Chapter 11 WHO IS KONSTANTIN VOSS?
NOVA'S POV
Callum grabbed the first box off the top of the stack and set it down hard enough that dust exploded into the air.
Elias moved deeper into the unit, pulling sheets off furniture that I vaguely remembered from our old apartment.
I just stood there in the doorway like my feet had grown roots.
"Are you coming in or are you planning to supervise from back there?" Elias called over his shoulder.
I forced my legs to move. I walked over to the nearest box and ripped the tape off.
Photos spilled out. Me as a baby with fat cheeks and no front teeth. My mom is young, probably early twenties, laughing at something off-camera. Her smile so big it made my chest hurt to look at.
"Shit," I whispered, my vision going blurry.
"Hey." Callum was suddenly right there, his hand hovering near my shoulder like he wanted to touch me but wasn't sure if he was allowed. "We can stop and come back another day."
"No." I swiped at my face with my sleeve, angry at myself for crying already. "Let's just... let's do this."
I shoved the photos back in the box and grabbed another one. Kitchen stuff. Pots with burnt bottoms that my mom refused to throw away.
A chipped coffee mug that said "World's Best Mom" that I'd gotten her for Mother's Day when I was eight.
Everything smelled like dust and old cardboard and a little bit like her perfume, which was impossible but I swear I could smell it.
Then Callum made this sharp surprised sound.
"What?" I spun around.
He was holding an envelope. Plain, yellowed, my name written across the front in my mom's handwriting.
My heart literally stopped beating for a second.
"Is that—" Elias moved closer, trying to see over Callum's shoulder.
"It's for Nova." Callum held it out to me like it might bite him. "You should open it."
I took it. My hands were shaking so bad the envelope rattled.
I ripped through the tape. Didn't care that my hands were shaking or that both brothers were watching me like I might break.
Inside was a letter folded around a small silver key and a scrap of paper with an address scribbled on it.
"What did it say?" Elias asked. He was standing so close I could feel the heat coming off him.
I unfolded the letter and started reading. I had to stop halfway through because my vision went blurry again. Blinked hard and kept going.
\---
The letter.
My dearest Nova,
If you're reading this, something bad has happened to me. I'm sorry baby. I never wanted to leave you alone.
I found something I wasn't supposed to find. Richard's business partner—Vincent Castellano—he's been stealing from Blackthorn Industries for years. Maybe decades. I found proof. Records, transactions, money moving through shell companies. Millions of dollars and maybe more.
I made copies of everything. Hide them somewhere safe. The key and address in this envelope will take you to them. But Nova, you have to be careful. Castellano is dangerous. Really dangerous. If he knows you're looking into this, he'll hurt you. The way he's probably going to hurt me.
I know things have been hard with the boys. I know they haven't been kind to you. But if you need help, go to them. I know Callum seems cold and Elias seems careless but they're good underneath all that. Better than their father. Trust them if you can't trust anyone else.
I love you more than anything. Please be safe.
Mom.
\---
I read it again. Then a third time because my brain refused to make sense of the words.
"Nova." Callum's hand landed on my shoulder, heavy and warm. "Talk to me. What does it say?"
I looked up at him. His gray eyes were dark with worry. Behind him, Elias was watching me with his jaw clenched tight enough that I could see the muscle jumping.
"My mom found out your dad's business partner was stealing from the company." My voice came out flat. Dead. "She had proof. Said she hid it somewhere."
"Castellano." Callum said the name tasted bad. "It has to be. He's been Dad's partner since before we were born."
"Did she confront him?" Elias was reading over my shoulder now, so close his breath hit my neck. "Is that why she—"
"I don't know." I folded the letter back up even though my hands wouldn't stop shaking. "She just says he's dangerous. That she made copies of everything."
"Let me see the address." Callum held out his hand.
I hesitated. Something in me didn't want to give it up. This was my mom's secret. My mom's evidence. Mine.
But Callum just stood there with his hand out, waiting. Not demanding. Just... waiting.
I gave him the paper.
He studied it, his expression getting darker. "It's another storage facility. Across the city. A smaller one."
"So we go get it." Elias said it like it was obvious. "Get whatever she hid and take it straight to the cops."
"No." Callum's voice went sharp. "If Castellano's been stealing for twenty years and Dad hasn't caught him, he's good at covering his tracks. We need to know what we're dealing with before we do anything."
"She said to trust you." I was staring at both of them now. "My mom said to trust you if I needed help."
Something changed in Elias's face. Softened. "Then trust us.”
"I can't—" I pushed past them, stumbling toward the door. "I need to not be in here right now."
"Nova—"
"Just give me a second!"
I made it outside and my legs just gave up. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the dirty concrete with my back against the metal unit, pressing my palms against my eyes hard enough to see stars.
My mom died because she found out about Castellano. She tried to do the right thing and someone killed her for it.
And now I was supposed to what? Do the same thing? Get myself killed too?
I heard footsteps approaching and I knew it was the boys. Elias dropped down on my left side and Callum on my right, both of them so close our shoulders touched.
Neither of them spoke a word.
I opened my mouth to say something, but movement across the parking lot caught my eye.
A black sedan engine parked. The windows were so dark that I couldn't see who was inside. And there was no license plate number on the car.
"Um." I nodded toward it. "Is that car just sitting there or am I paranoid?"
Both brothers turned to look.
The sedan peeled out immediately, tires squealing as it shot out of the lot.
"Fuck." Elias was on his feet first, pulling me up with him. "Someone was watching us."
"Move to the car, now." Callum was already moving, his hand on my back pushing me forward. "Move."
We ran to Mercedes. Callum drove while Elias twisted around in his seat, staring out the back window.
"Did you see the plate?" Callum asked, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
"There was no plate number." Elias's voice was tight.
Callum sighed.
Nobody talked the rest of the drive. Elias kept checking behind us. Callum's jaw stayed clenched. I pulled my mom's letter out again and read it in the fading afternoon light.
That's when I saw it.
Bottom corner. Written in pe
ncil so light I'd missed it completely the first three times.
A name.
If anything happens, the man behind Castellano is:
Konstantin Voss