Chapter 11 - The Night the Mafia Boss Nearly Lost His Son|
The photograph of Benjamin remained on my phone long after the screen should have gone dark.
He was sitting in the back seat of a black car, clutching the pink ribbon that belonged to his mother.
His face was pale.
His eyes were frightened.
And beneath the photograph were three words that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
Daddy. Help me.
I looked at Luca Moretti.
For eleven months, I had known him as a man whose voice could silence an entire room.
Now he stood in the middle of his mansion looking like a father whose entire world had been stolen.
"Marco," he said.
His voice was dangerously quiet.
"Find my son."
Marco was already speaking into his phone.
"We're reviewing the gate cameras and contacting the police."
Luca turned toward him.
"Mrs. Carter?"
"She left with Benjamin. The security officer believed she had permission to take him to a late appointment."
My stomach twisted.
Mrs. Carter.
The woman who made Benjamin pancakes.
The woman who tucked him into bed.
The woman who helped Caroline care for him when he was a baby.
I couldn't understand it.
"She wouldn't hurt him," I whispered.
Luca turned.
"Claire."
I looked at him.
"She loves Benjamin."
His expression changed.
For a moment, I thought he would shout.
Instead, he said something that frightened me even more.
"Then somebody is using that love against her."
His phone vibrated again.
Unknown number.
Luca answered immediately.
"Where is my son?"
A man's voice replied.
"Good evening, Lorenzo."
Luca went completely still.
I watched the color drain from his face.
"Victor."
A low laugh came through the phone.
"Your father always did prefer calling you by your full name."
Luca's jaw tightened.
"You have one opportunity to tell me where Benjamin is."
"Still giving orders?"
"He's nine years old."
"And apparently worth considerably more than you realized."
My heart began pounding.
Luca glanced toward me.
Then he switched the call to speaker.
Victor continued.
"Caroline should have given me the notebook years ago. Instead, she decided to become a hero."
Luca's hands curled into fists.
"Leave Caroline out of this."
"Your wife has caused me more trouble than anyone else in your family."
The words made my blood run cold.
Caroline.
Alive.
Somewhere with my father.
And Victor knew it.
"What do you want?" Luca asked.
"The original documents."
"They're being examined by attorneys."
Victor laughed.
"Don't insult me. The notebook contains the information I need."
Luca looked toward Marco.
His security chief silently signaled that the call was being documented.
"Where is Benjamin?"
"Safe enough."
Luca closed his eyes.
I could see how desperately he wanted to threaten the man.
But he didn't.
He took a slow breath.
"Let me speak to my son."
A pause followed.
Then a familiar little voice came through the phone.
"Daddy?"
My knees nearly gave way.
Benjamin.
Alive.
Luca immediately softened his voice.
"Ben, sweetheart, I'm here."
"Daddy, I'm scared."
Tears filled Luca's eyes.
"I know. None of this is your fault."
"I didn't want to leave."
"I know."
Then Benjamin whispered something unexpected.
"Mrs. Carter is crying."
Luca looked toward me.
"Is she with you?"
"Yes."
"Is anyone hurt?"
"No."
Relief moved across his face.
Then Benjamin said:
"Daddy, she told me she was sorry."
Before Luca could answer, Victor took the phone.
"Touching reunion. Now listen carefully."
Luca's expression hardened.
"Go on."
"Tomorrow morning. Eight o'clock. Your father's old lakeside property."
Marco looked sharply at Luca.
The property had been abandoned for years.
Victor continued.
"You bring the notebook and the original trust documents. No entourage."
Luca stared toward the windows.
"And Benjamin?"
"He goes home when I get what belongs to me."
The call ended.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Luca slammed his phone onto the desk.
Not hard enough to break it.
But hard enough to reveal how close he was to losing control.
I stepped toward him.
"Luca."
He looked at me.
His eyes were red.
"He's my son, Claire."
"I know."
"I let Vanessa into this house."
His voice broke.
"I trusted her."
I swallowed.
"You didn't know what she was planning."
"But I should have noticed how unhappy Benjamin had become."
Tears rolled down his face.
"I thought he was still grieving Caroline."
I looked down.
"He was grieving her."
Luca closed his eyes.
"And somebody used that grief to frighten him."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then he whispered:
"I can't lose him."
I wanted to promise Benjamin would be home by morning.
I wanted to say everything would be all right.
But I couldn't know that.
So I told him something true.
"Benjamin knows you love him."
Luca opened his eyes.
"He knows you're coming for him."
His expression changed.
Then Marco entered.
"Boss, the police have the vehicle information. They're treating this as a child abduction."
Luca nodded.
"Good."
Marco hesitated.
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The surveillance footage shows Mrs. Carter speaking to someone before leaving."
I felt cold.
"Who?"
Marco turned his tablet toward us.
A grainy image appeared.
Mrs. Carter stood beside the east entrance.
A tall man faced her.
Dark coat.
Gray hair.
His face was partly hidden.
But Luca recognized him.
His expression became unreadable.
"Michael."
His missing brother.
The man who supposedly died seven years earlier.
The man who visited Caroline's hospital room.
The man connected to my father's disappearance.
Marco nodded.
"Yes, sir."
I stared at the screen.
Then something caught my attention.
Mrs. Carter wasn't smiling.
She was crying.
And Michael was holding something in front of her.
A photograph.
I leaned closer.
"Can you enlarge that?"
Marco adjusted the image.
The photograph showed a woman sitting in a wheelchair.
An elderly woman.
Her face was partly visible.
Mrs. Carter's daughter.
I remembered her mentioning a daughter named Elena who lived in a care facility.
My stomach dropped.
"He's threatening her family."
Luca turned toward me.
"What?"
I pointed at the image.
"Mrs. Carter has a daughter. Elena. She's been receiving long-term care for years."
Marco immediately began checking.
A minute later, he looked up.
"Claire's right. Elena Carter was transferred from her care facility yesterday."
Luca went completely still.
"Transferred where?"
Marco shook his head.
"We don't know yet."
I covered my mouth.
Mrs. Carter hadn't simply betrayed Benjamin.
Someone had threatened her daughter.
Luca looked toward the photograph.
Then whispered:
"Victor has been using everyone we love."
He turned toward Marco.
"Tell the investigators everything."
Marco nodded.
Then Luca looked at me.
"Claire, tomorrow I need you somewhere safe."
I shook my head.
"No."
He frowned.
"Claire—"
"Benjamin trusts me."
"I know."
"And if he comes home frightened, he's going to need someone familiar."
Luca stared.
My voice trembled.
"So I'm not leaving this house."
For a moment, he looked as though he might argue.
Then he nodded.
"All right."
I took a breath.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Benjamin's pink ribbon.
Beneath it were five words.
CLAIRE. THE BEAR HAS TWO SECRETS.
I stared.
The bear.
Caroline's stuffed bear.
We had found the letter and storage device inside it.
But what if there was something else?
I slowly looked toward Luca.
"There's something we missed."
His eyes narrowed.
"What?"
I held up the phone.
May you like
And whispered:
"Caroline didn't leave Benjamin one hiding place."
