost disbelieving.
"Yeah," the voice says, irritated. "Who the fuck is this?"