Chapter 6 - The Boy With Matteo’s Eyes
Gabriel Rossi was nine years old.
He had his father’s eyes.
Alexander knew before anyone said a word.
They found the boy inside a small apartment in Evanston, hidden beneath a kitchen table with a phone in one hand and a baseball bat in the other.
Sophia entered first.
Alexander remained behind her.
For perhaps the first time in his life, he looked afraid to walk through a door.
Gabriel stared at him.
“You’re taller than Mom said.”
Alexander almost laughed.
Almost.
“You’re Gabriel.”
“Yes.”
The boy studied his face.
“Are you really my uncle?”
Alexander crouched.
“Yes.”
“My mom said you were scary.”
“That was accurate.”
Gabriel considered that.
“She also said you loved my dad.”
Alexander’s expression broke.
“Yes.”
Gabriel lowered the bat.
“Then help me find her.”
Alexander promised.
It was the easiest promise he had ever made.
Keeping it became the hardest.
Elena had disappeared the previous afternoon.
Her apartment showed signs of a struggle.
Malcolm Price vanished the same day.
Carlo Moretti, supposedly living quietly in Arizona, had never actually left Chicago.
He had been controlling businesses through proxies for years.
And he wanted Gabriel.
Not merely because the boy represented Matteo.
Because Matteo had left something behind.
A ledger.
Sophia learned about it from Gabriel.
“Mom said Dad made a book before he died.”
“What kind of book?” she asked.
Gabriel shrugged.
“She said it proved everything.”
Alexander looked at Dominic.
“Where?”
Dominic shook his head.
“Elena never told me.”
Gabriel looked toward Sophia.
“She said the lady who fixes Uncle Alexander’s clock would understand.”
Sophia blinked.
“What?”
Alexander slowly turned toward her.
Gabriel repeated it.
“The lady who fixes the clock.”
Sophia remembered her first interview.
The wrong grandfather clock.
But Matteo had died two years before she was hired.
“How would Elena know about that?”
Alexander looked at the old clock across his office.
Then he understood.
The clock had belonged to Matteo.
After his death, Alexander moved it into his office.
Sophia approached it.
The time was four minutes fast.
Always had been.
She opened the wooden case.
Behind the pendulum was a small brass plate.
She pressed it.
Nothing.
Gabriel walked closer.
“My mom said time only tells the truth backward.”
Sophia looked at the clock.
Then turned the minute hand counterclockwise four minutes.
A click.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside lay a flash drive.
Alexander stared.
Six years.
The evidence had been inside his office the entire time.
The drive contained transaction records, recordings, names, dates.
Carlo had sold routes, information, and identities.
But one file mattered more.
A video.
Matteo appeared on-screen.
Young.
Alive.
Alexander stopped breathing.
“If you’re watching this,” Matteo said, “then either I became paranoid for nothing, or Uncle Carlo finally made his move.”
Alexander sat.
Sophia stood beside him.
Matteo explained everything.
Carlo had orchestrated violence between the Moretti and Serrano families for years, profiting from both.
He intended to kill Alexander at the peace meeting.
Matteo had discovered the plan too late.
“If something happens to me,” Matteo continued, “protect Elena.”
He paused.
Then smiled faintly.
“And my son.”
Alexander closed his eyes.
Matteo had known.
The recording continued.
“Alex, if you’re hearing this, don’t become what Carlo thinks you are.”
Alexander opened his eyes.
“What does that mean?” Gabriel asked.
Sophia answered softly.
“It means your father knew your uncle very well.”
The final document contained coordinates.
A storage facility near Lake Michigan.
Dominic immediately organized a team.
Sophia studied the transactions again.
One payment had been made three days earlier.
To Malcolm Price.
Another had been scheduled for tonight.
Sophia recognized the receiving account.
Moretti Maritime Warehouse 17.
“I know where Elena is.”
Alexander was already reaching for his coat.
Warehouse 17 stood near the river beneath an abandoned rail bridge.
Alexander ordered Sophia to remain with Gabriel.
She refused.
Gabriel surprised them both.
“She should go.”
Alexander stared.
“Why?”
The boy shrugged.
“You listen to her.”
Dominic coughed to hide a laugh.
Even Alexander had no answer.
They reached the warehouse at midnight.
Inside, Elena sat tied to a chair.
Carlo Moretti stood behind her.
Seventy-one years old.
Silver-haired.
Elegant.
Still carrying himself like Moretti royalty.
Alexander walked in alone.
“Let her go.”
Carlo smiled.
“My favorite nephew.”
“You killed the other one.”
Carlo’s smile vanished.
“He was weak.”
Alexander’s fists tightened.
“He was better than both of us.”
Carlo laughed.
“Still sentimental.”
Sophia watched from the shadows with Dominic.
Then she noticed Malcolm above them on the catwalk.
Gun raised.
Pointed at Alexander.
She did not think.
“Alexander!”
He turned.
The shot exploded.
Sophia ran.
Alexander caught her as they fell behind a steel container.
Gunfire erupted.
Dominic’s men stormed the warehouse.
Malcolm fired again.
Elena kicked Carlo’s knee and threw herself sideways.
Alexander moved toward her.
Then Carlo drew a pistol.
He aimed directly at Sophia.
Alexander froze.
Carlo smiled.
“Now I understand.”
His finger tightened.
“This is your weakness.”
Alexander looked at Sophia.
Then back at Carlo.
“No.”
He stepped in front of her.
“She’s the reason I finally know what I’m fighting for.”
A second gunshot cracked through the warehouse.
Carlo’s weapon fell.
Elena stood behind him holding Malcolm’s dropped pistol.
“Matteo sends his regards.”
Carlo collapsed.
Alive.
Wounded.
Finished.
But as police sirens approached, Sophia looked at Alexander.
The war was over.
The question between them was not.
May you like
Because Alexander had just risked everything for her.
And this time, neither of them could pretend it was security.
