Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO SOLD ME
Regina was planning to trade my life twice.
Once to pay her debt.
Once to save herself.
Michael wanted me nowhere near the warehouse.
Naturally, I insisted on hearing everything.
“You are not going.”
“I didn’t say I was.”
“You were thinking it.”
“That’s invasive.”
“You have a very expressive face.”
We argued for ten minutes.
Then Zach entered the study carrying cereal and announced, “Married people shouldn’t fight.”
Michael stared at him.
“We’re not married.”
Zach pointed at me.
“She’s marrying me.”
“That somehow makes this worse.”
I laughed.
Michael didn’t.
He had people watching Regina, and by afternoon we knew Tony planned to move his operation before midnight.
The evidence from my father’s box had already been copied and placed with an attorney who could transfer it to federal investigators.
Tony couldn’t bury it anymore.
But he didn’t know that.
So Michael proposed a trap.
We would make him believe I still carried the only copy.
I hated the idea.
Then I remembered my father.
“I’ll do it.”
“No,” Michael said.
“It’s my life.”
“That doesn’t mean you gamble with it.”
“You gamble with yours.”
“Yes.”
“Hypocrite.”
“Absolutely.”
We compromised.
I would call Regina.
From Michael’s estate.
Surrounded by security.
The moment her face appeared on video, every childhood instinct inside me screamed to apologize.
I hated that.
“Aurora.”
Regina smiled.
“Come home.”
“I never had one with you.”
Her smile disappeared.
“You think Moretti cares about you?”
“I think he cares more than you ever did.”
“You’re useful to him.”
“Maybe.”
I glanced at Michael.
He stood across the room.
“But at least he’s never tried to sell me.”
Regina’s eyes narrowed.
“Your father ruined everything.”
My pulse stopped.
“What did you say?”
She realized too late.
I leaned closer.
“What did you do to my father?”
“He was sick.”
“He was getting better.”
“He was nosy.”
Michael moved toward the phone.
I raised a hand.
No.
This was mine.
“You killed him?”
Regina laughed nervously.
“I didn’t touch him.”
“Tony did?”
Silence.
That was enough.
The call ended.
I sat frozen.
Michael crouched in front of me.
“Aurora.”
I couldn’t breathe.
He didn’t touch me until I reached for him.
Then his arms closed around me.
I cried against the chest of a man I had been taught to fear.
And strangely, for the first time in years, I felt safe.
The operation began that night.
Federal agents moved on two Valenti properties using the evidence and recorded call.
But Tony disappeared.
So did Regina.
At 1:40 a.m., Elias entered the library.
“We lost them.”
Michael swore.
“They had another exit.”
“Where would Tony go?” I asked.
Elias looked at me.
“Anywhere.”
I shook my head.
“No. Regina wouldn’t.”
Michael understood.
“You know her.”
“She doesn’t run toward safety. She runs toward leverage.”
My blood turned cold.
“Zach.”
Michael was already moving.
We sprinted upstairs.
The bedroom door was open.
Empty.
The window remained locked.
No sign of forced entry.
Michael stood absolutely still.
Then we heard Teresa screaming downstairs.
We found her in the kitchen.
A cloth lay on the floor beside her.
Someone had drugged her.
Michael’s security chief checked the cameras.
One feed had been looped.
Inside job.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Michael answered on speaker.
Tony Valenti’s voice filled the room.
“You took something that belongs to me.”
Michael’s face became stone.
“And you took my son.”
“Bring Aurora and the drive.”
My stomach twisted.
“Midnight tomorrow.”
Tony laughed.
“And Moretti?”
“Yes?”
“Come with an army and the boy dies first.”
The call ended.
Michael lowered the phone.
His face was terrifyingly calm.
I knew instantly what that calm meant.
He intended to burn New York down.
I touched his arm.
“Michael.”
He looked at me.
“I’m going.”
“No.”
“I’m the person Tony wants.”
“No.”
“Then we lose Zach.”
His eyes flashed.
“I will not trade you for my son.”
My voice broke.
“He tried to save me when nobody else would.”
Michael stared at me.
“He’s six.”
“I know.”
Tears burned my eyes.
“And he pinky-promised to protect me.”
May you like
I stepped closer.
“So now it’s my turn.”
