Chapter 2 - The Voice of a Dead Brother
I didn't speak for several seconds.
Neither did anyone else.
The caller breathed calmly into the phone.
"Still there, little brother?"
My hand tightened around the device.
My older brother, Matteo Moretti, had died when I was twenty-one.
I had seen his body.
I had stood beside the closed coffin because our mother couldn't bear to look at him after the fire.
I had spent eighteen years believing his death was the reason my father turned harder, colder, and eventually reckless enough to destroy everything he touched.
Yet that voice belonged to Matteo.
"Who is this?"
A soft laugh.
"You always did hate impossible answers."
"If you want me to believe you're Matteo, you'll need more than a voice."
"Fine."
A pause.
"Lake Geneva. You were eleven. Dad thought you broke the speedboat. I did. You took the beating because I promised to buy you that stupid red bicycle."
Every muscle in my body went rigid.
Nobody knew that.
Not Gabriel.
Not my father.
Not even Sofia.
Matteo and I had kept it between us because exposing him would have accomplished nothing except getting us both punished.
The voice continued.
"You never got the bicycle."
I lowered my voice.
"What do you want?"
"The girl."
Lucy grabbed my trouser leg.
I looked down.
Absolutely not.
"What girl?"
"Don't insult me."
"Then don't waste my time."
The warmth vanished from his voice.
"Elena stole something she didn't understand."
"What?"
"Give Lucy to Daniel and this ends."
"Daniel is missing."
"Then find him."
I stared at the silent men around me.
"You put a three-year-old child inside my home."
"I kept her alive."
"You threatened her mother."
"I protected them both until Elena became difficult."
My voice dropped.
"If you've hurt Elena—"
"You'll what?"
He laughed again.
"Kill me?"
The line went dead.
Gabriel stared at me.
"Was that really him?"
"I don't know."
But I did.
At least some part of me did.
The encrypted files began opening.
The technician spun toward us.
"I've got something."
A spreadsheet filled the screen.
Shipping dates.
Container numbers.
Payment routes.
Names.
Hundreds of them.
Gabriel leaned closer.
"These aren't normal manifests."
"No."
I scanned the destinations.
Chicago.
Milwaukee.
Detroit.
Toronto.
Smaller towns.
Some entries had initials beside them.
Others had numbers.
Then I noticed a column labeled RECEIVED.
People's names appeared underneath.
Mostly women.
Some children.
My stomach twisted.
Elena had been right.
Someone had used my infrastructure to hide trafficking routes beneath legitimate freight.
For years.
"How did I not see this?"
Gabriel answered carefully.
"Because someone designed it so you wouldn't."
One name appeared repeatedly in authorization logs.
D. Voss.
Daniel.
But beneath several approvals was another code.
M17.
Matteo had been seventeen when he first started working under our father.
That might have meant nothing.
Or everything.
Lucy tugged my sleeve.
"I want Mama."
I crouched.
"So do I."
She stared at the screen.
Then pointed.
"That's Uncle Red."
A photograph attached to Daniel's employee record showed his face.
"You mean him?"
She nodded.
"He took us in the car."
"Where?"
"The room."
"Did he hurt your mother?"
"No."
"Did he help her?"
Lucy hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Sometimes."
That changed things.
"Gabriel, find Daniel before anyone else does."
"He may be involved."
"He may also be the reason Lucy is alive."
Gabriel nodded.
I turned toward Marcus.
"Move Sofia to the secure suite. Dr. Harris stays with her."
Sofia's voice came from the doorway.
"No."
I closed my eyes.
Of course she had followed us.
She stood beside Dr. Harris wearing a robe, one hand pressed against her recovering abdomen.
"You are supposed to be in bed."
"And you're supposed to tell me when our dead brother calls."
I stared at her.
She had heard.
"Back upstairs."
"Adrian."
"Now."
She studied my face.
Then Lucy.
Her expression softened.
"Who is she?"
"Someone we're protecting."
Sofia crouched slowly despite my glare.
"Hi. I'm Sofia."
Lucy hid behind me.
Sofia smiled.
"I hide behind him too when he's grumpy."
"I'm not grumpy."
Gabriel looked away.
Even Marcus nearly smiled.
Lucy peeked around my leg.
"Are you Mr. Adrian's sister?"
"Unfortunately."
Lucy considered that.
"Your brother is scary."
"I know."
"But Mama said he's good."
Sofia looked up at me.
For one uncomfortable second, nobody spoke.
Then the technician cleared his throat.
"Boss, there's another file."
This one wasn't encrypted.
It contained a photograph.
A storage facility.
Unit 317.
The number on Lucy's key.
An address appeared below it.
South Side.
"How long?"
