Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Sold Them Out
Teresa was crying before Victor entered the office.
“I’m sorry.”
Hannah stood beside him.
Victor closed the door.
“Why?”
“They have my son.”
Teresa covered her face.
“Vescari’s people took Daniel three days ago.”
Hannah’s anger weakened.
“You gave them information?”
“They said they would kill him.”
Victor’s voice remained cold.
“You could have told me.”
“And risk my son?”
“I would have protected him.”
“They said they had people inside your organization.”
Victor glanced at Marco.
That mattered.
“Names?”
“I don’t know.”
Victor leaned against the desk.
“What exactly did you give them?”
“The maintenance schedule. Hannah’s arrival time.”
Hannah went pale.
“You told them about Lily?”
Teresa began sobbing.
“I didn’t know they wanted the baby.”
Hannah turned away.
Victor asked, “Where is Daniel?”
“A warehouse in Red Hook.”
Marco spoke immediately.
“Could be a trap.”
“It is,” Victor replied.
Hannah looked at him.
“So what?”
“So we walk into it knowing it’s a trap.”
Victor ordered his men to prepare.
Hannah followed him into the hallway.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“They targeted my daughter.”
“Which is precisely why you’re staying here.”
“You said there are people inside your organization working for Vescari.”
Victor stopped.
Hannah continued.
“How do I know Lily is safer here?”
He had no answer.
“Exactly.”
Two hours later, Hannah waited inside an armored vehicle while Victor’s men entered the warehouse.
Gunfire cracked in the distance.
She held Lily tightly.
“Almost over, baby.”
Then the rear door opened.
Hannah screamed.
Victor climbed inside.
“Easy.”
“You scared me half to death.”
“We found Daniel.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Hannah exhaled.
Victor sat opposite her.
“And we found something else.”
He handed her an envelope.
Inside was an old photograph.
Elena Rossi stood beside a much younger Victor.
On the back were handwritten numbers.
Hannah recognized her mother’s handwriting immediately.
“What are these?”
Victor stared at them.
“Coordinates.”
They led to a private bank facility in Manhattan.
Three hours later, Hannah, Victor, Marco and Lily entered a subterranean vault.
The manager examined the locket.
“I’ve been waiting a long time to see this.”
Hannah stared at him.
“You knew my mother?”
“No.”
He entered a code.
“But she left instructions.”
A steel door opened.
Inside sat one small black case.
Hannah placed Lily’s hand against a biometric panel.
Green light.
CLICK.
The case opened.
Documents.
Ledgers.
Photographs.
Recordings.
Victor picked up the first file.
“This could destroy Vescari.”
Hannah looked through another.
“This could destroy you too.”
Victor met her eyes.
She was right.
Elena had documented everything.
Vescari’s crimes.
The Moretti organization.
Bribery.
Financial operations.
Names.
Victor slowly closed the file.
“My mother knew exactly what she was doing,” Hannah said.
“Yes.”
“She didn’t protect your empire.”
“No.”
“She protected the truth.”
Victor looked at her.
“Yes.”
Hannah waited.
“What are you going to do?”
Victor stared at the evidence that could dismantle everything his family had built.
Then he looked at Lily.
“Finish what Elena started.”
A gun clicked behind them.
Marco froze.
A voice came from the doorway.
“That would be a mistake.”
An older man entered.
Silver hair.
Expensive coat.
Cold smile.
Victor whispered one name.
“Vescari.”
Carlo Vescari looked at Lily.
“Seventeen years.”
May you like
His smile widened.
“And Elena finally gave me the key.”
