Chapter 4 - The Truth They Tried to Bury
Vincent stepped between Alessandro and Noah.
“Don’t look at him.”
Alessandro smiled.
“Still impulsive.”
“Still alive?”
“For the moment.”
Luca’s hand moved inside his jacket.
Alessandro’s men did the same.
Evelyn pulled Noah behind a stone column.
Vincent never took his eyes off his uncle.
“You forged the order.”
Alessandro sighed.
“Marco talks too much.”
“You tried to kill Evelyn.”
“Technically, I tried to frighten her.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You fired through my window.”
“I hired men. Their enthusiasm exceeded instructions.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“No.”
Alessandro’s gaze moved toward Noah again.
“You’ve spent seven years believing many convenient things.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“My grandfather knew.”
“Eventually.”
“And he protected her.”
“He hid her.”
“From you.”
Alessandro chuckled.
“From both of us.”
Vincent’s face tightened.
“You made me believe she betrayed me.”
“You were distracted.”
“She was pregnant.”
“Exactly.”
Vincent’s voice became dangerously quiet.
“You erased my son.”
Alessandro’s smile faded.
“No. Your grandfather did that.”
Vincent hesitated.
Alessandro saw the wound and pressed harder.
“Dominic had years to tell you the truth. He chose not to.”
“For Noah’s safety.”
“That’s what cowards call control when they want to sleep at night.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Vincent glanced at her.
She stood beside him now.
Not behind him.
Alessandro looked amused.
“There she is.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You came to my apartment seven years ago.”
“Yes.”
“You told me Vincent had ordered my death.”
“I showed you the paper.”
“You watched me leave.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you kill me?”
Vincent turned sharply toward her.
Alessandro tilted his head.
“Because killing you immediately would have created questions.”
“What did you want?”
“For you to disappear.”
“And Noah?”
“I didn’t know whether the pregnancy would continue.”
Vincent lunged.
Luca caught him.
“Vincent.”
Alessandro’s guards raised their weapons beneath their jackets.
Father Brennan and several mourners were only yards away.
Evelyn grabbed Vincent’s arm.
“Not here.”
He looked at her.
“Not in a church. Not in front of Noah.”
Vincent forced himself still.
Alessandro smiled.
“See? She always was smarter than you.”
Vincent pointed toward him.
“You’re going to regret every word you say today.”
“I’ve regretted very little in my life.”
“Then today will be educational.”
Alessandro’s smile disappeared.
“Give me the key.”
Evelyn’s hand moved toward her coat pocket.
Vincent noticed.
So did Alessandro.
“The key belongs to me,” Evelyn said.
“No. It belongs to the Moretti family.”
“Dominic gave it to me.”
“Dominic was dying.”
“And apparently still smarter than you.”
Luca almost smiled.
Alessandro’s eyes hardened.
“You think this is a game?”
“No.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“I think you’re scared.”
That landed.
Alessandro said nothing.
“You’ve spent seven years searching for that ledger.”
Evelyn watched his face.
“Dominic dies, and suddenly you personally appear at his funeral to chase a woman you supposedly don’t care about.”
Vincent understood what she was doing.
Testing him.
Reading him.
The Evelyn he remembered had always been frighteningly good at it.
She continued.
“So whatever is inside that box can destroy you.”
Alessandro’s voice dropped.
“You don’t know what you’re holding.”
“Then tell me.”
“No.”
“Because I’m right.”
His silence answered her.
Noah peeked around the column.
Alessandro noticed him.
“Your mother has courage.”
Noah answered before Evelyn could stop him.
“She says courage is doing stuff even when you’re scared.”
Alessandro smiled faintly.
“Does she?”
“Yes.”
Noah looked at Vincent.
“I think he’s scared too.”
Alessandro’s smile vanished.
Vincent looked at his son.
“What makes you say that?”
“He keeps asking for the key.”
For a six-year-old, it was devastatingly simple logic.
Luca let out a quiet laugh.
Alessandro glared at him.
Vincent said, “You heard the boy.”
Then police sirens sounded outside.
Everyone stiffened.
Luca looked confused.
“We didn’t call them.”
Alessandro turned toward one of his men.
The man shook his head.
Marco paled.
“The cathedral security alarm.”
Father Brennan appeared near the aisle.
“I called them.”
Vincent looked at the priest.
Father Brennan’s expression remained calm.
“Dominic was very specific.”
“About what?”
“If Alessandro Moretti appeared near Evelyn Carter, I was to contact law enforcement immediately.”
Alessandro laughed.
“That old bastard planned his own funeral like a military operation.”
Father Brennan replied, “He knew his family.”
The sound of sirens grew louder.
Alessandro looked at Evelyn.
“This isn’t finished.”
Vincent stepped into his path.
“It is for today.”
Alessandro leaned close.
“You think discovering the boy makes you stronger.”
Vincent said nothing.
“It makes you predictable.”
Vincent’s eyes turned cold.
“No.”
He looked toward Noah.
“It gives me something you’ve never had.”
“And what is that?”
“A reason not to become you.”
For the first time, Alessandro looked genuinely angry.
He left with his men seconds before uniformed officers entered the cathedral.
Luca watched him go.
“He’ll move fast.”
Vincent nodded.
“So will we.”
Evelyn immediately shook her head.
“No.”
Vincent turned.
