Chapter 4 - The Secret Hidden in Lorenzo's Father's Grave
Lorenzo spent the night staring at the wall.
His father.
Dead fifteen years.
A man whose name still appeared in whispers whenever old families talked about Boston.
Gabriel Valente.
He had built the organization Lorenzo inherited.
He had been ruthless.
Intelligent.
And almost impossible to deceive.
Lorenzo had spent half his life trying to become unlike him.
Now a five-year-old girl had appeared carrying his blood.
His half-sister.
He went to the cemetery at dawn.
No one accompanied him except Dominic.
Snow covered the grave.
Lorenzo stood in front of the stone.
"You left me enough problems."
Dominic stayed several steps away.
Lorenzo pulled the note from his pocket.
Then something occurred to him.
His father had left instructions in his will.
A locked box.
Lorenzo had received it upon turning twenty-five.
It contained property documents and old family records.
He had never looked closely.
Now he returned to the family home.
The box was in a safe behind a portrait.
Inside were letters.
One was addressed to Lorenzo.
His father had written it shortly before his death.
My son,
There are things you will hate me for.
You should.
Lorenzo read on.
I had a daughter.
Her mother was a woman I loved before I learned how badly I understood love.
Her name was Emma's mother, Sofia Reed.
Lorenzo stopped.
Sofia.
The woman in the hospital.
His father had known her.
More importantly, he had protected her.
Or tried.
The letter continued.
If anything happens to me, she and the child must disappear from my world.
Do not bring them back.
Lorenzo stared.
Why?
Then he found another page.
Because Rebecca Bell knows about the child.
She believes Emma is the key to accessing the money I hid.
Lorenzo read faster.
Gabriel had created an offshore trust.
Money.
Property.
Businesses.
But access required a blood heir.
Emma.
The child was not simply family.
She was a legal beneficiary.
A fortune estimated at nearly forty million dollars.
Dominic stared at the documents.
"They kidnapped a five-year-old for money."
"Apparently."
"There is more."
Lorenzo pointed to a final line.
My greatest mistake was trusting Anthony Russo.
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Then Anthony has known about Emma for years."
Lorenzo nodded.
The next page contained a photograph.
A young Sofia.
Holding a baby.
Emma.
Beside them stood Gabriel.
And Anthony.
Lorenzo's father had not simply known.
He had arranged for Anthony to watch over Sofia.
Then Gabriel died.
Anthony continued watching.
But something changed.
He became greedy.
The hidden trust became a target.
And Isabella became a witness.
Lorenzo returned to the hospital.
Sofia was sitting up.
He entered alone.
"You were with my father."
Sofia nodded.
"He loved you."
She looked at the floor.
"He loved Emma."
Lorenzo sat.
"Why did you disappear?"
"Because your father told me to."
"Why?"
"Because people around him wanted Emma."
"You mean Rebecca."
"And Anthony."
"Yes."
Sofia's eyes filled.
"I thought if I stayed away, they would forget us."
"They didn't."
"No."
"Why was Emma living with you?"
"Because my daughter died."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"Isabella is your daughter?"
"No."
Sofia smiled sadly.
"Isabella's mother was my friend."
"What happened?"
"She was killed."
Lorenzo's face hardened.
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
"Then how did Isabella come to you?"
"Her mother left her with me."
"And Marco?"
"He was trying to find her."
Lorenzo leaned forward.
"Why didn't you go to the police?"
Sofia laughed softly.
"Because your father's people owned half the police in this city."
The words hit him.
Lorenzo's father had been powerful.
But Lorenzo had spent years trying to clean the family's legitimate businesses.
He had never known how deep the corruption went.
Sofia continued.
"Your father wanted to leave."
"From the organization?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't he?"
"Because he believed people would kill you."
Lorenzo stared.
"He protected me?"
"He loved you."
The word sounded strange.
Lorenzo had spent years thinking his father respected him.
He had never thought of love.
Sofia reached for his hand.
"Your father wasn't a good man."
"I know."
"But he wasn't all bad."
Lorenzo looked away.
"What happened to Emma's mother?"
Sofia swallowed.
"She was Rebecca Bell."
Lorenzo froze.
"Rebecca was Emma's mother?"
"Biologically."
"What?"
"Rebecca had been involved in the adoption network before she turned on it."
"So Emma was born into the organization."
"Yes."
"And Rebecca wanted the trust."
"Yes."
Lorenzo stared.
"Then why did she let Sofia take Emma?"
"Because she believed Sofia would hide the child."
"And she was right."
"Until now."
Lorenzo rose.
"Where is Rebecca?"
Sofia looked afraid.
"She knows you have Emma."
"How?"
"Anthony."
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
He walked into the hallway.
Dominic waited.
"We know where Rebecca is."
"Where?"
"She owns a private clinic outside Boston."
"Let's go."
They reached the clinic before midnight.
The doors were locked.
The lights were on.
Inside, they found records.
No Rebecca.
No patients.
But there was a nursery.
Empty cribs.
Blankets.
Tiny shoes.
Lorenzo stood in the doorway.
He had seen many things.
This was worse.
On the wall was a list.
Seven names.
Seven children.
Emma's name was at the bottom.
Beside it:
TRANSFERRED.
Lorenzo's voice went cold.
"Transferred where?"
Dominic looked at the paperwork.
"New York."
"Who?"
A name.
The same family name appeared next to the payment.
Keller.
A wealthy family.
A private estate.
A child was being prepared for illegal transfer.
And Lorenzo knew exactly what that meant.
The city had been looking for Isabella for three weeks.
May you like
Now two little girls were in danger.
And someone was about to discover what happened when the man they underestimated stopped playing by old rules.
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