Chapter 44 #2
“Diego.” Charles’s voice cuts through the panic like a blade.
“We know about the plates. We know you made them. We know they were used in an attack that put my family in danger. Four children under the age of six. My wife. My sister. So let’s skip the denials and get to the part where you tell us everything. ”
“I— I can explain—”
“Then explain.” I lean against the table, arms crossed. “Who hired you to make those plates?”
Diego’s mouth opens and closes. He’s calculating, trying to figure out if there’s any play here, any way to minimize the damage.
There isn’t.
“I’m going to ask you questions, Diego,” I say quietly. “And you’re going to answer. Every time you lie, or refuse to answer, or waste my time—” I gesture to the drill. “—we escalate. Do you understand?”
He nods frantically.
“Good. Now. Who hired you to make those plates?”
“Ryan Matthews,” Diego gasps out. “And a woman. Aria. They— they contacted me three weeks ago.”
“What did they want?”
“They said they were building something. Something independent of the established families. They needed assets, people who could provide resources, intelligence.”
“And you agreed?” Charles’s voice is cold. “You agreed to betray the family that’s employed your family for three generations?”
“They said—” Diego’s voice shakes. “They said there was no future in the new Carter organization. That you were going soft, legitimizing. That people like me would be pushed out. But with them, I could actually be someone.”
I move closer, picking up a knife from the table. Something simple, sharp. “The attack today. What was the purpose?”
“Scare tactic. Psychological warfare.” The words tumble out faster now. “They wanted to show they could get to you, to your people. To prove the Carter protection wasn’t as good as everyone thinks.”
“Were they trying to kill anyone?”
“No! No, I swear. The snipers had orders to miss. It was just supposed to scare people, not hurt anyone.”
“Just scare people.” I let the knife trace a line down his chest—not cutting, just the promise of it. “You put four children in danger. Charles’s son and daughter. Parker’s twin boys. You put my family in the line of fire and you thought that was acceptable because no one was supposed to get hurt?”
“I didn’t think— I mean, I knew there would be kids but they said—” Diego realizes he’s making it worse. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you everything, please—”
“You’ll tell us everything anyway,” Charles says. “Where are Ryan and Aria now?”
“I don’t know. They went dark after the attack. Said it was too hot, they needed to lay low.”
“How do you contact them?”
“Burner phone. They gave me a number.”
“Where’s the phone?”
“My locker at work. Number 47, combination 23-15-8.”
Charles pulls out his phone, texting someone—probably having Maria or one of our people retrieve it.
“Who else did they recruit?” I ask. “You said they wanted assets in different organizations. Who else is working for them?”
“I don’t know names. They kept us separated.” Diego’s breathing is ragged, panicked. “But there are others. I heard them mention someone in the Castellano organization, someone with the Dents. At least four or five people total. Maybe more.”
This is worse than I thought. Ryan and Aria aren’t just making a play—they’re systematically destabilizing the entire structure, pulling people from multiple families.
“What’s phase two?” Charles asks.
Diego’s face goes blank. “What?”
“The message on your burner phone. ‘Phase one complete. Going dark for phase two.’ What’s phase two?”
“I don’t know. I swear I don’t know. They didn’t trust me with that information. I was just supposed to make the plates and keep quiet.”
I pick up the drill again, testing the weight. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Diego.”
“I’m telling the truth!” His voice rises to a shriek. “They didn’t tell me! I was just a tool, I didn’t know their full plan!”
I look at Charles, reading his expression. He’s calculating, deciding if Diego’s telling the truth or if we need to push harder.
“Silas,” Charles says quietly. “Adrenaline.”
I nod, moving to the medical kit on the side table. Pull out a syringe, measuring out the dose carefully. Diego’s been on the edge of passing out from fear and pain—the adrenaline will keep him conscious, keep him talking, keep him from escaping into unconsciousness.
