Chapter 4 - THE CALL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING|
“Elena!”
Sophie's voice came through the phone, sharp with panic.
“What's wrong? Where are you?”
“I'm at the college. There was a man outside—he said you sent him!”
Elena stood so quickly that the chair toppled behind her.
“Did you go with him?”
“No! I ran into the library. The security guard locked the doors.”
“Stay inside. Don't open them for anyone except the police.”
“I saw his face, Elena. It was one of Ryan's friends.”
Alessandro had already motioned for Marco to contact the officer escorting Sophie.
“Put the call on speaker,” he said quietly.
Elena did.
“Can you describe the man?” Marco asked.
Sophie gave a shaky description. She remembered a gray cap, a scar near the man's eyebrow, and a tattoo on his left hand.
Marco's expression changed.
“I know who that is.”
“Who?” Elena demanded.
“A man named Derek Shaw. He has worked security for several businesses connected to Ryan.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“Connected how?”
Marco hesitated.
“I'm checking.”
Elena heard the pause and felt old fear return.
“Please don't hide anything from me.”
Alessandro met her gaze.
“I won't.”
Marco stepped aside and made another call. While he spoke, Alessandro instructed his driver to take Elena to the college with a police escort. He did not suggest bringing armed men through the campus.
The distinction mattered to Elena.
She had expected power to look like threats and commands. Instead, Alessandro seemed to be using his influence to create distance between Sophie and the man who frightened her.
At the college, they found Sophie in a locked administrative office. She rushed into Elena's arms, clutching her so tightly that Elena could barely breathe.
“You're safe,” Elena whispered. “I've got you.”
Sophie pulled back and examined her sister's face.
“He did that?”
Elena looked away.
Sophie began to cry.
“I told you he wasn't getting better. I told you we needed to leave.”
“I know.”
“You kept protecting me, and now he's hurting you again.”
Elena held her sister's face between her hands.
“Listen to me. None of this is your fault. Not one second of it.”
A police officer approached and asked Sophie to identify the man who had followed her. She agreed, though her hands trembled while she gave her statement.
Alessandro remained several steps away, allowing the sisters privacy.
When the officer finished, Sophie glanced toward him.
“Is that Alessandro Moretti?”
“Yes,” Elena answered.
“The one everyone talks about?”
Elena sighed. “Probably.”
Sophie looked at her again.
“Why is he helping you?”
“I don't know yet.”
“Do you trust him?”
The honest answer frightened Elena.
“I trust that he hasn't forced me to do anything.”
For now, that was enough.
The police arranged temporary protection and advised both sisters to document every threat. Elena agreed to stay in a secure guest room at the mansion while they worked out a longer-term plan.
On the drive back, Sophie leaned against her shoulder and finally fell asleep.
Alessandro sat opposite them, reviewing information on his phone.
Suddenly, he stopped scrolling.
“Marco,” he said through the car's hands-free system, “tell me you found something.”
Marco's voice came through.
“I did. Derek Shaw isn't the only connection. Ryan has been receiving payments from a company called Northbridge Security.”
“Who owns it?”
“On paper? A holding company in Delaware.”
“And behind it?”
Another pause.
“Someone named Thomas Vale.”
Alessandro's face became very still.
Elena noticed.
“Who is Thomas Vale?”
Alessandro locked his phone.
“Someone who should have been out of my life years ago.”
May you like
Then he looked at Elena.
“And if he's involved, Ryan may be the smallest part of your problem.”
