Chapter 3 - The House Beneath the House
Adrian took me underground.
Not beneath the city.
Beneath his own house.
The entrance was behind a wine cellar.
A hidden steel door.
Biometric lock.
Two armed guards.
We entered.
The room beyond looked nothing like I expected.
Computers.
Security monitors.
Maps.
Photographs.
Medical equipment.
And one wall covered with pictures of Luca.
I stopped.
There were dozens.
Luca at one.
Luca at three.
Luca in physical therapy.
Luca at school.
Luca beside Adrian.
Luca asleep.
I looked at Adrian.
“You love him.”
His expression tightened.
“He's my son.”
“You've done all this for him.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you protect him?”
His eyes filled with pain.
“Because I trusted the wrong people.”
He showed me a file.
Medical records.
Luca's diagnosis.
The boy had been born with a spinal condition.
He could stand briefly with support.
He couldn't walk.
His mother had dedicated herself to his care.
Then she died.
Adrian became obsessed with protecting him.
“He was happy,” Adrian said.
“Until?”
“He overheard something.”
“What?”
A conversation between three men.
They mentioned a shipment.
A judge.
A politician.
And a company called Black Harbor.
I recognized the name.
My diner had a delivery contract with Black Harbor Logistics.
I looked at Adrian.
“What?”
“You have worked around them.”
“My diner buys food from their distributor.”
“Then they know you.”
I felt sick.
Adrian opened another file.
There was a photograph of my manager.
Jimmy.
I stared.
“No.”
“He has connections.”
“Jimmy?”
“He isn't who you think he is.”
Everything I'd known felt unstable.
The people around me.
My apartment.
My job.
The city.
All of it.
Then a monitor beeped.
Adrian turned.
A camera feed showed a warehouse.
Luca was there.
My heart stopped.
“That's him.”
Adrian moved toward the screen.
“He's alive.”
A man entered the room.
I recognized him.
Daniel.
The private investigator who had interviewed me after the fire.
He was holding a folder.
Adrian cursed.
“How did he get him?”
“I don't know.”
We watched.
Daniel leaned toward Luca.
The boy looked terrified.
Then something happened.
Luca turned toward the camera.
He looked directly at me.
“That's impossible.”
Adrian stared.
“He knows the cameras.”
Then Luca raised his hand.
He made three quick movements.
Adrian's face changed.
“What?”
“The clock.”
“What clock?”
Luca pointed to a wall clock.
Then the floor.
Then the door.
Adrian translated.
“Three. Seven. Four.”
I didn't understand.
Adrian did.
“He's telling us where he is.”
“How?”
A map appeared on the screen.
Adrian traced the route.
“He's in an old warehouse.”
“Where?”
“Long Island.”
“Let's go.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You don't understand.”
“I carried that boy through a burning house.”
Adrian looked at me.
“And I won't leave him again.”
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For the first time, I saw respect in his eyes.
We went.
