Chapter 5 - The Woman Who Had Been Dead for Eight YearsThe address came from the birth records.
A rehabilitation center outside Milwaukee.
Nora and Gabriel arrived before sunrise.
The woman waiting in the lobby was older than the photograph.
But her eyes were identical.
Gabriel stopped.
“Nina?”
The woman stared.
Then cried.
“Gabriel.”
He crossed the room.
They hugged.
Neither spoke for a long time.
Nora stood nearby.
Finally Nina looked at her.
“You're Nora Higgins.”
“Yes.”
“Your father saved my life.”
“How?”
“He hid me.”
“Why?”
“Because your father discovered what ours had done.”
Nora sat.
“Tell us everything.”
Nina did.
Their fathers had been business partners.
The Moretti family controlled illegal shipping routes.
Nora's father handled finances.
They discovered a money-laundering network.
They tried to leave.
Vittorio Moretti ordered their silence.
Nina was targeted.
Nora's father helped her escape.
Then both men were killed.
Nora's father died first.
Gabriel's mother died trying to expose the truth.
Nina disappeared.
And someone had spent eight years maintaining the lie that she was dead.
Gabriel looked devastated.
“Who knew?”
“Your uncle Matteo.”
Gabriel froze.
“My uncle died.”
“No.”
Nina shook her head.
“He's alive.”
“Where?”
“He runs the private foundation.”
Nora stared.
The foundation had funded Bradley's company.
The same foundation had paid for her surveillance.
“The Moretti Children's Foundation.”
Nina nodded.
“That's the one.”
Gabriel stood.
“I built it.”
Nina looked at him.
“They let you believe it was yours.”
Gabriel's face hardened.
“Who?”
“Matteo.”
Nora understood.
The billionaire had never been the puppet master.
He had been the heir they wanted controlled.
Matteo had built a hidden network inside Gabriel's legitimate empire.
And now they knew.
Bradley wasn't the real threat.
He was a disposable tool.
At 8:22 p.m., Bradley called Nora.
She answered on speaker.
“You found her.”
Nora froze.
“Who?”
“Nina.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“You're listening?”
Bradley laughed.
“Of course.”
“Where are you?”
“Somewhere safe.”
“You're going to prison.”
“No.”
A pause.
“Not me.”
“Who?”
“Matteo.”
Gabriel's face changed.
“Why are you helping him?”
“Because he paid me.”
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“You stalked Nora.”
“I was told to make her afraid.”
“Why?”
“Because she was close.”
“To what?”
“The account.”
“What account?”
Bradley hesitated.
“The Blackstone account.”
Nora's pulse accelerated.
Her father's records had mentioned it.
A hidden account containing every payment.
Every name.
Every bribe.
Every murder.
“Where is it?”
Bradley laughed.
“Ask Matteo.”
The call ended.
Gabriel looked at Nora.
“We find the account.”
“But Bradley knows where it is.”
“And so does Matteo.”
Nora shook her head.
“No.”
“What?”
“He said ask Matteo.”
She looked at the phone.
“Which means Matteo doesn't have it.”
Gabriel smiled slightly.
“Good.”
Nora understood.
“The person who does is inside the company.”
“Yes.”
They returned to Chicago.
The board was called.
Victor Hale appeared.
He looked calm.
Gabriel asked one question.
“Where is the Blackstone account?”
Victor's expression changed.
Nora watched carefully.
He recovered quickly.
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
Gabriel placed a document on the table.
“The transfer came from your private account.”
Victor stared.
“You're mistaken.”
“Am I?”
Nora slid another page forward.
“Then explain this.”
Victor stood.
“You've made a serious mistake.”
Gabriel looked at him.
“No.”
Victor smiled.
May you like
“You have.”
Then the boardroom doors locked.
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