“We don’t have time for this.”
“We absolutely do.”
She approached him.
“You’re already thinking about retaliation.”
“I’m thinking about stopping a man who tried to kill you.”
“And protecting Noah?”
“Same thing.”
“No.”
Her voice became sharper.
“Those are not the same thing.”
Vincent stared at her.
Evelyn lowered her voice.
“If you start a war, Noah becomes part of it.”
“He already is.”
“Then get him out.”
Vincent looked surprised.
“What?”
“You have resources.”
“Yes.”
“Safe houses?”
“Yes.”
“Private aircraft?”
“Yes.”
“People you trust?”
“A few.”
“Then send us away.”
Vincent’s face closed.
“No.”
“Vincent.”
“I lost seven years.”
“This isn’t about you.”
“That’s exactly what it’s about.”
“No. It’s about him.”
She pointed toward Noah.
“He met you thirty minutes ago.”
Vincent flinched.
Evelyn continued.
“You do not get to turn his first day knowing his father into the beginning of a family war.”
Vincent’s anger drained slightly.
Noah watched them from beside Luca.
Vincent lowered his voice.
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Think.”
“I am thinking.”
“No. You’re reacting.”
He looked away.
She knew she was right.
That irritated him more.
Finally, Vincent asked, “Where is the safest place you know?”
“Portland.”
“Alessandro knows you lived there.”
“Then somewhere else.”
Vincent looked toward Luca.
“The Hudson house.”
Luca nodded.
“Isolated. Private road. Twelve men can secure it.”
Evelyn immediately objected.
“Twelve armed men around my son?”
“Outside.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“It should.”
“It doesn’t.”
Noah raised his hand again.
Evelyn sighed.
“What?”
“Does the house have Wi-Fi?”
Vincent looked at him.
“Yes.”
“Good Wi-Fi?”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Luca laughed openly this time.
Vincent said, “Very good Wi-Fi.”
Noah nodded.
“I still vote yes.”
Evelyn pointed at him.
“You are not helping.”
Noah smiled.
For a moment, Vincent simply watched him.
The smile.
The posture.
The stubbornness.
His son.
The thought was still almost impossible to hold.
Then Marco stepped closer.
“There’s something else.”
Vincent turned.
“What?”
“The deposit box.”
“What about it?”
“You cannot open it without Noah.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Marco pointed at Dominic’s message.
Trust no blood but the boy’s.
“Dominic changed the authorization six months ago.”
“To what?”
Marco hesitated.
“Genetic verification.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“He used Noah’s DNA?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn went pale.
“How did Dominic have my son’s DNA?”
Marco looked ashamed again.
“Two years ago, Noah had emergency surgery in Portland.”
Evelyn froze.
“You knew about that?”
“Dominic did.”
Noah looked confused.
“My appendix?”
Evelyn stared at Marco.
“You had access to his medical records?”
“No. Dominic arranged for a discarded sample to be collected.”
“You stole my child’s DNA?”
“It was the only way he could ensure Alessandro could never open the box.”
Vincent stepped toward Marco.
“You people keep saying ‘protect’ when you mean ‘control.’”
Marco lowered his eyes.
“You’re right.”
Evelyn looked furious.
But another thought occurred to her.
“Wait.”
Everyone turned.
“If Noah is required to open the box…”
Vincent finished the thought.
“Then Alessandro needs Noah alive.”
Luca nodded.
“For now.”
Evelyn’s expression changed.
“That means he’ll come for him.”
Vincent looked at his son.
Then at Evelyn.
“No.”
His voice was absolute.
“He won’t.”
That evening, a convoy left Manhattan for the Hudson Valley.
Evelyn sat in the back of an armored SUV with Noah beside her.
Vincent sat opposite them.
For nearly twenty minutes, no one spoke.
Then Noah looked up from the tablet Luca had given him.
“Vincent?”
The name hit Vincent strangely.
“Yes?”
“Did you know my grandpa?”
Vincent frowned.
“Which grandfather?”
“Your grandpa. The one whose funeral this was.”
“Yes.”
“Was he nice?”
Vincent thought about Dominic.
Powerful.
Secretive.
Manipulative.
Protective.
Cruel when necessary.
Gentle when nobody was watching.
“Sometimes.”
Noah nodded.
“Mom said he was nice to her.”
“He was.”
“Then why did he lie to you?”
Vincent had no easy answer.
“Because adults sometimes think a bad choice becomes good if they make it for the right reason.”
Noah considered that.
“Was he right?”
Vincent looked at Evelyn.
She looked back.
“No,” he said.
Noah nodded.
“Okay.”
Then he returned to his game.
Evelyn quietly said, “That was a good answer.”
Vincent looked out the window.
“It was the truth.”
Thirty miles behind them, a black SUV followed at a careful distance.
Inside, Alessandro Moretti received a phone call.
“They’ve taken the boy north.”
“Location?”
“Not yet.”
Alessandro looked at the photograph on his phone.
Vincent.
Evelyn.
Noah.
Together.
“Find them.”
The man on the phone hesitated.
“And when we do?”
Alessandro’s expression became cold.
“Bring me the boy alive.”
“And Vincent?”
Alessandro looked toward Manhattan disappearing behind him.
“My nephew has had seven extra years.”
May you like
He ended the call.
“His time is over.”
