THE WAITRESS GAVE HER JACKET TO A DYING GIRL—SHE NEVER KNEW THE CHILD BELONGED TO THE MOST DANGEROUS MAFIA BOSS ON THE EAST COAST

Adrian had attended his father's funeral three years earlier.

He remembered the black cars, the flowers, the priest, and the closed coffin. He remembered standing beside Celeste while people offered condolences. He remembered being told that Dominic had suffered a sudden stroke and died before the ambulance reached the hospital.

Now he was looking at a photograph that suggested the funeral had been a lie.

"Who gave you this?" he asked.

The guard shook his head.

"It was inside Lawson's coat."

Adrian called the family physician.

The man answered nervously.

"Mr. Corsetti."

"Tell me about my father's death."

A long pause followed.

"Your father passed away three years ago."

"Was he buried?"

"Yes."

"Did you examine the body?"

Another pause.

"No."

"Who did?"

"I don't know."

Adrian ended the call.

Elena looked at the photograph.

"Maybe he was already dead. Maybe they used his name to move money."

"Or maybe he's alive."

Margaret sat down.

"If Dominic is alive, he knows where Sophia went."

Adrian turned toward her.

"Why would my father hide her?"

"Because he was involved in the operation, but he may not have wanted her killed."

"That doesn't make him innocent."

"No," Margaret said. "It doesn't."

They traced the photograph to a private medical facility outside the city. The facility was registered under a company controlled by Northstar Holdings.

Adrian arranged a visit.

The building was small, surrounded by high walls and security cameras. A nurse met them at the entrance.

"Mr. Corsetti, we weren't expecting you."

"Then you should have prepared."

The nurse led them to a private room.

An elderly man lay in bed beside the window. His hair was white, and his body appeared weak, but his eyes were sharp.

Dominic Corsetti.

Adrian stopped at the doorway.

"Father."

Dominic looked up.

For several seconds, neither man spoke.

Then the old man smiled faintly.

"You look like your mother."

Adrian stepped inside.

"You let me bury you."

"I had to disappear."

"You let me believe my father was dead."

"It was safer."

"For whom?"

Dominic looked at Elena and Margaret.

"Ah. The women who brought my family to its knees."

Elena stepped forward.

"Did you know my mother?"

"I knew her."

"Did you arrange her death?"

Dominic looked away.

"I arranged the money. I didn't arrange the death."

"That's not an answer."

"No," he admitted. "It isn't."

Adrian approached the bed.

"Who ordered Sophia's poisoning?"

Dominic's expression changed.

"Charles."

"Why?"

"Because Sophia discovered the accounts. She found proof that the company was testing compounds on children. She wanted to take the evidence to federal investigators."

"Then why didn't you stop him?"

Dominic looked at his son.

"Because I was afraid."

Adrian's face hardened.

"You were afraid?"

"I built an empire on fear, and then I became afraid of the people who helped me build it."

Margaret asked, "Where is Sophia?"

Dominic looked toward the window.

"She was moved to a clinic in Vermont. She survived the poisoning, but Charles made sure she couldn't return."

Elena's heart raced.

"Is she still there?"

Dominic nodded.