Chapter 4 - The Enemy Inside the Family
Vincent Moretti did not go home.
He went straight to a television studio.
By six that evening, Hannah’s face was on every local news channel in Chicago.
She stood in Luca’s study watching herself described as “a former medical trainee connected to allegations of narcotics theft.”
The anchor continued.
“Attorneys for businessman Vincent Moretti claim Carter pursued the Moretti family for years following the 2023 Ashwood Bridge tragedy.”
Hannah shut off the television.
“Fantastic.”
Luca stood near the fireplace.
“We’ll respond.”
“With what?”
“The truth.”
She laughed bitterly.
“That works slower.”
His phone vibrated.
Another message.
Then another.
He ignored them.
Hannah paced.
“This is exactly why I stayed away.”
“He wants you scared.”
“It’s working.”
Luca looked at her.
“You’re still here.”
“Because Sophia asked me to stay.”
“Then he failed.”
Before Hannah could answer, Sophia appeared in the doorway.
She looked upset.
“Kids at school saw the news.”
Luca straightened.
“You’re not supposed to be on your tablet.”
“I wasn’t. Emma called me.”
Hannah’s heart sank.
Sophia wheeled into the room.
“She said her mom thinks Hannah is a criminal.”
Luca’s expression changed instantly.
“I’ll handle it.”
“How?”
“I’ll speak to the school.”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
“What do you want?”
Sophia looked at Hannah.
“I want her to tell people what happened.”
Hannah hesitated.
“Sophia…”
“You saved me.”
“That part isn’t in question.”
“Yes, it is. Uncle Vincent is making everyone think you’re bad.”
Luca said quietly, “She has a point.”
Hannah turned.
“Don’t recruit your daughter.”
“I didn’t.”
Sophia raised her hand.
“I recruited myself.”
Hannah almost smiled despite everything.
Then the security chief entered.
His name was Marco Bell.
He shut the door behind him.
“Boss, we have another issue.”
Luca looked at Sophia.
“Should she leave?”
Sophia immediately crossed her arms.
Luca sighed.
“Apparently not.”
Marco placed a folder on the desk.
“We pulled the traffic cameras near Ashwood Bridge.”
Luca’s expression sharpened.
“After three years?”
“City archive was purged. But a private parking garage kept backups for an insurance dispute.”
Hannah stepped closer.
“And?”
Marco opened a laptop.
Grainy footage appeared.
Snow.
Headlights.
Elena’s black sedan.
Behind it, a dark SUV.
Hannah’s pulse jumped.
“That’s it.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
The video advanced.
The SUV moved closer.
Too close.
Then disappeared beneath a camera blind spot.
Twenty-seven seconds later, it reappeared.
The Moretti sedan did not.
Marco froze the image.
“We ran the plate.”
Luca leaned forward.
“Who owned it?”
Marco looked at him.
“A holding company.”
“Which one?”
“Lakefront Development Partners.”
Luca’s face changed.
Hannah asked, “Who owns that?”
Marco answered carefully.
“Vincent.”
Sophia whispered, “He killed Mommy?”
Luca immediately crouched beside her.
“We don’t know that.”
“But his car was there.”
“Yes.”
“Why would he lie?”
Luca had no answer.
Sophia’s voice trembled.
“Daddy.”
He took her hands.
“I promise you, whatever happened, we’re going to find out.”
She stared at him.
“Really promise?”
Luca swallowed.
“Yes.”
Hannah saw how difficult the word was for him now.
Promise.
After three years of lies.
Marco continued.
“There’s more.”
Nobody wanted more.
He played another clip.
The SUV entered the parking garage forty minutes after the crash.
A man stepped out.
Vincent.
His coat was wet.
One sleeve was torn.
Luca stared at the screen.
“Call the district attorney.”
Marco nodded.
Luca added, “And state police.”
Hannah looked at him.
“You trust them?”
“No.”
“Then why call?”
“Because this isn’t staying inside the family anymore.”
Sophia asked, “What happens to Uncle Vincent?”
“If he did something wrong, a court decides.”
She studied her father.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
Hannah believed him.
For the first time.
The next morning, Eleanor arranged a press conference.
Hannah hated the idea.
The ballroom at the Moretti Foundation headquarters filled with reporters.
She stood backstage with Luca.
“I’m going to throw up.”
“There’s a trash can behind you.”
“That was not comforting.”
“I’m learning.”
“You’re terrible at it.”
Sophia sat nearby in her wheelchair wearing a yellow sweater.
Dr. Benton had forbidden unnecessary walking after the gala.
Sophia complained about it every ten minutes.
Eleanor entered.
“Two minutes.”
Hannah looked at Luca.
“I don’t want to become famous.”
“You won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“I’ll make them hate me more.”
She stared.
“That’s strangely reassuring.”
He adjusted his cuff.
“Hannah.”
“What?”
“Whatever happens out there, don’t defend my family.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
He looked directly at her.
“Don’t minimize what you did.”
Her expression softened.
“I jumped in a river.”
“You saved my daughter.”
“I did what anyone should have done.”
“No.”
His voice became quieter.
“Most people didn’t.”
She held his gaze.
Then Eleanor called them out.
Camera shutters erupted.
Luca approached the podium first.
“My name is Luca Moretti.”
The room quieted instantly.
“Three years ago, my wife Elena died in the Ashwood Bridge crash. My daughter Sophia survived.”
