Chapter 3 - The Name Everyone Feared
Luca arrived seven minutes later.
The hallway was empty.
Natalie was holding a kitchen knife.
"Put that down."
"Everybody keeps telling me to put weapons down today."
Luca checked the apartment.
No intruder.
The fire escape window was open.
On the sill lay a red casino chip.
Luca recognized it.
Vescari.
Gabriel had once owned an underground casino called Eden.
It had burned fifteen years earlier.
The same week David Brooks disappeared.
"This is a message," Luca said.
Natalie folded her arms.
"Then translate."
"He wants me involved."
"Congratulations. Mission accomplished."
Luca picked up the chip with a handkerchief.
Natalie watched him.
"Did your father kill mine?"
"I don't know."
"That's not good enough."
"My father died without confessing his sins to me."
"But there were sins."
"Many."
Natalie's anger softened for only a moment.
Luca didn't defend his father.
That surprised her.
"Why did you come so quickly?"
"Marco installed an alert on your mother's building."
"You did what?"
"You're welcome."
She stared at him.
He stared back.
Then, absurdly, she laughed.
"You are unbelievable."
"So I've been told."
Over the next three days, Luca's men searched for Gabriel.
Natalie returned to work.
Or attempted to.
Her current assignment was coordinating a charity gala at Moretti Grand Hotel.
She hadn't known Luca owned it.
Of course he did.
When she walked into the ballroom Monday morning, he was waiting.
"Absolutely not."
"Good morning."
"Did you buy my workplace?"
"I've owned it for nine years."
"That's somehow worse."
He walked beside her.
Natalie inspected floral samples.
Luca inspected exits.
"You can't follow me all day."
"I have meetings here."
"How convenient."
"It actually is."
She stopped.
"So what happens now?"
"We find Gabriel."
"And my father?"
"We find the truth."
Something in his voice made her believe him.
That frightened her more than the gun.
That evening, Natalie found Luca alone in the ballroom.
He had removed his jacket and rolled his sleeves.
He was carrying a crate of champagne.
She stared.
"What are you doing?"
"Carrying something."
"That's not groceries."
"I'm practicing."
She laughed despite herself.
"You're ridiculous."
"You established standards."
"You weren't supposed to apply."
"Why?"
The question changed the air.
Natalie looked at him.
Luca stepped closer.
"Why wasn't I supposed to apply?"
"Because you're..."
"Mafia?"
"I was going to say complicated."
"That's kinder."
She swallowed.
"You carry a gun."
"So do some accountants in Texas."
She laughed.
His expression softened.
For a few seconds, he wasn't Luca Moretti.
He was simply a man standing too close.
Then Marco entered.
"Luca."
The urgency erased everything.
"What?"
"We found Gabriel."
Natalie straightened.
"Where?"
Marco looked at her, then Luca.
"He wants to meet."
"With me?"
"No."
Marco's eyes moved to Natalie.
"With her."
The meeting location arrived by text.
An abandoned church outside town.
Midnight.
Natalie insisted on going.
Luca insisted she wouldn't.
Natalie won by threatening to go alone.
At 11:58, they entered the church.
Candles burned near the altar.
No Gabriel.
Only a wooden box.
Natalie's name was carved into the lid.
Luca opened it.
Inside was a ledger.
David Brooks's handwriting filled every page.
Payments.
Dates.
Names.
Then Natalie saw one name repeated.
Moretti.
Another appeared beside it.
Vescari.
The final page had been torn out.
A recording device sat beneath the ledger.
Natalie pressed play.
Static.
Then her father's voice.
"If you're hearing this, Elena, I failed."
Natalie covered her mouth.
"I found out who Gabriel is working with. It isn't Luca's father. It's someone inside—"
The recording stopped.
Footsteps echoed behind them.
Luca turned.
A figure stood at the church entrance.
Natalie couldn't see his face.
But Luca did.
His hand moved toward his gun.
The man stepped into the candlelight.
May you like
Luca whispered his name.
And Natalie realized she had seen him before.
