Chapter 3 - The Traitor Behind the Locked Gate
Red emergency lights pulsed through the corridor as Luca carried Theo toward a concealed staircase behind the library.
I stayed close enough to touch my son’s shoe.
Guards moved in both directions, shouting into radios. Smoke drifted from the eastern wing, where the backup generator had exploded.
“Was that a bomb?” Theo asked.
“A small one,” Luca said.
“There are different sizes?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Stop answering him like that,” I snapped.
“He asked a direct question.”
“He is five.”
“Five and three quarters,” Theo corrected.
Even frightened, he refused to surrender the fraction.
Luca pushed open a steel door.
A concrete staircase descended beneath the house.
Teresa waited at the bottom with Marco and two guards. One was young and unfamiliar. The other I recognized from Luca’s old security detail.
“Anthony,” I said.
Anthony Russo stared at me.
“Mrs. DeMarco.”
“You knew me?”
“I drove you to the doctor twice.”
Six years had deepened the lines around his mouth, but his voice had not changed.
He looked at Theo and quickly lowered his eyes.
Marco closed the steel door behind us.
“This corridor leads to the garage,” he said. “Two armored vehicles are ready.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“A secondary location,” Luca answered.
“That first location lasted twenty minutes.”
“The second is not in our records.”
Marco’s radio crackled.
“East wing secure. No intruders located.”
Luca stopped.
“No intruders?”
“The explosive was placed in advance,” Marco said. “Remote detonation.”
“Then the device was inside before we arrived.”
I looked at the guards.
“One of your people planted it.”
Anthony’s face hardened. “Careful.”
“I have spent six years being careful.”
Luca adjusted Theo in his arms. “Who knew we were coming here?”
“Marco, me, the drivers, and the gate team,” Anthony answered.
“The kitchen staff?” I asked.
“They live here.”
“Maintenance?”
“Three men.”
“Cameras?”
“Closed network,” Marco said. “No outside access.”
“Every closed network has someone who opens it,” I replied.
Luca glanced at me.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You used to make that face when you thought I was interfering.”
“You are interfering.”
“With my own attempted murder?”
“With my investigation.”
“Your investigation has a traitor carrying a security badge.”
The young guard shifted his weight.
It was small, almost invisible.
But I saw Luca notice.
“What’s your name?” Luca asked him.
“Daniel Frost, sir.”
“How long have you worked here?”
“Eight months.”
“Who hired you?”
“Mr. Russo.”
Anthony stepped forward. “His background was clean.”
“Too clean?” I asked.
Daniel’s hand moved toward his belt.
Marco drew his gun.
“Hands where I can see them.”
Daniel froze.
Anthony stared at him. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“Then raise your hands,” Luca said.
Daniel slowly lifted them.
Theo buried his face against Luca’s shoulder.
I moved closer.
Luca’s voice remained calm. “Search him.”
Marco removed Daniel’s weapon, phone, and a small plastic device no larger than a car key.
“What is that?” I asked.
Daniel’s face lost its color.
Marco pressed a button. A green light blinked.
“Remote detonator.”
Anthony cursed and grabbed Daniel by the jacket.
“You planted the device?”
Daniel shook his head. “I didn’t. I swear.”
“You had the trigger.”
“It was in my locker. Someone must have put it there.”
“Convenient,” Marco said.
“I didn’t betray anyone.”
Luca looked at Anthony.
“Take him to the interrogation room.”
The word made my stomach tighten.
“No.”
Every man in the corridor looked at me.
Luca’s eyes narrowed. “This is not your decision.”
“You question him in front of me.”
“He endangered Theo.”
“Which is why I want the truth, not whatever confession you frighten out of him.”
Daniel looked at me with desperate gratitude.
Luca saw it.
“You think I torture every employee who makes a mistake?”
“I think your reputation exists for a reason.”
“And I think your six years away have made you believe every rumor.”
“Have they?”
Silence stretched between us.
Theo lifted his head.
“Are you two fighting again?”
“No,” Luca said.
“Yes,” I said.
Theo sighed. “You should take turns.”
Teresa stepped closer and held out her arms.
“Come with me, little one.”
Theo clung to Luca.
“I want him.”
Luca looked startled.
So was I.
Theo had known him for less than two hours, yet fear had drawn him toward the strongest person in the room.
That was how Luca’s world began. Not with greed. With the belief that only power could protect the people he loved.
It was the same belief that had eventually made him dangerous.
Luca lowered his voice.
“I need to handle something.”
“Will you come back?”
“Yes.”
“Promise?”
Luca met my eyes before answering.
“I promise.”
Theo allowed Teresa to take him.
