Chapter 3 - The Woman in the Photograph
Luca refused to tell the story inside the storage facility.
Mara thought that was cowardice.
Later, she realized it was grief.
They returned to Rosa’s guesthouse under police escort, with Nico driving behind them and the flash drive sealed inside an evidence pouch.
Lily was eating pancakes when they arrived.
Rosa had somehow turned breakfast into a construction project involving strawberries, powdered sugar, whipped cream, and enough maple syrup to violate several laws of physics.
“You found Dad’s secret?” Lily asked.
Mara stopped.
“How did you know?”
“You whisper loud.”
Rosa pointed her spatula at Luca.
“I told you.”
He ignored her.
Mara sat beside Lily.
“We found something Dad left.”
“Is it treasure?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Pirate treasure?”
“Probably not.”
Lily seemed disappointed.
Luca stood near the kitchen window staring outside.
Mara watched him.
“Tell me about Sofia.”
Rosa stopped cooking.
Nico lowered his coffee.
Luca didn’t turn.
“Not in front of Lily.”
Mara’s instinct was to challenge him.
Then she looked at her daughter.
“Rosa, would you take Lily upstairs?”
“Come on, little bird.”
Lily grabbed another pancake.
“Can I bring this?”
“Bring three.”
When they were gone, Mara folded her arms.
“Now.”
Luca sat.
For several seconds he looked at his hands.
“Sofia was four years younger than me.”
“The sister who started the foundation.”
“Yes.”
“She had cancer?”
“No.”
He smiled faintly.
“She was healthy. Loud. Annoying. She rescued dogs nobody wanted and trusted people she shouldn’t.”
The smile disappeared.
“When she was twenty-six, she became pregnant.”
Mara stayed quiet.
“The father left. Sofia didn’t care. She said she had enough family.”
Luca looked toward the staircase.
“She named the baby Eva.”
Something in his voice warned Mara.
“How old was Eva when she died?”
“Six.”
Mara’s anger weakened.
“What happened?”
“Car bomb.”
The kitchen seemed to shrink.
Nico looked down.
Mara whispered, “Both of them?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“The bomb was meant for me.”
Luca said it without emotion.
That made it worse.
Mara thought of Lily opening a car door.
Of an explosion.
She felt sick.
“Daniel was there?”
“He wasn’t involved with me then.”
“What does that mean?”
“Your husband was working emergency maintenance at a hotel across the street. He saw the explosion. More importantly, he saw the man who parked the vehicle.”
Mara’s pulse climbed.
“Adrian?”
“No.”
“Who?”
“Daniel never knew.”
Luca looked at her.
“But he gave a description to police.”
“Why didn’t anything happen?”
“The witness statement disappeared.”
Mara stared.
“Someone bought the officer?”
“Probably.”
“And you knew Daniel was the witness?”
“Not until years later.”
“How?”
“Daniel recognized Adrian.”
Mara leaned forward.
“From that night?”
“Yes.”
“But you just said Adrian didn’t plant the bomb.”
“He didn’t.”
Luca’s eyes hardened.
“He was standing across the street watching it happen.”
Mara felt cold.
“You kept him working for you?”
“I didn’t know.”
“When did you find out?”
“Eleven months ago.”
The pieces aligned cruelly.
Daniel found suspicious records.
Saw Adrian.
Recognized him.
Then went to Luca.
“And two weeks later Daniel died.”
“Yes.”
Mara stood and paced.
“You should’ve protected him.”
“I tried.”
“Not hard enough.”
“No.”
Again.
He never argued with accusations he believed were true.
It made hating him difficult.
Nico slid the flash drive toward the laptop.
“We should see what Daniel left.”
Mara nodded.
The drive was encrypted.
There was only one visible file.
A text document.
QUESTION: WHAT DID LILY CALL THE CLOCK AT UNION STATION?
Mara laughed through sudden tears.
Daniel.
Always making stupid riddles.
She typed:
BIG BENNY
Wrong.
She tried:
MR TICKTOCK
Wrong.
Then remembered Lily at five, sitting on Daniel’s shoulders beneath the enormous station clock.
Daddy, it looks like a moon with numbers.
Mara typed:
NUMBER MOON
The drive opened.
Folders appeared.
Hundreds of photographs.
Bank records.
Names.
Dates.
Transactions.
Nico swore.
Luca leaned toward the screen.
“This is Adrian’s entire operation.”
“Daniel copied everything?”
“Looks like it.”
A video file sat at the bottom.
Mara clicked.
Daniel appeared.
Alive.
For one second Mara couldn’t breathe.
His hair was messy.
He sat somewhere dark.
“Mara,” he said.
She covered her mouth.
“If you’re watching this, I probably didn’t get home.”
Her eyes filled immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
“I got into something I thought I could fix. I was wrong.”
Luca lowered his gaze.
Daniel continued.
“Adrian Vale is stealing from Luca Valenti, but the money isn’t the worst part. Adrian is selling information. Addresses. Routes. Names. Years ago he sold Luca’s schedule to the men who tried to kill him.”
