Chapter 6 - The Child Who Knew Too Much
The first thing I remember is screaming.
Not shouting.
Not crying.
Screaming.
I don't remember getting outside.
I don't remember getting into the car.
I remember Alexander grabbing my hand.
“Look at me.”
I pulled away.
“Where is she?”
“We're finding her.”
“You said you could protect her.”
His face crumpled.
“I know.”
“You promised.”
“I know.”
The man in the driver's seat accelerated through traffic.
Phones rang continuously.
Security teams spread across the city.
Every Moretti property was checked.
Schools.
Hospitals.
Private airfields.
Safe houses.
Nothing.
Then we received a video.
Sophie was sitting in a room.
She wasn't crying.
She looked confused.
“Mommy?”
I almost collapsed.
A voice behind the camera spoke.
“Your daughter is safe.”
Alexander took the phone.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed.
“You know me.”
Alexander froze.
I looked at him.
“Who?”
He didn't answer.
The person continued.
“You've been looking for the wrong enemy.”
The video ended.
Marco stared at Alexander.
“Who was that?”
Alexander said quietly.
“My brother.”
I froze.
“You told me you only had one brother.”
“I do.”
“Then who?”
He looked at me.
“Daniel.”
“What happened to Daniel?”
“He died.”
“When?”
“Fifteen years ago.”
Marco went pale.
“That was never confirmed.”
Alexander turned toward him.
“What?”
“We found a body.”
“Was it identified?”
“No.”
I stared.
“So Daniel may be alive.”
Alexander looked at the screen.
“That voice…”
His jaw tightened.
“That's him.”
We followed the clues.
An abandoned warehouse.
A church.
A private airfield.
Every location contained evidence that someone had been moving one step ahead of us.
Finally, we found Sophie.
She was inside a small house outside Chicago.
Alone.
Safe.
A blanket around her shoulders.
I ran to her.
She threw herself into my arms.
“Mommy!”
I held her.
“You're okay.”
“I was waiting.”
“Where were you?”
“A man brought me here.”
“Who?”
She thought.
“He said Daddy was coming.”
“Did you see him?”
She nodded.
“He had a scar on his face.”
Alexander froze.
Daniel had a scar.
I had seen it once in an old photograph.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he say anything?”
She nodded.
“He said Daddy took something that belonged to our family.”
Alexander went silent.
We returned to the safe house.
He finally told me everything.
Daniel had not died.
He had disappeared after betraying their father.
He had believed Alexander stole his place in the family.
For years, Daniel had built his own network.
Richard Vale had worked for him.
Vanessa had unknowingly worked for him.
My father's ledger was the key to something Daniel wanted.
“The original ledger?” I asked.
“No.”
“Then what?”
Alexander looked at me.
“Your father didn't hide money.”
“What did he hide?”
“Evidence.”
“Evidence of what?”
“The identities of everyone who helped build the original organization.”
I stared.
“Names.”
“Yes.”
“Enough to destroy all of them.”
“Exactly.”
“Where is it?”
Alexander hesitated.
“I thought my father had it.”
“Maybe not.”
I remembered the note.
My father's safety depends on silence.
Then another memory surfaced.
My mother once told me there was one place in Chicago where my father never wanted me to go.
A train station.
Union Station.
We went there the next morning.
Under an old bench was a small brass key.
It opened a locker.
Inside was a box.
Inside the box was a photograph.
My father.
My mother.
And Alexander.
Together.
I stared.
“What is this?”
Alexander looked stunned.
“I've never seen that.”
A note was attached.
He was the only one I trusted with my daughter.
I looked at him.
“My father trusted you.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he believed I would become different.”
I read the final page.
Alexander was not the threat.
He was the reason I stayed.
If he tells Emily the truth, trust him.
My eyes filled.
For years, I had believed Alexander was the reason my family had fallen apart.
But perhaps he had been trying, badly and painfully, to keep an old war from reaching me.
Then footsteps sounded behind us.
We turned.
Daniel stood at the end of the platform.
Older.
Scarred.
Smiling.
“Finally,” he said.
Alexander stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Daniel laughed.
“She was never the target.”
May you like
He looked at me.
“You were.”
