Chapter 17 - The Last Threat
Vincent called Chloe at 2:13 a.m.
"Come alone."
She sat up in the guest room at Gabriel's house.
"No."
"Then Nora dies."
Chloe's blood went cold.
A photograph arrived.
Nora sat tied to a chair inside Il Canto's dark kitchen.
Chloe stopped breathing.
"You have twenty minutes."
The line went dead.
Chloe ran into the hall.
Gabriel was already awake.
One look at her face was enough.
"What happened?"
She showed him the picture.
He reached for his phone.
"No police," Chloe said. "He will see them."
Beatrice appeared in the hallway in her robe.
Chloe explained in signs.
Beatrice's expression sharpened.
Then she signed a plan.
Twenty minutes later, Chloe entered Il Canto through the front door alone.
At least, Vincent believed she was alone.
She wore a tiny transmitter beneath her collar.
Gabriel and federal agents listened from a delivery van two blocks away.
Vincent stood beside Table 7.
Nora was tied to a chair.
"You really ruined everything," he said.
Chloe kept walking. "I served dinner. You did the rest."
He smiled. "Still funny when nervous."
Her stomach twisted.
Marco had told him that.
Vincent held up a gun.
"I need Beatrice's location."
"No."
"Then your friend dies."
Chloe looked at Nora.
Nora's eyes moved toward the kitchen door.
Someone was there.
Vincent followed Chloe's gaze.
He spun.
Beatrice stepped out of the kitchen.
Alone.
Chloe's heart stopped.
"What are you doing?"
Beatrice ignored her.
She signed to Vincent.
He stared blankly.
He still did not understand.
Chloe translated.
"She says you spent your whole life believing silence meant weakness."
Beatrice took another step.
"She says that was your biggest mistake."
Vincent aimed the gun at her.
The transmitter crackled against Chloe's skin.
Gabriel's voice whispered through the hidden earpiece.
May you like
"Get down."
Vincent's finger tightened on the trigger.
