Chapter 2 - The Bruises He Couldn't Ignore
Vincent Moretti did not ask Elena to tell him everything.
That was what made her trust him enough to say anything at all.
He took her into a private sitting room connected to the penthouse.
A fire burned behind glass.
A woman arrived carrying a medical bag.
Elena recoiled.
“Please.”
The woman stopped.
Vincent noticed.
“No touching without permission.”
The doctor nodded.
“My name is Dr. Sofia Bennett.”
Elena looked between them.
“You work for him?”
Sofia smiled faintly.
“I've worked for people who paid me much less and lied much more.”
Vincent looked unimpressed.
“Doctor.”
“I'll examine her.”
Elena sat.
Sofia asked permission before every movement.
The examination confirmed bruised ribs, a split lip, a sprained wrist, and a dark bruise forming beneath her shoulder.
But there was something else.
Sofia looked at Elena's left arm.
“How long?”
Elena knew what she meant.
The bruises that kept appearing.
“Months.”
Vincent's expression didn't change.
But his hand tightened around the crystal glass.
Sofia finished wrapping her wrist.
“You need imaging for the ribs.”
Elena nodded.
“Tomorrow.”
“No.”
She looked at Vincent.
“No hospitals?”
“No public hospitals,” he said.
“You don't get to decide that.”
His eyes met hers.
“No.”
A pause.
“You do.”
That answer surprised her.
He continued.
“But if you stay here tonight, nobody will touch you.”
Elena looked down.
“I can't pay you.”
Vincent frowned.
“I didn't offer you a bill.”
“I don't understand.”
“You don't have to.”
He walked toward the window.
Rain streaked the glass.
“Why were you at the gala?”
“I work there.”
“What do you do?”
“Event coordination.”
“For Mercer?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
Vincent turned.
“Then you're not just running from your husband.”
“No.”
“What else?”
Elena stared at the floor.
“I saw something.”
Vincent said nothing.
That was somehow worse.
She continued.
“There was a man in Grant's private office.”
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Describe him.”
“Gray hair. Maybe fifty. Expensive watch.”
“What did you see?”
“A file.”
“What was in it?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“Judges.”
Vincent's face changed.
“Go on.”
“City inspectors. Council members. A police captain.”
She looked terrified.
“And I saw my name.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
“Was Grant there?”
“Yes.”
“Did he see you?”
“No.”
Vincent sat opposite her.
“Then why did he attack you?”
“He found out I copied the file.”
“Where is it?”
Her eyes lifted.
“I don't have it.”
Vincent leaned back.
“That's unfortunate.”
“Someone else does.”
“Who?”
“My sister.”
Vincent's gaze sharpened.
“You have a sister?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
He went still.
“She disappeared yesterday.”
The doctor looked at him.
Vincent rose immediately.
“Rafael.”
His security chief entered.
“Sir?”
“Find Elena's sister.”
Elena stood.
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
“You don't know where she is.”
“They'll kill her if you find her.”
“Who?”
She swallowed.
“The people behind Grant.”
Vincent walked closer.
“Then tell me their names.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know all of them.”
“Then give me the ones you do.”
Elena hesitated.
“Mercer Development isn't really a development company.”
Vincent nodded.
“I know.”
Her eyes widened.
“You know?”
“I know enough to recognize money laundering when I see it.”
She whispered:
“Then you know what Grant is.”
Vincent looked at her.
“No.”
“I mean…”
She lowered her voice.
“He isn't just stealing money.”
“What else?”
“He's selling people.”
Silence.
Her voice broke.
“Families.”
Vincent's eyes turned cold.
“Explain.”
“He buys buildings through shell companies. Pushes tenants out. Moves them to properties his partners control.”
“That isn't kidnapping.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“It gets worse.”
She looked at him.
“Some of the families never leave.”
Vincent said nothing.
“They vanish.”
The doctor slowly packed her medical bag.
“I'll leave you two.”
Elena looked toward the door.
Then suddenly remembered something.
“The file.”
“What about it?” Vincent asked.
“The man in Grant's office.”
She closed her eyes.
“I knew him.”
“From where?”
“My father's old company.”
Vincent's expression changed.
“What was your father's company?”
“Vale Logistics.”
Vincent stood still.
That company had collapsed fourteen years earlier.
Its owner had vanished.
Vincent remembered the story.
He had been young then.
Now he looked at Elena differently.
“Your father didn't disappear because of debt.”
She stared.
“What?”
“He disappeared because he found something.”
Elena's breathing stopped.
“Do you know what?”
Vincent's voice was quiet.
“Not yet.”
Then Rafael rushed in.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“We found her sister's car.”
Elena stood.
“Where?”
“Two blocks from Pier Forty.”
Vincent grabbed his coat.
“We're going.”
Elena followed.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“You don't know what you're walking into.”
“Neither do you.”
“I know exactly what I'm walking into.”
“Then let me come.”
His expression hardened.
“No.”
“She may be dead because of me.”
“That's why you're staying here.”
Elena stared.
“Vincent.”
He stopped.
“I need her.”
Those three words silenced him.
After several seconds, he nodded.
“You stay in the vehicle.”
She nodded.
Then he added:
“And when I tell you to run, you run.”
“I will.”
He opened the door.
“Good.”
Neither of them noticed the tiny red light blinking inside the sitting room.
Someone had been listening.
Someone had heard Elena say her sister's name.
May you like
And somewhere across Manhattan, Grant Mercer smiled when the message arrived.
FOUND.