“No, please, I told you everything—” Diego tries to thrash against the chains as I approach with the needle.
“This isn’t punishment,” I say, finding a vein in his arm. “This is insurance. We’re not done talking, and we need you awake.”
I inject the adrenaline. Diego gasps as it hits his system, his pupils dilating, his breathing going rapid and shallow.
“Now,” Charles says, his voice calm and measured.
“You’re going to tell us everything you know.
Every conversation with Ryan and Aria. Every meeting.
Every detail. Every name you heard mentioned.
Every location. Everything. And if I think you’re holding back—” He gestures to the drill. “—Silas gets creative.”
And Diego talks.
For the next two hours, he tells us everything. Every detail of his recruitment. Every instruction Ryan and Aria gave him. Every snippet of conversation he overheard. Every piece of the puzzle he has access to, no matter how small.
Marcus records it all from outside the door.
And when Diego finally runs dry, when he’s given us everything he possibly can, Charles and I step back to confer.
“He’s told us everything he knows,” Charles says quietly. “Which isn’t enough to stop them, but it’s a start.”
“He’s still a liability.”
“Agreed.” Charles looks back at Diego, slumped in the chair, shaking and crying. “We can’t let him live. Ryan and Aria will know we got to him. They’ll either kill him themselves or use him to feed us false information.”
“What about Maria? She should make the call—he’s her employee.”
Charles considers this. “Call her. Tell her what we found. Let her decide.”
I step outside, pulling out my phone. Maria answers immediately.
“Silas?”
“We have confirmation. Diego was working with Ryan Matthews and Aria. He made the plates, facilitated the attack. There are others in different organizations, but he doesn’t know who.”
Silence on the other end. Then: “Is he alive?”
“For now. But Charles wanted you to make the call. He’s your employee, your facility that was used. You get to decide.”
“I want him gone.” Maria’s voice is cold, final. “Completely. No body, no evidence, no trace. He betrayed his family. My family. He threatened those children. There’s no coming back from that.”
“Understood.”
“Silas? Thank you. For getting answers. For protecting them.”
“We’re not done yet. Ryan and Aria are still out there.”
“Then find them. And when you do—” Her voice breaks slightly. “—make them pay for what they did to those babies.”
“Count on it.”
I hang up, returning to the room. Charles looks at me expectantly.
“Maria wants him gone. Completely.”
Charles nods. “Then that’s what happens.”
Diego’s eyes widen as understanding hits. “No, please, I told you everything, I cooperated—”
“You put children in danger,” Charles says simply. “My children. There’s no walking back from that.”
He looks at me. “Make it quick. He’s given us what we need.”
I nod. Quick is a mercy Diego doesn’t deserve, but it’s efficient, and we need to get moving on the information we have.
I pick up the knife, moving behind Diego’s chair.
“Wait, please, I have a family, I have—”
“You should have thought about that before you helped attack mine,” I say.
And I make it quick.
Marcus and Chen handle the disposal while I clean up. By the time we’re done, there’s no evidence Diego Ruiz was ever here. The body will be gone by morning, dissolved in chemicals, scattered in places no one will ever find.
As far as the world is concerned, Diego Ruiz decided to leave town. Quit his job without notice. Disappeared.
It happens.
Charles and I drive back separately. He’s already on the phone, coordinating with his people, building plans based on the information we extracted.
I head home.
To Parker’s guest house, where Noah and Liam are waiting.
Where my family is.
My phone buzzes as I drive. A text from Cal.
Boys are asking for you. Hurry.
I’m already pushing the speed limit, adrenaline and urgency making my hands tight on the wheel.
Diego Ruiz gave us what we needed. The network Ryan and Aria built. The proof of their betrayal. The beginnings of a trail we can follow.
But right now, none of that matters as much as getting home to two five-year-old boys who need to know I came back like I promised.
That I’ll always come back.
Because that’s what fathers do.
And I’m their father, whether biology confirms it or not.