Chapter 13 - The Safe Apartment Wasn't Safe
I called Elena.
No answer.
Marco called the lead guard.
Nothing.
Then Sophie called me from Elena's phone.
"Mr. Moretti?"
I nearly crushed my own phone from relief.
"Sophie, where is your mom?"
"She's with the babies."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes."
"Is anyone there you don't know?"
A pause.
"The nice lady."
Every nerve in my body fired at once.
"What nice lady?"
"The one from the picture room."
"Sophie, listen to me. Go to your mom right now. Do not talk to the lady."
"But she says she knows you."
"Go. Now."
I was already moving.
Marco ran beside me.
We reached the parking garage as Sophie whispered, "She's coming."
The line went dead.
The safe apartment was nine minutes away.
We made it in five.
The hallway outside looked normal.
Too normal.
The lead guard opened the door before we reached it.
"Boss?"
Marco grabbed his vest. "Who came in?"
"Nobody."
We pushed past him.
Elena stood in the living room holding Nora. Theo and Miles were asleep in travel cribs.
Sophie sat on the floor, confused.
No stranger.
"Sophie," I said. "Where is the nice lady?"
She pointed at the television.
A paused video call filled the screen.
A woman had been talking to her through the apartment's smart TV.
Marco's face went dark.
The safe apartment network was isolated.
Nobody outside should have been able to access it.
"Play it," I said.
The video resumed.
A silver-haired woman sat in a bright room wearing a cream blouse.
Aunt Celeste.
Luca's mother.
"Hello, sweetheart," she told Sophie. "I hear you're very clever."
Sophie in the recording nodded.
"Did you hear a man in the wall?"
"Yes."
"Can you tell me what he said?"
"No."
Celeste smiled.
"Why not?"
"Mr. Moretti says secrets can be dangerous."
The smile disappeared.
Then Celeste leaned toward the camera.
"Adrien is not your father. You don't have to protect him."
Sophie answered immediately.
"He protects me."
Elena began crying silently.
The video ended with Celeste saying, "Tell Adrien he is still looking in the wrong direction."
Marco checked the connection logs.
"The call bounced through our own network."
"From where?"
He zoomed in.
The signal source was not outside the city.
It was not upstate.
It came from a secure Moretti Holdings office in Manhattan.
An office only two people could enter without an escort.
Me.
And Luca.
I turned slowly.
May you like
Luca was not behind us.
His car was gone.
