Chapter 6 - The House Where I Learned the Truth
My childhood home had been empty for fifteen years.
The rooms smelled like dust.
The wallpaper had faded.
The staircase creaked under our feet.
My mother walked slowly behind us.
She had not been home since my father disappeared.
She stopped in the hallway.
“He hid it here.”
“Where?”
She pointed toward the old music room.
There was a piano.
I remembered sitting there as a child.
My father used to play every Sunday.
I opened the bench.
Nothing.
Then my mother said:
“Seven stars.”
I looked at the ceiling.
There were seven tiny brass stars above the piano.
I climbed onto the stool.
Behind the seventh was a slot.
Inside was a key.
Daniel took it.
“There's no lock.”
My mother pointed toward an old portrait.
I moved it.
A small safe was hidden behind the frame.
The key opened it.
Inside was a recorder.
And a letter.
The letter was from my father.
Claire,
If you are reading this, then the people I feared have finally found you.
He explained everything.
The Moretti family wasn't the only family involved in the original criminal network.
Neither was mine.
Several families had formed an agreement decades earlier to control illegal money moving through Chicago.
My father had been one of the accountants.
Vincent's father had been one of the organizers.
But one member wanted complete control.
That man was named Julian Cross.
He had manipulated every family against the others.
He had arranged disappearances.
He had started wars.
He had caused the missing shipment.
He had orchestrated the destruction of anyone who threatened him.
And he was still alive.
Worse.
He was connected to someone close to me.
The final page held one name.
Adrian Moretti.
Vincent's uncle.
I looked at Vincent.
He went white.
“My uncle died in prison.”
“No,” my mother whispered.
“He never went to prison.”
Daniel looked at the documents.
“Then who did?”
A man who looked like him.
A double.
For twenty years, Adrian Moretti had been living under another identity.
He was the architect.
Marco and Vanessa were merely pieces.
I looked at Vincent.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
The answer sounded genuine.
Then his phone rang.
Adrian.
Vincent answered.
“You found the house.”
“Yes.”
“I always wondered whether your father would trust you.”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“What do you want?”
“You.”
“No.”
“Then Noah dies.”
Silence.
I felt sick.
Adrian continued.
“Bring the archive to the old church.”
“Why?”
“Because that's where your father made his first mistake.”
The call ended.
I looked at Vincent.
“He wants us there.”
“We're going.”
Daniel shook his head.
“It's a trap.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
“But Noah is there.”
We had no choice.
The old church stood near the lake.
We arrived at midnight.
Adrian was waiting.
Marco stood beside him.
Vanessa was there.
And Noah sat in a chair.
Alive.
Terrified.
I moved forward.
“Let him go.”
Adrian smiled.
“You really are your mother's daughter.”
I didn't know whether that was an insult.
Vincent stepped beside me.
“It's over.”
Adrian laughed.
“No.”
He pointed toward Vincent.
“You think marrying Claire made you different?”
Vincent said nothing.
“You've spent years pretending you're your father.”
“I am not him.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Then prove it.”
He pointed the gun at Noah.
Vincent immediately stepped forward.
“Take me instead.”
I looked at him.
Adrian smiled.
“There.”
He had wanted that.
The great Vincent Moretti willing to surrender his power.
Adrian thought that was weakness.
It wasn't.
It was love.
Daniel made his move.
The lights went out.
Gunfire erupted.
Security flooded the church.
Marco fired wildly.
Vanessa ran.
Adrian grabbed Noah.
I chased them.
The church doors slammed open.
Adrian ran toward the river.
Vincent followed.
A shot rang out.
Vincent fell.
I screamed.
“Vincent!”
He pushed himself up.
The bullet had struck his shoulder.
He kept running.
Adrian reached the edge.
Noah slipped from his grip.
Vincent caught the boy.
Adrian lost his balance.
He fell toward the water.
Vincent grabbed his wrist.
For a second, Adrian hung over the river.
“You'll let me die?”
Vincent looked at him.
“No.”
He pulled him up.
Police arrested Adrian seconds later.
The Circle finally collapsed.
But one question remained.
Why had Marco and Vanessa wanted me out of Vincent's life?
The answer came the next morning.
Vanessa had been paid.
Not by Adrian.
By someone else.
Someone who wanted Vincent single.
Someone who believed he could control him if I disappeared.
That person was Vincent's father.
May you like
Dead for twelve years.
Or so we thought.
