Frankie’s Name in Patrick’s Video
Chapter 07 - Frankie’s Name in Patrick’s Video
Frankie did not reach for a gun.
That was the first thing Stella noticed.
The second was that he looked tired.
Not surprised.
Jonah turned his chair.
“Frankie.”
Frankie looked at the screen.
Patrick’s frozen face remained there.
Seventeen years younger.
Accusing him.
“Finish the video,” Frankie said.
Jonah’s eyes hardened.
“You knew.”
“Yes.”
Stella’s pulse climbed.
“Knew what?”
“That Patrick named me.”
“You watched this before?”
“No.”
“Then how?”
Frankie took a slow breath.
“Because he told me he would.”
Jonah’s face changed.
Helena stood.
“Frankie.”
He looked at her.
“You knew too.”
“No.”
“You knew Patrick had someone inside Victor’s operation.”
“Yes.”
“That was me.”
Silence.
Stella stared.
“You worked for Victor.”
“At twenty-three.”
“Doing what?”
“Collections. security. dock enforcement.”
The words were calm.
Too calm.
“How many people did you hurt?”
Frankie looked at her.
“Enough.”
No excuse.
No number.
Stella understood why.
Jonah’s voice became cold.
“You never told me.”
“No.”
“You have worked beside me twelve years.”
“Yes.”
“Protected me.”
“Yes.”
“Ran my security.”
“Yes.”
“And before that you worked for Victor.”
“Yes.”
Jonah laughed once.
Every betrayal in his life seemed to arrive wearing a familiar face.
“Finish the video.”
Stella pressed play.
Patrick continued:
“Frankie Santos is the man running Victor Kane’s waterfront collections.”
Frankie closed his eyes.
Then Patrick said:
“He is also the only one who agreed to help me document them.”
The room changed.
Stella stared at Frankie.
On-screen, Patrick leaned closer.
“Frankie is young. Angry. He has done things he will have to answer for. But he gave me routes, names, times, photographs.”
Jonah looked at Frankie.
“You were Patrick’s informant.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Frankie’s face hardened.
“Victor killed my brother.”
Stella remembered nothing about a Santos family.
“Why?”
“Danny refused to beat a dockworker who owed money.”
Frankie looked at the floor.
“Victor made an example.”
Patrick’s recording continued.
“If anything happens to me, do not assume Frankie sold me out. Victor already suspects someone is feeding information.”
Stella felt shame for the relief.
Not because Frankie was innocent.
He was not.
Because the man who had quietly respected her choices was not secretly the architect.
Patrick added:
“Frankie knows where the original pension records are.”
The video ended.
Everyone looked at him.
Frankie exhaled.
“I knew.”
“Where?” Stella asked.
“Used to know.”
She almost laughed.
“Of course.”
“Patrick gave me a key.”
“To?”
“Harbor locker.”
“Still there?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“After Patrick died, I went back.”
“And?”
“Locker empty.”
“Who had the key?”
“Patrick. Me.”
“Someone copied it.”
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“Probably.”
Stella’s patience snapped.
“Can everybody stop using probably like a blanket?”
Frankie looked at her.
“Victor knew the location within forty-eight hours.”
“Better.”
Jonah stared at him.
“Why did you enter my family?”
Frankie’s expression shifted.
“Matteo.”
“Matteo recruited you.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Twelve years ago.”
“Did he know about Patrick?”
“Yes.”
“You two were rebuilding the ledgers.”
“Yes.”
Jonah’s hand tightened on his chair.
“Without me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo didn’t trust you.”
The room went quiet.
Jonah’s face became unreadable.
Stella watched the sentence land.
Frankie continued before he could be stopped.
“You were too close to your father.”
Jonah’s eyes sharpened.
“My father was dead.”
“At first.”
“Matteo started twelve years ago.”
“Yes.”
Jonah looked away.
His father had still been alive.
Frankie continued.
“Matteo believed your father would destroy evidence if he knew.”
“And later?”
“You inherited security.”
“Yes.”
“You kept some of Anthony Navarro’s men.”
“Yes.”
“You believed fear kept the docks stable.”
Jonah’s jaw tightened.
“It did.”
Frankie nodded.
“That was the problem.”
Stella felt the same theme emerge again.
Control.
Fear.
Efficiency.
The old world’s favorite virtues.
Jonah looked at Stella.
“You knew none of this.”
“No.”
“Does that make him better?”
She understood the question.
Not really about Frankie.
About himself.
“No.”
Jonah’s expression changed.
“Truth arriving late does not erase what happened before it.”
Frankie nodded.
“Agreed.”
Then Helena’s phone rang.
She looked at the screen.
Matteo.
Everyone froze.
Jonah’s chair turned toward her.
“Answer.”
Helena did.
“Matteo.”
A man’s voice came through speaker.
“Helena?”
Then silence.
He had heard Jonah’s chair motor.
Or Frankie’s breathing.
Or simply knew.
Jonah spoke.
“Hello, brother.”
Nothing for three seconds.
Then Matteo Navarro said:
“You weren’t supposed to find out like this.”
Jonah laughed softly.
“Apparently nobody in this family believes I should find out anything directly.”
“Jonah—”
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then goodbye.”
“Wait.”
Jonah stopped.
Matteo’s voice changed.
“Victor is not after the old ledgers anymore.”
Stella frowned.
“Why?”
Matteo heard her.
“So you found Stella.”
She leaned toward the phone.
“You arranged that.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you for ruining my career.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Put it on the list.”
Matteo continued.
“The old ledgers only prove historical crimes. Victor wants the new ledger.”
Jonah’s face hardened.
“What new ledger?”
“The one Luca built using your transport network after you were shot.”
Stella looked at Jonah.
He stared at the phone.
Matteo said:
“And Jonah, the sniper did not shoot you because you found Luca.”
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A pause.
“He shot you because you were about to find out who your real father was.”
