Page 180 of The Silent Note

“Tsaka.”

“That’s the big boss?”

“There’s no proof that he was, and honestly, I don’t think the big boss would actually go to prison. However, it’s proof that the yakuzadoeshave a presence here.”

She nods. “Did you find anything else?”

“Not a lot. There are other, more obvious crime syndicates that make the news and then there are others that don’t make the news, but we all know about them.”

“Like the mob inThe Godfather.”

“Mmhm. But I did find something interesting.”

“I’m kind of scared to ask.” Cadence grits her teeth and leans back like she’s bracing for bad news.

“Nagasaki was killed last summer. But get this. He died on the day of Redwood Prep’s summer showcase.”

Cadence shudders. “Is that a coincidence?”

I count it out on my fingers. “The yakuza were involved with The Grateful Project. They killed Sloane, which means they’re probably behind Harris and Slavno’s deaths. And now we find out a yakuza lackey happened to die the night of the showcase.”

“Grey, this soundsreallyserious.” Cadence speaks in a grave tone.

“I know.”

“Then why were you so excited when I walked in?”

“Because this is it, Cadence! This is a path forward. You havenoidea how long I’ve been looking for these answers. Everything Redwood Prep did to cover up Sloane’s death was to cover their own backs. I knew it. I was sure of it, but I never had proof and so no one would listen to me.”

“And no one would listen toher.She was a girl from the south side. She was the daughter of a stripper. She wore tight clothes and snuck into clubs, so she must have been a wild child. She must have deserved it. The media pushed that narrative on her. And even if itwastrue, even if she was sleeping around, she wouldn’t be worth less. She was a human being. She had alife. Someone took her life away from her and now they’re going to pay.”

Cadence’s eyes dart between mine. “How do you plan on making a Japanese crime organization pay?”

“First, I’m taking this video to the police.”

She jerks as if I hit her. “I don’t know much about mafia life, but don’t criminals usually have dirty cops working for them?”

“That’s where phase two comes in.” I get up, unable to sit still when my thoughts are whirring this fast. “Back in the day, the people in power didn’t have to deal with cameras and hashtags and social media movements, so they got away with murder. Today, the internet makes it so that the information can go viral in seconds.”

“Your plan is to… get everyone to know.”

“Knowing isn’t enough. We all know that evil exists and sometimes, we can even point out who the evil people are. But we don’t fight because we don’t think it’sworththe fight. Rebellion is like a fire. Someone has to light the match of outrage and galvanize people into wanting to do something. And then, when there’s a tiny flame, someone with enough clout will come with a gas tank, pouring attention on that cause.”

“Someone with attention?” Her eyes widen. “Someone like Jinx.”

I nod.

“How?”

“I want to film a video of me telling the world everything and then I’ll send both my video and a copy of this flash drive to Jinx.”

“What if she doesn’t post it?”

“She will,” I say confidently.

“Jinx isn’t a reporter. She’s only interested in scandals…” Cadence stumbles back. “You’re going to use Zane.”

A twinge of guilt snaps in my gut, but I shake it off.