She carried him toward the garage while Anthony escorted Daniel down another corridor.
I followed Luca and Marco.
The interrogation room was not the dungeon I had imagined. It contained a metal table, four chairs, and a camera in the ceiling.
Daniel sat with his wrists secured in front of him.
Anthony stood near the wall, furious.
Luca took the chair opposite Daniel.
I sat beside him.
He glanced at me but said nothing.
Marco placed the detonator on the table.
“Where did you get it?”
“I told you. My locker.”
“When did you last open the locker?”
“Before my shift. Around three.”
“Was the device there?”
“No.”
“Who had access?”
“Anyone with a maintenance key.”
Anthony shook his head. “He is lying.”
Daniel looked at him.
“You’re the one who hired me.”
“And I regret it.”
“I served with your nephew.”
“My nephew died in Afghanistan.”
“He saved my life.”
Anthony slammed his palm against the wall. “Do not use his name.”
“I’m not.”
Luca watched Anthony rather than Daniel.
I noticed.
“Where were you when the explosion occurred?” Luca asked.
“At the gate.”
“Who can confirm that?”
“Security footage.”
“The footage stopped twelve seconds before detonation,” Marco said.
Daniel’s mouth opened.
“I didn’t know that.”
“Your access card entered the generator room at six thirteen,” Marco continued.
“I was at the gate.”
“Your card says otherwise.”
“Then someone copied it.”
Anthony laughed bitterly. “Everything was someone else.”
Daniel looked directly at Luca.
“Mr. DeMarco, check the west garage camera. I passed it at six twelve. I spilled coffee on my sleeve. You’ll see me cleaning it when I crossed to the gate.”
Marco used his tablet.
A few seconds later, he turned the screen.
The footage showed Daniel walking through the garage, wiping his sleeve.
Time stamp: 6:12 p.m.
“It takes four minutes to reach the generator room from there,” Marco said.
“Then he could not have used his card at six thirteen,” I replied.
“Unless the time stamps were altered,” Anthony said.
“Or someone copied his card,” Daniel insisted.
Luca leaned back.
“Who controls access-card programming?”
Anthony’s expression changed.
“Security administration.”
“Who specifically?”
“Me. Marco. Two shift supervisors.”
“Names.”
“Caleb Dunn and Peter Salvo.”
Marco stood.
“Peter called in sick today.”
“Where is he?” Luca asked.
“I’ll find out.”
Before Marco reached the door, my phone rang.
The number was hidden.
Luca held out his hand.
“Give it to me.”
“It’s my phone.”
“And the caller may be Rafael.”
I answered and activated the speaker.
“Hello?”
A woman’s voice responded.
“Sophie? It’s Rosie.”
Relief rushed through me.
“Are you safe?”
“I’m fine. The police are here. But a man came into the diner after you left.”
“What man?”
“He said he was your brother.”
“I don’t have a brother.”
“That’s what I thought. He left something for you.”
Luca spoke. “Do not touch it.”
Rosie went silent.
“Who is that?”
“Luca.”
“The kidnaper with good hair?”
Marco looked down.
Luca closed his eyes briefly. “Yes.”
Rosie lowered her voice. “The man left a photograph.”
“Of what?” I asked.
“You and Theo. It was taken outside your apartment yesterday.”
My hand went cold.
“There’s writing on the back,” Rosie continued.
“Read it.”
“It says, ‘The second child will not be hidden so easily.’”
The room tilted.
Luca stood so quickly his chair struck the wall.
“What second child?” he demanded.
Rosie said my name twice, but I could not answer.
Luca stared at me.
“Emily.”
I ended the call.
His voice became dangerously quiet.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You reacted.”
“Because Rafael is threatening Theo.”
“He said second child.”
Daniel and Anthony watched us.
Luca pointed toward the door.
“Everyone out except Marco.”
Anthony began to protest.
“Now.”
When the room emptied, Luca locked the door.
“Tell me.”
I folded my arms across my stomach.
The gesture betrayed me.
Luca noticed.
His face lost all color.
“No.”
“Luca—”
“No. Do not tell me there is another child.”
“There isn’t.”
He stared at my hands.
“Are you pregnant?”
Marco turned away, granting us the smallest illusion of privacy.
I forced myself to speak.
“I don’t know.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I’ve been late before. Stress affects everything.”
“How late?”
“Five weeks.”
Luca stared at me as though I had spoken another language.
Then understanding arrived.
“There is no possibility that child is mine.”
“No.”
The answer struck harder than I intended.
His expression closed.
“Who is the father?”
“There is no child yet, and my personal life stopped being your business when I disappeared.”
