Chapter 5 - The Sister’s Second Betrayal
Adrian locked down the estate.
Every guard was checked.
Every camera reviewed.
Chloe had been taken less than twenty minutes after Gabriel left her at a secure Rossi apartment.
The photograph was designed to make them believe she was nearby.
Another misdirection.
Beatrice studied it.
“There.”
She pointed to a reflection.
Metal shelving.
A red stripe.
Gabriel recognized it.
“Freight warehouse.”
Adrian did too.
“Pier seventeen.”
Beatrice stood.
“I’m going.”
Both men said no.
She stared at them.
“Interesting.”
Gabriel rubbed his forehead.
“Beatrice—”
“One of you cheated on me and tried to imprison me. The other met me yesterday. Neither of you is voting.”
Adrian almost laughed.
Gabriel did not.
They devised a plan.
Beatrice would appear.
But not alone.
Adrian’s people would surround the pier.
Gabriel’s would approach from the water.
For the first time in a decade, Rossi and Vale men worked together.
At 11:48 p.m., Beatrice entered the warehouse.
Her coat concealed a protective vest modified around her stomach.
“Chloe?”
A light switched on.
Chloe sat tied to a chair.
Alive.
Beside her stood a masked man.
The black box rested on a table.
“Come forward.”
Beatrice did.
“Release her.”
“When we have what we need.”
“What do you need?”
“Your blood.”
Beatrice stopped.
The masked man placed a small scanner beside the box.
Biometric lock.
Thomas Bell had designed the encryption around his daughter’s DNA.
Not merely her.
Her bloodline.
That was why the unborn baby mattered.
Beatrice understood.
“My father built this.”
“Yes.”
“What’s inside?”
“Names.”
“Whose?”
“People who prefer remaining unnamed.”
Beatrice glanced at Chloe.
Her sister’s eyes were terrified.
“Let her go.”
“Open the box.”
Beatrice stepped forward.
Outside, Gabriel listened through her hidden microphone.
Adrian watched thermal feeds.
The scanner required a blood sample.
Beatrice held out her finger.
The masked man approached.
Then Chloe shouted.
“BEA, DON’T!”
She kicked the table.
The scanner crashed.
Gunfire erupted outside.
Gabriel’s team breached.
Adrian’s men entered from the roof.
The masked man grabbed Beatrice.
A gun pressed against her side.
Gabriel entered and froze.
“Let her go.”
The man laughed.
“Gabriel Rossi.”
Beatrice recognized the voice.
Not the identity.
The cadence.
She had heard it before.
Years ago.
At her wedding.
The masked man dragged her backward.
Gabriel lowered his weapon.
“Take me.”
“No.”
“You want Rossi blood?”
“I want Bell blood.”
Then Adrian appeared behind them.
The masked man turned.
Beatrice drove her heel into his foot.
Gabriel lunged.
A shot fired.
Beatrice screamed.
The masked man fell.
Gabriel stood over him.
Adrian tore away the mask.
Everyone froze.
The man underneath was Marco.
Gabriel’s security chief.
The man who had guarded Beatrice for four years.
Marco smiled through blood.
“You were always slow, Gabriel.”
Gabriel aimed his gun.
“Who do you work for?”
Marco laughed.
“You still think this is about families.”
“Who?”
Marco looked at Beatrice.
“Ask your father.”
Beatrice stopped.
“My father is dead.”
“No.”
The warehouse became silent.
Marco’s smile widened.
“Thomas Bell is alive.”
Beatrice’s knees nearly buckled.
“Where?”
Marco looked toward the black box.
“Open it.”
Then the warehouse lights died.
When they returned, Marco was unconscious.
The black box was gone again.
But this time, Beatrice saw who carried it through the far door.
A gray-haired man.
He turned for one second.
Her childhood returned in a single impossible flash.
The same eyes.
The same face.
Older.
Changed.
But unmistakable.
Beatrice whispered one word.
“Dad?”
May you like
The man stopped.
And slowly turned back toward his daughter.
