CHAPTER 16 #4
With my free hand, I reach into my pocket and pull out a folded piece of paper, a master list of every person I’ve saved and exactly where they are located now. I press it to his chest, and Silvio takes it.
He unfolds the paper, and his hands shake as he reads, but as his eyes scan the page, his expression shifts from terror to absolute disbelief.
“They are… alive?” he asks.
“Every single one of them. And their families,” I tell him. “I was too late to help Daniel and his family… But I am not too late to help yours.”
Silvio completely breaks, starts crying, and before I can react, he lunges forward. He grabs my right hand, the one holding the gun, and yanks it up, pressing the muzzle right back against his own forehead.
“Please, save them,” he begs. “Shoot me if you have to. But please, save them.”
I gently twist my wrist, breaking his hold, and offer the weapon back to him, handle-first.
“Silvio, the gun is empty.”
He stares at it… takes the gun, drops the magazine, and sees that there are absolutely no bullets inside.
“I’m sorry for the scare, but I needed to be absolutely certain,” I say, meeting his gaze. “Can I be certain about you, Silvio?”
“Yes. I give you my word.”
“Good.” I take the list from his hand, pull out a lighter, and light one of its corners. “What I am about to tell you must stay a secret from anyone who is not inside this room. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“If you tell anyone, your family will die… and not by my hand, but by Rafael’s. Do you understand what that means and what he’ll do to them?” I ask, dropping the burning paper into a metal trash can.
Silvio nods frantically. “Yes.”
“I am the informant. I have been working with the CIA to dismantle my father’s operation. And Damián… he is a Harknett.”
Silvio blinks, stunned. “But… how? Rafael tested him.”
“What do you mean, tested him?”
“From the beginning, Rafael knew there was something off with Damián. He tried everything to figure out who he really was. From one of his tips, he heard the codename ‘Harknett 8,’ so he dug into it. But no matter how deep he looked, he only ever found information on seven members, but nothing about the missing eighth.”
“But what did you mean by testing him?” I press, slightly freaking out, that Dami was tested and I had no idea.
“Rafael heard that the only time all the Harknetts appear together, even if one is undercover, is during a high-level threat. So, he orchestrated one.” Silvio swallows nervously.
“He sacrificed three of your father’s business partners and drugged you to make sure you couldn’t interfere.
Then, he waited to see if the Harknetts would arrive…
And they did, but Damián wasn’t with them.
After that, Rafael stopped looking into Harknett 8. ”
I burst out laughing at the irony and his freaking Karma.
“Silvio… Damián wasn’t there because Rafael drugged me. He left his team behind to help me.”
“Ohhh…”
Unbelievable… Rafael completely sabotaged his own dumb master plan.
“What does Rafael think about Damián now?” I ask.
“Now he thinks your boyfriend is a Fed or CIA. He’s been asking around his contacts from the DEA, but no one knows a thing.”
“He’s also not really my boyfriend…” I correct him, for some reason, and Silvio just stares at me like I am crazy.
As if, out of everything I’ve confessed to and done to him today, this is the one thing he just can’t believe.
“Sure…” he mumbles.
I clear my throat, changing the subject. “Right. Okay, Silvio… Let’s help you and your family get your lives back.”
“Sorry, but… I’ve been working for your family for years.” Silvio wipes his sweating face with the back of his hand. “Even if I help you… Why would the Feds let me and my family go?”
“No offense, but you are an errand boy. You never worked on the distribution of the drugs, the guns, or the people. You’ve also never killed anyone.”
“What can I do to help?”
“We are close to ending this. But the closer we get, the more dangerous it becomes. I need more eyes. I need your eyes.”
“Okay… if I may… can… can I ask—”
“Why am I helping you?” I cut him off.
He nods.
“Because you are an idiot, Silvio, not a murderer. I know you joined my family because you followed in your cousin’s footsteps, thinking he had your best interests at heart.
By the time you finally understood what you’d gotten yourself into, Rafael had already killed him, and you realized there was no way out. ”
“How do you know?” he asks, visibly shocked.
“I know everything, Silvio. I know you wear size ten shoes. I know your Social Security number, that your grandma in Vancouver loves her dog Rupert, that you lost your virginity in the back of a pickup truck, and that your dentist appointment was moved to next Tuesday…” I lean closer. “I know everything.”
Silvio nods and laughs.
“What?”
“Nothing… I just finally understand why Rafael is so terrified of you.”
“Not nearly as terrified as he’s going to be.” I stand up and offer him my hand to seal the deal. “Come on, Silvio. It’s time the heir takes his place.”