Chapter 13 - The Third Boat
Ruiz met Lily in a church basement on the edge of the city.
She arrived alone, carrying a folder and looking more tired than she had at the precinct.
"The third boat was never a vessel," Ruiz said. "It was a code name."
"For who?"
"A child. A girl moved through the harbor network under a false identity. She was the first child your father helped rescue."
Lily sat very still.
"Where is she now?"
"She grew up. She lives under a protected identity."
"Who?"
Ruiz opened the folder.
A photograph showed a woman in her thirties with dark hair and a small scar beneath her chin.
Lily recognized her.
Marcus's wife, the quiet woman who sometimes brought dinner to the restaurant after closing.
"That's Nora," Lily whispered.
"Her real name is Sofia Alvarez. She was eight when Daniel got her out. Your mother helped hide her."
"Why would Matteo care about her now?"
"Because she remembers the route. The names. The room where the children were kept before they were moved."
Lily thought of the restaurant, the broken glass, the giant hitman. The attack had never been only about Victor.
"Rourke wanted to scare Victor into handing over the ledger," she said. "But he also wanted to find me."
"Matteo thinks you know where Sofia is."
"Does she know?"
"Not all of it."
Ruiz slid a second photograph across the table. It showed Sofia leaving the restaurant with Marcus. A man followed them from the opposite sidewalk.
"Matteo has someone watching her," Ruiz said.
Lily stood.
"We have to warn her."
Ruiz caught her wrist. "If we move too fast, he'll take her."
Lily looked down at the hand holding her.
"Then we don't move fast."
May you like
She pulled free.
"We move smart."
