Chapter 4 - The Warehouse Beneath the Warehouse
The old Moretti warehouse stood at the edge of the river, surrounded by rusted fencing and weeds.
A cold rain fell as Luca arrived with Marco and four trusted men.
Clara had insisted on coming.
"Your father asked me to make sure you found the right room," she explained.
Luca studied her.
"How would you know?"
"Because I was the one who found the key."
He frowned.
"Where?"
"In his hospital room. He had hidden it inside the lining of his pillowcase."
Luca said nothing.
They entered through a side door. Dust covered the floor, and broken windows rattled in the wind.
The main warehouse was empty.
But behind a row of metal shelves, Clara found a narrow staircase leading underground.
At the bottom stood a steel door.
Luca inserted the brass key.
It turned.
Inside was a small records room filled with metal cabinets. Most were empty. Some had been burned.
Marco swept a flashlight across the floor.
"Someone's been here recently."
Luca saw fresh footprints in the dust.
He followed them to a locked cabinet at the back.
Inside lay a ledger, several envelopes, and a small portable recorder.
The ledger was older than the others. Its pages listed shipment dates, account numbers, and payments to people who had no official connection to the company.
One name appeared repeatedly.
Richard Hale.
Luca recognized it as the name of the security consultant who had investigated Gabriel's death.
He had testified that no evidence linked the company to the murder.
"Why was the investigator being paid by us?" Luca asked.
Marco examined the entries.
"He was being paid by a company that belonged to Vincent."
Luca opened an envelope.
Inside was a report describing the warehouse fire that had killed the night watchman. The official report blamed faulty wiring.
The original inspection had reached a different conclusion.
The fire had been deliberately started.
A witness had seen a black SUV leaving the property shortly before the flames spread.
The license plate matched the vehicle in Gabriel's photograph.
Clara covered her mouth.
"That means Gabriel knew about the fire."
"And someone knew he knew," Luca replied.
He turned to the recorder.
The first recording was dated three years earlier.
Vincent's voice came through the speaker.
"The ledger is gone. Gabriel has it."
A second voice answered.
"Then take it from him."
"He's my nephew."
"He's a witness."
There was a pause.
Then Vincent said, "No one touches him until I give the order."
The recording ended.
Luca gripped the recorder so tightly his knuckles whitened.
His uncle had known Gabriel was in danger.
But had he actually ordered the murder?
Another recording might answer that question.
Before Luca could press play, Marco shouted from the doorway.
"Movement outside!"
A crash echoed overhead.
Someone had entered the warehouse.
Luca switched off the flashlight.
Footsteps descended the stairs.
A figure appeared in the doorway, holding a gun.
"Step away from the cabinet."
Marco drew his weapon.
"Put it down."
The figure hesitated.
Then the emergency lights flickered on, revealing a familiar face.
Daniel Price.
Vanessa's head of wedding security.
The same man who had stood beside the black SUV in Gabriel's photograph.
Luca stared at him.
"You were there the night my brother died."
Daniel raised his free hand.
"I can explain."
"Start with why you're holding a gun."
Daniel slowly lowered it.
"Because your uncle told me you would come here."
Luca's expression hardened.
"Where is Vincent?"
Daniel swallowed.
"On his way to the hospital."
"Why?"
"To finish what he started."
Luca's blood turned cold.
May you like
His father was there.
And Vincent knew exactly where to find him.
