Chapter 4 - Nobody Touches the Child
Elena slapped Adrian Moretti.
The sound echoed through the library.
Dante looked away.
Mrs. Bellini crossed herself.
Adrian did nothing.
Elena’s hand trembled.
“My daughter almost got shot because of your family.”
“Yes.”
That single answer made her angrier.
“You knew people wanted you dead.”
“Yes.”
“You knew there was danger in this house.”
“Yes.”
“And you let her walk into that garden?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“I didn’t know the box existed.”
“I don’t care about your box!”
Sophia was upstairs with Mrs. Bellini, protected by four guards and Titan.
Elena had refused to leave her until Dante confirmed the shooter had acted alone.
Now every fear she had suppressed exploded.
“I have one person in this world who matters more than anything. One. And your secrets put a bullet six inches from her head.”
Adrian accepted every word.
Then he said quietly, “You should leave.”
Elena blinked.
“I intend to.”
“No.”
He stepped closer.
“You should leave Boston.”
She stared.
Adrian placed an envelope on the table.
Inside were new identification documents, airline tickets, cash, and the address of a property in Vermont.
Elena’s anger shifted into suspicion.
“You prepared this already?”
“Dante did.”
“Why?”
“Because the shooter knew Sophia found the box.”
Adrian’s expression darkened.
“Which means someone inside this house told him.”
Elena’s stomach turned.
“We don’t know who.”
“No.”
“And until we do, staying here makes you vulnerable.”
She pushed the envelope back.
“I don’t take mafia money.”
A flicker of amusement appeared in his eyes.
“You take my salary.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“I scrub your floors for it.”
Dante coughed suspiciously.
Adrian almost smiled.
Then his face hardened again.
“This isn’t charity.”
“What is it?”
“Responsibility.”
Elena looked at him.
“You can’t purchase responsibility.”
The words landed harder than she expected.
Something changed behind his eyes.
“No,” Adrian said. “Apparently I learned that too late.”
She knew he was thinking of Isabella.
Elena took the envelope.
Not because she trusted him.
Because Sophia mattered more than pride.
They were supposed to leave at dawn.
They never made it.
At 3:12 a.m., Titan began barking.
Sophia woke first.
The dog was outside their guest-room door.
Not growling.
Scratching.
Elena opened it.
Titan seized the sleeve of her robe gently between his teeth and pulled.
“What?”
He released her and ran toward the stairs.
Elena followed.
Smoke reached her halfway down.
“Fire!”
The east wing was burning.
Alarms erupted.
Men ran from rooms.
Mrs. Bellini shouted from below.
Then Elena realized something.
The fire was nowhere near the kitchen.
It had started in Adrian’s private archive.
Exactly where Dante had taken Isabella’s note.
“Where’s Adrian?”
No answer.
Titan sprinted toward the smoke.
Elena followed until Dante caught her.
“Stay back!”
“Adrian’s in there!”
“We’ll get him.”
Titan disappeared.
Thirty seconds later he returned.
He was dragging something.
Not Adrian.
A leather case.
Dante stared.
“The archive backup.”
Titan dropped it.
Then turned and charged back into the smoke.
This time Adrian emerged behind him, coughing, one sleeve burned.
Elena ran toward him before she could stop herself.
“You idiot.”
Adrian looked surprised.
“Good morning to you too.”
“You could have died.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Titan pressed against his leg.
Fire crews contained the blaze.
Investigators found accelerant.
Arson.
More importantly, Dante discovered someone had disabled the east-wing sprinklers.
Only three people had authorization.
Dante.
Adrian.
Vincent.
By sunrise, Vincent’s phone was disconnected.
His Boston apartment was empty.
His company accounts had been drained.
He had disappeared.
Adrian stood outside the mansion watching smoke drift into the pale morning.
Elena approached.
“You think he killed Isabella.”
Adrian didn’t answer immediately.
“I think she discovered he was stealing from the organization.”
“And the ledger proves it?”
“If we find it.”
“The key?”
Adrian removed the brass key from his pocket.
“No markings.”
Sophia appeared with Mrs. Bellini and Titan.
She looked exhausted.
Adrian crouched.
“You’re supposed to be sleeping.”
“So are you.”
“Fair point.”
Sophia touched the burn on his sleeve.
“Did the bad person do this?”
Adrian’s eyes met Elena’s.
“Yes.”
“Is he coming back?”
Adrian paused.
Elena expected a comforting lie.
Instead he said, “He might.”
Sophia considered that.
“Then Titan needs to stay with you.”
Adrian looked at the dog.
“What about you?”
Sophia wrapped her arms around Titan’s neck.
“He can protect both of us.”
Adrian’s expression softened.
Elena saw something she had not expected to see in him.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For Sophia.
He rose.
“Dante.”
“Yes?”
“Triple security around Elena and Sophia.”
Elena opened her mouth.
Adrian stopped her.
“This isn’t negotiable.”
“It is when you’re talking about my daughter.”
He turned toward her.
“Then negotiate.”
“Get us somewhere safe.”
“I will.”
“And no armed men sleeping inside our room.”
“Agreed.”
“And Sophia doesn’t become bait for whatever war you’re fighting.”
Adrian’s eyes flashed.
“Never.”
“Then we understand each other.”
He nodded.
They should have separated after that.
Instead, Elena and Sophia moved into Adrian’s fortified Beacon Hill townhouse while the mansion was repaired.
Adrian came too.
So did Titan.
For the first time in years, Adrian Moretti ate breakfast at a kitchen table instead of behind a desk.
Sophia demanded pancakes shaped like dinosaurs.
Titan stole one.
Elena laughed.
Adrian watched her.
For several seconds, the war outside disappeared.
Then Dante entered.
He placed a photograph on the table.
Adrian looked down.
The image showed Isabella standing outside a bank.
Taken three days before her death.
Beside her stood a younger Elena Castillo.
Elena’s smile vanished.
Adrian slowly raised his eyes.
“You knew my wife?”
Elena stared at the photograph.
“No.”
But then she saw the woman beside Isabella more clearly.
Her breath stopped.
“That isn’t me.”
Adrian frowned.
May you like
Elena touched the photograph.
“That’s my sister.”