Luca went still.
Mara looked at him.
Daniel’s voice shook.
“They hit the wrong car.”
Sofia.
Eva.
“I recognized Adrian from that night. I didn’t know his name then. I do now.”
Daniel leaned closer.
“If Luca is alive and you’re hearing this, tell him I’m sorry I didn’t remember sooner.”
Luca closed his eyes.
Then Daniel said something none of them expected.
“But Adrian isn’t working alone.”
Nico leaned closer.
“There’s someone inside Luca’s circle protecting him.”
The video distorted.
Mara’s heart pounded.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
“I don’t know who.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
Nico spoke first.
“Inside?”
Luca stared at the screen.
“Apparently.”
Mara looked between them.
“How many people know your business?”
“Too many.”
“Who had access to Sofia’s route?”
Luca’s expression darkened.
“Very few.”
A phone rang.
Nico answered.
He listened.
His face changed.
“What?”
Luca stood.
Nico looked at him.
“Martin Cole—the guy from the bakery.”
“What about him?”
“He’s dead.”
Mara’s stomach dropped.
“How?”
“Transport van crashed on the way to county detention.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed.
“Accident?”
“No.”
Nico swallowed.
“Driver was shot.”
Mara backed away from the table.
Someone had just killed a man already in police custody.
Someone powerful.
Someone scared.
Luca reached for his coat.
“Where are you going?”
“To move you.”
Mara laughed bitterly.
“Again?”
“Daniel’s files are proof. That means whoever wants them will escalate.”
“I’m done being moved around.”
“Then argue while walking.”
She stared at him.
“You really are impossible.”
“I’ve heard.”
Nico froze suddenly.
His phone screen lit again.
He read a message.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Rosa went upstairs ten minutes ago.”
Mara’s heart stopped.
“Why?”
“She took Lily breakfast.”
“So?”
“She just texted me.”
He turned the screen.
Rosa’s message consisted of four words.
SHE IS NOT HERE.
Mara ran.
She took the stairs two at a time.
“Lily!”
The bedroom door was open.
Empty bed.
Open window.
Snow blowing across the floor.
On the pillow lay Lily’s silver pendant.
Mara screamed her daughter’s name.
Luca appeared behind her.
Nico checked the bathroom.
Nothing.
Mara picked up the pendant.
Her hands shook violently.
“No.”
Luca moved toward the window.
Footprints crossed the roof of the lower porch.
A second set followed.
“Someone took her.”
Mara turned on him.
“You said this place was safe!”
His face looked carved from stone.
“Nico, cameras.”
“They’re down.”
“All of them?”
“Yes.”
Luca went silent.
Mara saw what that meant.
Someone knew the security system.
Someone knew the house.
Someone knew exactly when Lily was upstairs.
Her phone rang.
Blocked number.
She answered instantly.
“Lily?”
A man laughed.
Then Adrian Vale spoke.
“Hello, Mara.”
“Where is my daughter?”
“Safe.”
“If you hurt her—”
“I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Put her on.”
A pause.
Then Lily’s frightened voice.
“Mom?”
Mara nearly collapsed.
“Baby, I’m here.”
“They said you’re coming.”
“Yes.”
Luca shook his head violently.
Mara ignored him.
“Yes, sweetheart. I’m coming.”
Adrian returned.
“Bring the drive.”
Mara looked at Luca.
“And Valenti?”
“Tell him if I see him, the girl dies.”
The call ended.
Mara grabbed the flash drive.
Luca caught her wrist.
“No.”
She jerked free.
“That’s my daughter.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
Pain crossed his face.
She instantly regretted it.
His six-year-old niece had died because men wanted him.
He knew exactly.
Luca spoke quietly.
“If you go alone, Adrian gets the drive and kills both of you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then give me another option.”
He looked toward Nico.
“Track the call.”
“Burner. I’ve got a tower range.”
“Where?”
“South industrial district.”
Mara’s phone buzzed.
A photograph appeared.
Lily sitting in a chair.
Terrified.
Behind her was a rusted red door marked 14.
Below the image:
ONE HOUR.
Luca studied it.
His eyes sharpened.
“I know that building.”
“How?”
“It belongs to me.”
Mara stared.
Nico whispered, “Boss…”
Luca looked at him.
Nobody needed to say the rest.
Adrian hadn’t chosen a random warehouse.
He had chosen a Valenti property protected by Valenti security.
Mara understood.
“The person helping him is one of yours.”
Luca nodded.
Then the kitchen door opened downstairs.
Rosa called up.
“Luca?”
A familiar male voice answered her.
“I came as soon as I heard.”
Nico turned pale.
Luca did too.
Mara whispered, “Who is that?”
Luca reached beneath his coat.
His answer chilled the room.
“My uncle.”
May you like
And according to the security records Daniel had copied, Antonio Valenti was one of only three men who had known Sofia’s route the night she died.
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