Chapter 8 - The Perfect Forgery
Daniel Voss arrived at the safe house just before dawn. He looked as if he had aged ten years overnight.
“I found the original authorization,” he said, placing a folder on the table. “It was signed digitally from your office terminal.”
“Who had access?”
“Raffaele. Me. And you.”
Lorenzo opened the folder. The document carried his name, his code, and a timestamp from the night Sofia died.
Mia leaned over the table. “That's not his writing.”
“It's a digital signature,” Daniel said gently.
“No. The note at the bottom. Dad showed me his real signature. He makes the L too big.”
Luca glanced at her. “She's right.”
Daniel checked the scanned page. The signature looked convincing, but the handwritten note had a small flourish that didn't match Lorenzo's habit.
“Whoever made this had access to old documents,” Daniel said. “And knew exactly how to imitate him.”
“Which means the forgery was prepared before the bombing,” Lorenzo replied.
The room went still.
Raffaele had not simply taken advantage of the chaos. He had planned it.
Daniel opened another folder. “There's more. Vale has arranged a private meeting with the port authority tonight. If he gets the new contract approved, he'll control every shipment coming through the east terminal.”
“What's in the shipments?”
“Nothing illegal on paper. Medical equipment, construction materials, food supplies.”
Luca shook his head. “The containers are being used to move people.”
Mia looked up. “People?”
“Families who owe Vale money. Witnesses. Anyone who can expose him.”
Lorenzo felt the room tilt. The organization he had built to protect his people had become a machine that swallowed them.
A phone buzzed on the table. It was a message from Marco.
I FOUND THE SECOND BOOK. COME ALONE.
Luca grabbed Lorenzo's wrist. “Don't go.”
But another message appeared.
It included a photograph of Marco tied to a chair.
May you like
Under it were six words:
BRING THE GIRL OR HE DIES.