“You were legally declared dead. We never divorced.”
“That is your argument?”
“My argument is that Rafael knows something about you that I do not.”
“Most people know more about my current life than you do.”
Luca’s hand tightened around the back of the chair.
“Who?”
“I was seeing someone.”
“Name.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“His name is David Cole. He teaches history at the community college.”
“How long?”
“Eight months.”
“Does Theo know him?”
“Yes.”
“Does Theo call him Dad?”
“No.”
The answer came too sharply.
Luca looked away.
I hated that some part of me still wanted to protect him from pain.
“David is kind,” I said. “He has never been involved in anything dangerous.”
“Then Rafael will use him.”
The door opened abruptly.
Marco stepped back inside.
“I found Peter Salvo.”
“Where?” Luca asked.
“Dead in his apartment.”
I closed my eyes.
Rafael was erasing people again.
“Cause?” Luca asked.
“Single gunshot. It was staged as suicide, but the weapon was in his left hand. Peter was right-handed.”
“And his access credentials?”
“Missing.”
Luca looked at Daniel through the observation window.
“He was framed.”
“Yes.”
“What about the message at the diner?”
“Rosie sent a photograph.”
Marco handed over his tablet.
The image showed Theo and me outside our apartment.
David stood near the edge of the frame, holding a grocery bag.
Someone had drawn a red circle around him.
Beneath it were three words.
ASK HIM YOURSELF.
My phone rang again.
This time David’s name appeared.
I answered immediately.
“David?”
Breathing came through the line.
Then Rafael spoke.
“Mr. Cole is a polite man.”
I gripped the table.
“Let him go.”
“Bring me the records.”
“Where?”
“I will send instructions.”
Luca leaned toward the phone.
“If you touch him—”
“You have become predictable, Luca. Every threat, every guard, every locked gate. Yet your wife escaped you, your son grew up without you, and now another man has been playing father in your place.”
Luca’s face turned to stone.
Rafael continued.
“Midnight tomorrow. Emily comes alone.”
The call ended.
I immediately dialed David.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
“I’m going,” I said.
“No,” Luca replied.
“He has an innocent man.”
“And Rafael will kill you both.”
“He won’t kill me until he has the records.”
“You do not have them with you.”
“I can retrieve them.”
“From the lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me the name.”
“No.”
Luca slammed his palm onto the table.
“Our son is being hunted, your boyfriend has been kidnapped, and you are still deciding which secrets to keep from me.”
“Because every secret I kept is why Theo is alive.”
“And every secret you keep now makes him harder to protect.”
We stared at each other.
Marco spoke from the doorway.
“He’s right.”
I turned on him.
Marco raised both hands. “I know you have no reason to trust us. But Rafael knows your apartment, your job, your relationship, and possibly your medical information. Whatever system protected you has been compromised.”
The truth settled heavily.
There was only one person who knew the location of the original documents, my address, David’s identity, and the date of my last medical appointment.
The lawyer who had helped me disappear.
Margaret Shaw.
She had protected me for six years.
Or pretended to.
I looked at Luca.
“I’ll give you the name.”
“Who?”
“Margaret Shaw.”
Marco’s face changed.
Luca noticed.
“You know her?”
Marco hesitated.
“She was your father’s private attorney.”
“I know that.”
“She did not disappear after the bombing.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded. “She arranged my documents. She contacted me through encrypted messages.”
Marco slowly placed his tablet on the table.
“Margaret Shaw died five years ago.”
The room went silent.
“That’s impossible.”
“I attended her funeral,” Luca said.
My pulse pounded in my ears.
Someone had continued sending me instructions in Margaret’s name.
Someone knew every place I moved.
Every job I took.
Every person I trusted.
I had not escaped Rafael by myself.
He had allowed me to run.
Luca stepped closer.
“Where are the records?”
I looked at him, finally understanding the trap.
“They’re in a vault registered under Margaret’s credentials.”
“And if she has been dead for five years?”
“Then Rafael has controlled the vault the entire time.”
Marco reached for his phone.
Luca’s gaze remained fixed on me.
“He wasn’t waiting for you to lead him to the evidence.”
“No,” I whispered.
“He was waiting for Theo to become useful.”
A guard opened the door.
“Boss, there’s a vehicle at the outer gate.”
“Identify it.”
“It belongs to David Cole.”
My heart stopped.
“Is he inside?”
“No.”
“What is?”
The guard swallowed.
“A child’s car seat.”
A phone had been taped to it.
The screen lit up.
A live video began playing.
May you like
David sat tied to a chair in an empty warehouse.
Behind him, a digital clock counted down from twenty-four hours.
