Chapter 6 - The Lie Lorenzo Kept
Evelyn slapped him.
Nobody moved.
Lorenzo accepted it without flinching.
“You knew she was in danger.”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing?”
“I sent protection.”
“She died!”
“I know.”
His voice broke on the final word.
That stopped her.
Lorenzo explained.
Claire had discovered the financial conspiracy and contacted him secretly. He arranged to meet her the following morning.
She never arrived.
The security team he had sent to watch her apartment had been redirected by an order carrying Lorenzo's authorization.
Forged.
Claire died forty minutes later.
Lorenzo had spent six months investigating quietly because exposing what Claire knew would have endangered Evelyn.
“Why didn't you find me?”
“I did.”
She stared.
“What?”
“Two weeks after Claire died. You were still in your apartment.”
“And?”
“I watched from across the street.”
Anger burned through her.
“You watched me?”
“I believed distance kept you safe.”
“You were wrong.”
“Yes.”
There was no excuse in his voice.
Only regret.
Then Evelyn remembered something Claire had said during their final conversation.
“If anything happens, don't trust the obvious monster.”
At the time Evelyn thought she meant one of Moretti's enemies.
Now she wondered whether Claire had meant Lorenzo.
Or whether she had been warning her not to.
They returned to Claire's old storage unit.
Behind boxes of clothes, Evelyn found a children's storybook they had shared growing up.
Several pages contained numbers written in Claire's handwriting.
Lorenzo recognized them as bank-transfer dates.
The first letters of the marked paragraphs formed a name.
ADRIAN BELL.
The family doctor.
The man who had examined Matteo after the kidnapping.
The man with access to the entire family.
They raced back to the mansion.
Bell was gone.
So was Matteo.
On Matteo's bed sat a single syringe.
Lorenzo nearly destroyed the room.
Evelyn forced herself to think.
Bell had drugged Matteo before.
But why take him again?
Then she understood.
“He doesn't want Matteo.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“He wants you.”
Bell called ten minutes later.
He ordered Lorenzo to come alone to an abandoned hospital in South Boston.
Evelyn recognized the building.
Claire had once worked there.
Before becoming an accountant.
Lorenzo prepared to leave.
Evelyn blocked him.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“This started with my sister.”
“It ends with my son.”
“Then we both have something to lose.”
Their eyes locked.
Lorenzo finally nodded.
The abandoned hospital smelled of mold and wet plaster.
They found Matteo strapped to a chair but unharmed.
Bell stood behind him.
Sebastian stood beside Bell.
And suddenly Evelyn understood.
Bell was not merely involved.
He was the architect.
Years earlier, Bell's father had controlled an illegal medical distribution network that collapsed after Lorenzo's father refused to protect it.
Bell had spent decades waiting.
Claire had discovered his laundering network accidentally.
Matteo's kidnapping was supposed to destroy Lorenzo emotionally before Bell dismantled his organization financially.
“You killed Claire,” Evelyn whispered.
Bell smiled.
“She should have stopped looking.”
Lorenzo moved.
Sebastian raised a gun.
Then a shot exploded.
Sebastian fell.
Vincent stood in the doorway holding the weapon.
For once, Lorenzo's reckless younger brother had chosen correctly.
Chaos erupted.
Evelyn ran toward Matteo.
Bell grabbed her.
He pressed a scalpel against her throat.
“Everyone stops.”
Lorenzo froze.
Bell smiled.
“Now, Mr. Moretti, we're finally negotiating.”
His eyes moved toward Evelyn.
“Your son…”
May you like
Then back.
“Or her.”
