Chapter 4 - The Enemy Who Wanted My Father’s Secret Knew I Was the KeyVictor Kane had once been Lorenzo's father's closest partner.
Then he betrayed him.
He disappeared.
Built his own organization.
And spent twenty years trying to destroy the Moretti family.
Now his daughter was contacting me.
I didn't know why.
Lorenzo did.
“She wants the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“The one your father took.”
“The one with the money?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
He looked at me.
“One point eight billion dollars.”
I nearly laughed.
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Where is it?”
“We don't know.”
“You mean my father stole nearly two billion dollars.”
“He didn't steal it.”
“Then what?”
“He protected it.”
“From whom?”
“Victor.”
I stared.
“Then why do they think I know where it is?”
“Because your father trusted you.”
“I was six.”
“Exactly.”
“That's absurd.”
“No.”
Lorenzo looked at me.
“Children remember things adults forget.”
I hated that he sounded right.
We returned to the old house.
I searched my childhood memories.
A phrase.
A book.
A toy.
Something.
Then I remembered a bedtime game my father played.
Five questions.
Always five.
“What is your favorite color?”
“Blue.”
“Favorite animal?”
“Fox.”
“Favorite place?”
“Library.”
“Favorite book?”
“Cinderella.”
“Favorite number?”
“Seven.”
Lorenzo stared.
“Five answers.”
“Seven.”
“Blue.”
“Fox.”
“Library.”
“Cinderella.”
He shook his head.
“That's a code.”
We found a children's book.
Inside were numbers written in pencil.
7-2-6-4-1.
I entered the sequence into the notebook's final page.
A hidden compartment opened.
A USB drive.
I stared.
My father had hidden everything inside a children's story.
The drive contained financial records.
Victor Kane.
Moretti Holdings.
Government officials.
Judges.
Police.
And one shocking payment.
To my father's hospital.
Six months after his supposed death.
I looked at Lorenzo.
“He was alive.”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“Six months.”
“More.”
The payment continued for three years.
My father had survived.
He had been hidden.
But why?
A video file appeared.
My father.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
“Mia.”
I stopped breathing.
“If you're watching this, I've failed.”
He looked directly into the camera.
“Your father did not abandon you.”
“I did not leave willingly.”
“I was hiding.”
“Because Victor wanted the ledger.”
He paused.
“But the ledger doesn't contain money.”
I frowned.
“What does it contain?”
“Names.”
“Every person involved.”
“Every betrayal.”
“Every murder.”
“Every payment.”
He looked devastated.
“The Moretti family is not the enemy.”
“Victor is.”
“But there is someone inside the family who has been helping him.”
The video ended.
I stared at Lorenzo.
“Who?”
He shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Then the door opened.
Dominic rushed inside.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Your brother.”
Lorenzo froze.
“What about him?”
“He disappeared.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“And?”
“We found his car.”
“Where?”
“At Victor Kane's private warehouse.”
Lorenzo's face went cold.
“My brother was taken.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“He went willingly.”
My stomach tightened.
“Why?”
May you like
Lorenzo's eyes darkened.
“Because he may be the traitor.”
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