Chapter 7 - THE BROTHER WHO CHOSE TO STAY HIDDEN
“Then who needs rescuing?”
Luca stood beside Emma in the library.
Rachel's breathing trembled through the phone.
“Your brother found out what Ward was doing. He tried to expose the foundation.”
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Luca went silent.
Rachel continued.
“Gabriel discovered Ward was falsifying medical records to keep people inside facilities against their will. Some were wealthy patients whose families had been told they were unstable. Others were witnesses who knew too much.”
“Witnesses to what?”
“Financial crimes. Organized theft. Fraud. People who could identify the men behind it.”
Luca felt sick.
His father had funded the foundation.
Had his family's money helped build this nightmare?
Rachel seemed to read his thoughts.
“Antonio didn't know at first. When he discovered the truth, he tried to help us.”
“Then why didn't he call the authorities?”
“He did.”
Luca froze.
“Who?”
“Daniel Mercer.”
The retired detective.
The man who had led Gabriel's missing-person investigation.
Rachel's voice cracked.
“Mercer told Ward everything.”
Luca looked at Caleb.
Caleb immediately contacted the federal investigators handling Lily's abduction.
Rachel continued.
“Gabriel and I went into hiding. We collected records, patient statements, financial transfers. But every time we approached someone, Ward found us.”
“Where is Gabriel now?”
Rachel hesitated.
“He stayed behind.”
“Behind where?”
“At one of the facilities.”
Luca felt his heart hammer.
“Why?”
“Because there are people inside who can't leave.”
The room fell silent.
Gabriel hadn't simply been hiding.
He had remained inside the network to help its victims.
Rachel explained that her husband had spent years working under false identities, documenting Ward's operation.
He had been at Antonio's funeral because he wanted to say goodbye.
He couldn't approach Luca.
Mercer had people watching the family.
“And Vanessa?” Luca asked.
Rachel's voice changed.
“She helped Ward get close to you.”
“I know.”
“But she also helped me escape once.”
Luca stared toward the doorway.
Vanessa sat in the adjoining room.
For the first time, he wondered whether her story contained something other than manipulation.
Rachel continued.
“She gave me a car, money, and a phone. She said she couldn't keep doing what Ward wanted.”
“Then why did she stay with him?”
“Because Ward had evidence that could send her to prison.”
“What evidence?”
Rachel whispered:
“She signed the transfer authorization for Gabriel.”
Luca closed his eyes.
Vanessa had helped move his brother between facilities.
She had known far more than she admitted.
“Rachel, where are you and Lily?”
A pause.
“We're near Madison. I contacted federal agents through an attorney I trust. They're coming to get us.”
“Give me the attorney's name.”
Rachel did.
Caleb verified the lawyer's identity and contacted the investigating agents.
Within an hour, Rachel and Lily were placed under federal protection.
Emma cried when she heard.
For the first time in six years, she knew her sister was safe.
But Gabriel remained missing.
That afternoon, Luca received a secure video call arranged by investigators.
Rachel appeared on the screen.
She looked older than in the warehouse recording.
Exhausted.
But alive.
Beside her sat Lily.
The little girl held a stuffed rabbit against her chest.
Emma immediately began crying.
“Lily!”
“Aunt Emma!”
Rachel covered her mouth.
Then Lily looked at Luca.
“Are you Uncle Luca?”
He couldn't speak for a moment.
“Yes, sweetheart.”
She smiled shyly.
“Daddy said you have the same eyes.”
Luca felt tears rise.
“Did he?”
She nodded.
“He said you used to fix his bicycle.”
Luca laughed through his tears.
Gabriel had been terrible at maintaining his bicycle.
Every summer, Luca repaired the same broken chain.
“That's true.”
Lily leaned closer.
“Can you fix Daddy's bicycle when he comes home?”
Luca swallowed.
“I'll try.”
Rachel gently pulled Lily against her.
The call ended a few minutes later.
Luca sat staring at the blank screen.
Then he stood.
“I'm finding my brother.”
Caleb approached.
“Federal agents have a lead.”
“What kind?”
“A facility in northern Wisconsin. It was transferred to a new corporation six months ago.”
“Ward's?”
“Indirectly.”
Caleb placed a satellite photograph on the desk.
A sprawling medical complex surrounded by woods.
Luca recognized one building.
He had seen it before.
In the photograph sent to his phone.
Gabriel had been standing in its corridor.
Caleb continued.
“Investigators believe Gabriel may still be inside.”
Luca studied the property.
Then noticed something near the southern fence.
A small stone chapel.
Its roof was painted green.
His father had once taken him there as a child.
He remembered the chapel.
And the underground passage connecting it to the original medical building.
Antonio had funded the construction decades earlier.
Luca turned toward Caleb.
“I know that place.”
Caleb frowned.
“How?”
Luca pointed to the chapel.
“My father built it.”
Then his phone vibrated.
A message from Gabriel's number.
May you like
Only six words.
LUCA, DON'T COME. THEY HAVE FATHER'S RECORDINGS.