He paused.
“For three years, I believed the crash was an accident.”
Reporters leaned forward.
“I also believed the woman who rescued my daughter chose not to contact us.”
Hannah stood behind him.
“That was false.”
He stepped aside.
“Hannah Carter saved Sophia’s life. She attempted to contact my family repeatedly. Those attempts were intercepted.”
Voices erupted.
“By whom?”
“Was it Vincent Moretti?”
“Are criminal charges expected?”
Luca raised one hand.
Silence returned.
“My uncle, Vincent Moretti, is under investigation regarding those actions and matters connected to my wife’s death.”
The room exploded again.
Eleanor stepped forward.
“No questions until statements are complete.”
Luca looked toward Hannah.
Her turn.
She walked to the microphone.
The lights were blinding.
She could see almost no faces.
So she imagined she was talking to Sophia.
“My name is Hannah Carter.”
The room quieted.
“I was twenty-four when I saw Elena Moretti’s car enter the Chicago River.”
She explained the rescue.
The broken window.
The seat belt.
The freezing water.
Then her attempts to reach Sophia.
She did not dramatize.
She did not attack.
She simply told the truth.
“When I contacted the family, I received a voicemail warning me to stay away.”
Reporters shouted.
Eleanor played the recovered message.
Vincent’s voice filled the room.
When it ended, nobody shouted.
Hannah continued.
“The next day, my clinical placement was threatened. Soon after, I lost my nursing-school position following a false allegation.”
A reporter asked, “Are you suing the Moretti family?”
Hannah looked at Luca.
Then back at the cameras.
“No.”
That surprised everyone.
“Why not?”
“Because Luca Moretti didn’t do this to me.”
Another reporter shouted, “Are you saying Vincent did?”
“I’m saying investigators should follow evidence, not headlines.”
Luca watched her closely.
Then Sophia suddenly rolled onto the stage.
“Sophia,” Luca whispered.
She ignored him.
A murmur spread through the room.
Sophia moved beside Hannah.
“Can I say something?”
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
Hannah whispered, “Apparently nobody can stop you.”
Sophia leaned toward the microphone.
“My name is Sophia Moretti.”
Every camera turned.
“Three years ago, Hannah saved me.”
Her voice shook slightly.
“She stayed in freezing water with me when I thought I was going to die.”
Luca stared at his daughter.
Sophia continued.
“She sang me the same song over and over because I was scared.”
A reporter asked gently, “Do you remember that night?”
“Yes.”
“What else do you remember?”
Luca stood.
“Sophia doesn’t have to answer—”
“I want to.”
She looked toward the cameras.
“I remember my mom saying Uncle Vincent was following us.”
The room erupted.
Luca froze.
Hannah’s blood turned cold.
Eleanor rushed forward.
“Sophia, are you certain?”
Sophia nodded.
“She saw the SUV in the mirror.”
Luca came beside her.
“What exactly did Mommy say?”
Sophia closed her eyes.
“She said, ‘Vincent, stop following me.’”
Silence crashed down.
Then every reporter began shouting at once.
The press conference ended immediately.
Backstage, Luca crouched in front of Sophia.
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
She started crying.
“Because I thought you knew.”
His face crumpled.
“Oh, baby.”
He pulled her into his arms.
“I’m sorry.”
“You were always sad.”
“I should have asked.”
“I didn’t want you sadder.”
He held her tighter.
Hannah turned away to give them privacy.
Then Marco entered at a run.
“Luca.”
Luca looked up.
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
“What now?”
“Vincent disappeared.”
Eleanor went pale.
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“Where was surveillance?”
“He switched cars in an underground garage.”
Luca stood.
“Find him.”
Marco hesitated.
“There’s something else.”
He handed Luca a phone.
On the screen was a text message.
One sentence.
STOP DIGGING OR THE NEXT TIME HANNAH WON’T WALK AWAY.
Luca stared at it.
Then looked at Hannah.
“No.”
She crossed her arms.
“No what?”
“You’re leaving Chicago.”
“What?”
“Today.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Hannah.”
“You don’t get to decide where I go.”
“He threatened you.”
“Yes.”
“He may have killed my wife.”
“Which is exactly why I’m not running.”
Luca stepped closer.
“I will not let him hurt you.”
She stared back.
“And I will not spend another three years letting Vincent Moretti decide what I’m allowed to do.”
Silence.
Luca’s jaw tightened.
Hannah continued.
“He already erased me once.”
She pointed toward the press room.
“Not again.”
Sophia wiped her eyes.
“Hannah’s right.”
Luca stared at both of them.
“This is becoming a conspiracy.”
Sophia nodded.
“It is.”
Hannah said, “You’re outnumbered.”
Before Luca could respond, Marco’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face immediately changed.
“What?”
A pause.
Then he looked at Luca.
“They found Vincent’s car.”
“Where?”
“Ashwood Bridge.”
Nobody spoke.
Marco continued.
“Driver’s door open. Engine running.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“Vincent?”
“Gone.”
Hannah felt cold.
Marco handed over a photograph sent by the patrol unit.
The abandoned SUV sat beside the bridge railing.
On the driver’s seat lay a single object.
A blue wool child’s coat.
Sophia’s coat.
The one she had worn the night of the crash.
And pinned to it was a handwritten note.
Luca read it aloud.
May you like
“Come alone if you want the rest of Elena’s evidence.”
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