Gabriel asked.
"Twenty-five minutes."
"Too obvious," Sofia said.
I looked at her.
"What?"
"If Elena wanted you to find 317, she wouldn't hide the key in the most obvious place unless she expected somebody else might search Lucy."
She was right.
The flash drive was hidden inside Buttons.
The key wasn't.
It had been deliberately visible.
"Maybe it's bait," Gabriel said.
"Or a test."
I looked at Lucy.
"What did your mother tell you about the key?"
She frowned.
"She said Mr. Adrian would know which door."
"I don't."
"She said don't use it first."
That stopped me.
"Don't use the key first?"
Lucy nodded.
"She said use the rabbit first."
I picked up Buttons.
We had already found the flash drive.
But maybe there was more.
I squeezed the toy carefully.
Nothing.
Checked its ears.
Paws.
Then I felt something inside the right foot.
Paper.
The stitching was old enough to look original.
I opened it carefully.
A folded note emerged.
My name was written across it.
ADRIAN MORETTI.
The handwriting was feminine.
I unfolded it.
Adrian,
If Lucy reaches you, do not trust the first person who offers to take you to Unit 317.
Do not trust anyone whose name appears on the manifests.
And if Daniel Voss tells you Matteo Moretti is alive, believe him.
My breath stopped.
Sofia read over my shoulder.
"Oh my God."
There was one final line.
Most importantly, Matteo is not the man in charge.
I looked at Gabriel.
"Who is?"
He didn't answer.
Because he couldn't.
A sharp alarm sounded.
One of the exterior motion sensors had triggered.
East garden.
Marcus checked his radio.
"Two men crossing the wall."
"Armed?"
"Likely."
"Take them alive."
Marcus left with three guards.
I looked at Sofia.
"Secure suite. No argument."
This time, she obeyed.
I handed Lucy to Dr. Harris.
"Stay with Sofia."
Lucy's arms immediately reached toward me.
"You're coming back?"
"Yes."
"Promise?"
"Yes."
This time, I didn't hesitate.
I headed upstairs with Gabriel.
Gunfire erupted outside before we reached the first landing.
Three shots.
Then silence.
My radio crackled.
Marcus.
"One down. Second one running toward the greenhouse."
"Take him."
We reached the east corridor.
Through the windows, security lights cut across the dark lawn.
A shadow moved between hedges.
Then disappeared.
Another shot.
Glass shattered somewhere below.
"Marcus?"
No answer.
"Marcus."
Static.
Gabriel and I moved faster.
The greenhouse door stood open.
One guard lay unconscious outside.
Alive.
I checked his pulse.
Strong.
We entered.
Rows of tropical plants created narrow sight lines.
Water dripped from leaves.
Somewhere ahead, someone breathed heavily.
"Come out," I said.
A man stumbled from behind a stone planter.
Blood covered one sleeve.
Gabriel aimed his weapon.
"Hands."
The stranger raised them.
"Don't shoot."
"Who sent you?" I demanded.
His face was unfamiliar.
"I came to warn you."
"Bad choice of entrance."
"They watch the gates."
"Who?"
He looked at Gabriel.
Then me.
"Everyone."
I stepped closer.
"Where is Elena Hart?"
His eyes flickered.
"Alive."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
"Wrong answer."
"I swear."
"Who are you?"
"Detective Owen Price."
That name hit me.
Elena's video.
The detective she'd contacted had supposedly disappeared.
"You're supposed to be dead."
"Seems to be going around."
Before I could respond, his expression changed.
He stared behind me.
"Down!"
Gabriel shoved me sideways.
A suppressed shot struck the planter.
We fired toward the glass roof.
A figure ran along the exterior walkway.
Guards converged.
The shooter vanished into darkness.
Price pressed his back against the planter.
"They're inside your security team."
"Who?"
"I don't know all of them."
"Then give me one."
He stared at me.
"Daniel Voss isn't your enemy."
"I know."
"Matteo isn't either."
That surprised me.
"Then why did he demand Lucy?"
Price shook his head.
"He didn't."
"I heard him."
"Someone wanted you to."
My blood chilled.
"You said Matteo is alive."
"He is."
"Then who called me?"
Price looked toward the shattered glass.
"A man who's spent eighteen years learning how to sound exactly like him."
My phone vibrated.
A text.
Unknown number.
A photograph loaded.
Daniel sat tied to a chair.
Behind him stood a man whose face I couldn't see.
The message beneath it contained six words:
UNIT 317. COME ALONE. BRING LUCY.
Then another image arrived.
This one showed Elena Hart.
Alive.
Standing beside the man who had supposedly kidnapped her.
May you like
She wasn't restrained.
She was smiling.
