Chapter 6 - The Last Debt of the Moretti Family
Dominic did not sleep.
Elena knew because neither did she.
By sunrise, Elysium had become a fortress.
Jamie slept upstairs under the watch of two nurses Dominic brought in from a private clinic.
Elena sat near the window with Rachel’s letter spread across the table.
Caroline sat across from her.
Neither spoke.
Julian remained locked in an office with two guards.
Dominic stood at the bar making calls.
Every few minutes, someone arrived.
Lawyers.
Security people.
One retired detective.
A woman from federal financial crimes.
Elena finally walked over.
“You called law enforcement.”
Dominic looked at her.
“You told me I should.”
“I thought you didn’t trust them.”
“I trust individuals.”
“Who’s the woman?”
“Dana Cole. She spent fifteen years trying to build a case against Victor.”
Elena stared.
“So she knew he wasn’t in Switzerland.”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t?”
Dominic looked away.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to know.”
That answer surprised her.
He leaned both hands on the counter.
“My father died when I was twenty-six. My brother was already gone. Victor handled most of the family businesses afterward. I spent years cleaning out anything illegal I could find.”
Elena said, “You run restaurants?”
“And hotels. Construction. Logistics.”
“Nothing else?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Not anymore.”
She believed the wording mattered.
“Why help me?”
He took a long breath.
“At first?”
“Yes.”
“Because Samuel’s envelope scared me.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
She gave him a skeptical look.
“My father taught me that the things you don’t understand are usually the things most likely to kill you.”
“That’s cheerful.”
“He wasn’t cheerful.”
“And after you met me?”
Dominic looked toward the staircase leading to Jamie’s suite.
“After I met you, it stopped being about the envelope.”
Elena felt warmth rise into her face and hated the timing.
“This is not exactly an appropriate moment.”
“I know.”
“Good.”
“I’m still saying it.”
She looked at him.
He almost smiled.
Then Dana approached.
“We found something.”
She placed copies of bank records on the counter.
“Victor has been moving money through shell companies tied to municipal contracts. Rachel’s ledger appears to contain the original account architecture.”
Elena frowned.
“So this is about money?”
Dana shook her head.
“It’s about leverage.”
Dominic looked at the records.
“Who else?”
Dana tapped one name.
A city judge.
Another.
Police commander.
Another.
Former state senator.
Elena looked away.
“How many people?”
“Enough.”
“And Rachel knew all this?”
Dana nodded.
“If she had lived and gone public, a lot of powerful people would have gone to prison.”
Caroline whispered behind them.
“That’s why Victor killed her.”
Dana looked at Caroline.
“That’s our working theory.”
“Not theory.”
Everyone turned.
Julian stood at the office door with a guard behind him.
“I can prove it.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“How?”
Julian reached into his shirt collar slowly.
A thin chain hung around his neck.
Attached was a tiny metal capsule.
“I recorded Victor three years ago.”
“Why?”
“Insurance.”
Dominic laughed without humor.
“Runs in the family.”
Julian ignored him.
“There’s audio of Victor admitting he ordered the vehicle hit that killed Rachel.”
Elena stood.
“Give it to Dana.”
Julian looked at her.
“I will.”
“Now.”
He removed the capsule.
Dana took it.
“Why didn’t you use this before?”
Julian’s expression tightened.
“Because he would have killed Elena.”
“You abandoned me anyway,” Elena said.
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t protection.”
“I know.”
She stared at him.
There was a time his face had meant safety.
Now it meant nothing.
That was progress.
Dana plugged the storage chip into a secure laptop.
Audio played.
Victor’s voice.
Older.
Cold.
Clear.
Rachel should have died at the warehouse. The crash was sloppier than I wanted, but it solved the problem.
Elena closed her eyes.
Caroline began crying silently.
Dominic’s face turned to stone.
Then another voice on the recording asked:
And the Moretti boy?
Victor answered:
Wrong place. Wrong time. His brother saw too much.
Dominic stopped breathing.
Elena looked at him.
“Your brother.”
He stared at the laptop.
Harbor 19.
Seventeen-year-old Dominic had arrived after his older brother Luca followed their father’s car.
Luca never returned.
Dominic had been told DeLuca gunmen killed him.
The family war had burned hotter afterward.
But the audio kept playing.
Victor said:
Luca found Rachel first. Tried to get her out. Foolish kid. Vittorio would have forgiven too much if he knew. So Luca had to disappear too.
Dominic stepped away.
Elena saw his eyes shine.
He looked ashamed of it.
She went to him.
“Dominic.”
He shook his head once.
“My uncle killed my brother.”
“Yes.”
“My father spent the rest of his life blaming the DeLucas.”
Caroline whispered, “Rachel tried to save him.”
Dominic turned.
“What?”
“Luca was alive after the warehouse.”
Caroline wiped her face.
“Rachel got him into her car. They were both trying to escape.”
Dominic’s face collapsed.
“The crash.”
Caroline nodded.
“He died with her.”
Dominic sat down.
For once, nobody spoke.
Elena placed her hand over his.
He looked at it.
Then at her.
He didn’t move away.
At 8:00 p.m., they made the plan.
Victor expected Dominic alone at Pier 9 with the ledger.
Dominic would go.
The real ledger would not.
Dana had copied everything.
Federal agents would wait outside.
Caroline would testify.
Julian would testify.
Samuel and Marco, if alive, would be recovered.
Elena would stay behind.
That had been the plan.
At 10:42 p.m., Elena was gone.
Dominic discovered it when he went upstairs to check on Jamie.
The nursery suite was empty.
One nurse lay unconscious but breathing.
The window was open.
On the crib mattress sat Elena’s phone.
A message played automatically.
Victor’s voice.
“Plans change, nephew.”
Dominic gripped the crib rail.
Another photo loaded.
Elena sat in a chair.
Her hands tied.
Jamie was in her lap.
Alive.
Victor stood behind them.
The final message appeared.
PIER 9.
May you like
BRING THE REAL LEDGER.
OR YOU LOSE THEM BOTH.
