Chapter 28 - Echoes of a Buried Crime

Maverick didn't sleep that night, not because he couldn't but because his mind refused to rest, every detail Anna had told him about Mirabel's death replaying over and over again until it no longer sounded like a random tragedy but something structured, something intentional, and by the time the first light of morning crept through his windows he was already seated in his office with files spread across the table, old contacts being called, names resurfacing from a past he had buried under years of power and control, because if there was one thing he knew, it was that accidents in his world were rarely accidents, and a hit and run that left no trace, no suspect, no follow-up—it was too clean, too convenient, and as one of his most trusted men stepped into the room with fresh information Maverick didn't waste time, "Talk," he said, his voice low and sharp, and the man placed a thin file in front of him, "We tracked the incident from the year it happened," he began, "but the official report was… incomplete," and Maverick's eyes darkened slightly as he flipped through the pages, scanning quickly, "Incomplete how?" he asked, and the man hesitated slightly before answering, "The case was closed unusually fast, no real investigation, no witnesses followed up, and… the CCTV footage from nearby streets was wiped," and that was enough to confirm Maverick's suspicion because evidence didn't just disappear unless someone made it disappear, and his grip tightened slightly on the file, "Who handled the case?" he asked, and the man replied, "A unit connected to a private security network at the time," and Maverick looked up sharply, "Whose network?" and the answer came like a trigger being pulled, "It traces back to operations linked to Vincent's father's old system," and silence filled the room instantly, heavy and dangerous, because now this wasn't just a suspicion anymore, it was a connection, one that tied Mirabel's death directly to the same past conflict that had started everything between him and Vincent, and Maverick leaned back slowly, his mind racing through the implications, because if Mirabel's death was connected to that network then it meant one thing—she hadn't just been running away from his world, she had been caught in it anyway, and possibly eliminated because of it, and his jaw tightened as another thought crossed his mind, darker than the rest, more personal, because Vincent's father had already betrayed him once, so what if Mirabel had known something, something she wasn't supposed to know, something that made her a threat, and before he could dig deeper his phone buzzed with another update, this time more precise, more unsettling, "There's more," his man added, "one of the names tied to that network… also connects to a woman who used to be close to Vincent years ago," and Maverick's eyes narrowed, "Who?" and the answer came slowly, "Sheila," and that name changed the entire direction of his thoughts because Sheila wasn't just part of Vincent's past, she was recent, active, dangerous in a different way, and if she had any connection to that old network then this wasn't just history resurfacing, it was something that had never fully ended, something that had evolved and stayed hidden, and Maverick stood up immediately, his decision already made, "Dig deeper," he ordered, "I want everything on that connection," and as his men moved to carry out his orders he stood there for a moment longer, his mind no longer focused on revenge or rivalry but on something else entirely, something more urgent—Anna, because if Mirabel's death was not an accident then Anna had been living her whole life on a lie, and that truth had the power to destroy her, and at that exact moment across the city Anna sat in Vincent's living room, her thoughts still unsettled from her conversation with Maverick, her mind replaying his words about the hit and run not being what it seemed, and she tried to push it away at first, telling herself it was just another possibility, another theory, but the doubt had already planted itself too deep, and when Vincent walked in she didn't wait this time, didn't hesitate, "We need to talk," she said immediately, her voice firm but carrying something beneath it, and Vincent paused, reading her expression instantly, sensing the shift, "What happened?" he asked, and Anna stood up, her hands slightly tense at her sides, "He asked about my mom," she said, and Vincent's eyes narrowed slightly, "And?" and Anna swallowed before continuing, "I told him how she died… the hit and run," and Vincent remained silent, listening, watching, and then she added the part that had been echoing in her mind since she left, "He doesn't think it was an accident," and that made Vincent's posture change instantly, not dramatically but enough for her to notice, enough to tell her that this meant something, "Why would he say that?" he asked, his voice calm but more focused now, and Anna shook her head slightly, "He said in his world things like that don't just happen without a reason," and Vincent looked away briefly, his mind already processing, already connecting pieces she couldn't see yet, "And you believe him?" he asked, and Anna hesitated, not because she trusted Maverick fully but because something about it made sense in a way she couldn't ignore, "I don't know what I believe," she admitted, "but something feels wrong," and Vincent didn't respond immediately, which made her step closer, her voice softer now but more emotional, "Vincent… what if my whole life has been built on a lie?" she said, and that question hit him differently because it wasn't just about the past anymore, it was about her, her identity, her pain, and he stepped closer to her, his expression serious, "Then we find the truth," he said, and she searched his face, "No matter what it is?" she asked, and his answer came without hesitation, "No matter what," and that grounded her slightly, but the uneasiness didn't disappear because now there was something bigger at play, something connecting her mother's death to the same past that had created the war between Vincent and Maverick, and Vincent turned away briefly, his mind clearly working through something, and then he spoke again, more quietly this time, "There might be something else you need to know," he said, and Anna's heart skipped, "What?" she asked, and Vincent exhaled slowly before turning back to her, "Sheila… she wasn't just part of my past," he said, and Anna frowned slightly, "What do you mean?" and Vincent's expression darkened just a little, "She had connections… to some of my father's old operations," he admitted, and Anna's breath caught because that name again, Sheila, kept appearing in places she didn't expect, "Are you saying she could be involved?" she asked, her voice tightening, and Vincent didn't give a direct answer, but his silence was enough, because if Sheila was connected to both the past and the present, then she wasn't just a jealous ex anymore, she was something more dangerous, something calculated, and Anna stepped back slightly, her mind racing, because now the lines were no longer clear, her mother's death, Maverick's past, Vincent's father, Sheila—it was all starting to connect into something darker than she imagined, and as she stood there trying to process it all one thought settled deep in her chest, heavier than the rest, more terrifying than the others, what if her mother hadn't just died… but had been silenced.