Chapter 16 - The Disappearing Patriarch
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Vittorio Moretti vanished at 6:40 p.m.
His driver found the car abandoned near a private airfield in New Jersey. His phone was switched off. The security cameras at the mansion had been disabled for eleven minutes, and the staff insisted they had seen nothing unusual.
Lorenzo did not waste time pretending he was not worried.
He assembled his security team, contacted Detective Collins, and ordered a search of every property connected to his father.
Elara watched the operation from the library.
“Do you think Sloane took him?”
“Sloane is in custody.”
“Then someone working with him.”
“Possibly.”
“Or your father left on his own.”
Lorenzo turned toward her.
“Why would he run?”
“Because he knows the evidence is real. Because he knows you're going to hand it over. Because he may be afraid of what happens when the truth comes out.”
He looked at the map on the screen.
“My father would rather fight than run.”
“Maybe he finally understands he can't win.”
Lorenzo did not answer.
At 9:15 p.m., a message arrived on his secure phone.
It contained coordinates and a photograph of Vittorio sitting in a chair inside a dark room.
His face was bruised.
A handwritten note rested on his lap.
BRING THE LEDGER TO THE OLD COLD STORAGE FACILITY. COME ALONE.
Lorenzo showed the message to Detective Collins.
“We'll set up a controlled operation,” she said.
“No.”
“Mr. Moretti—”
“I am not letting my father die.”
“And I'm not letting you walk into an armed ambush without support.”
Elara stepped forward.
“Then don't go alone. But don't pretend this is a decision you get to make without anyone else.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“I can't risk you.”
“You can't keep using that excuse.”
“It's not an excuse.”
“Then explain why you think my life matters less when I have a choice.”
He stared at her.
The argument they had avoided for days stood between them again.
Finally, Lorenzo took a breath.
“You're right. I shouldn't decide for you.”
Detective Collins gave a sharp nod.
“We'll proceed with a coordinated plan. My officers will establish a perimeter. Your security team will provide the layout and access points. No one moves until we confirm the hostage's location.”
They reached the cold storage facility just before midnight.
The building stood near an abandoned rail spur, its windows boarded and its loading bays sealed with rusted chains.
Thermal imaging showed three people inside.
One was Vittorio.
The other two remained unidentified.
Lorenzo entered through a side door with two officers while the rest of the team covered the exits.
Elara waited in the command vehicle, gripping the edge of her seat.
Then she saw movement near the rear fence.
A man in a dark coat slipped between two containers and approached the building's secondary entrance.
She recognized him.
Not Sloane.
Not Bellini.
Matteo Russo.
Elara reached for the radio.
“There's someone at the rear entrance.”
The officer beside her looked up.
“Who?”
“Matteo. He's not supposed to be here.”
She watched him unlock the door with a key card.
Then he disappeared inside.
Her stomach dropped.
The radio crackled.
Lorenzo's voice came through.
“We have visual on the hostage. Two armed men. Moving in.”
A second voice interrupted.
“Abort! Someone has compromised the operation!”
Gunfire erupted inside the facility.
Elara was out of the vehicle before anyone could stop her.
She ran toward the loading bay, hearing officers shouting behind her.
Inside, chaos filled the warehouse. One gunman lay on the floor. Another was struggling with Lorenzo near a stack of industrial crates.
Vittorio sat bound to a chair.
Matteo stood beside him, holding a gun.
“Matteo!” Lorenzo shouted.
Matteo's face twisted.
“I'm sorry.”
“Put the weapon down.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because you still don't understand what your father did.”
Vittorio looked up.
“Matteo, don't.”
Matteo turned toward him.
“You let my father die to protect your company.”
The room fell silent.
Lorenzo stared at Matteo.
“What are you talking about?”
“My father found the original cargo records. He was going to testify. Your father arranged for him to be transferred to a different shift that night. The truck that killed him was carrying stolen medical supplies.”
Vittorio's face crumpled.
“I didn't know the truck would hit him.”
“But you knew he was in danger.”
“I was trying to protect the company!”
Matteo laughed bitterly.
“That's what you always say.”
He raised the weapon toward Vittorio.
Lorenzo moved.
Elara shouted.
A gunshot exploded.
Matteo fell to one knee, clutching his shoulder.
The weapon slid across the floor.
Detective Collins and her officers rushed in.
Vittorio was freed.
Lorenzo turned toward Elara.
“You came inside.”
“Yes.”
“I told you to stay back.”
“And I told you to stop making decisions for me.”
For one furious second, they stared at each other.
Then he pulled her into his arms.
She felt his hands shaking.
Behind them, Matteo was taken into custody.
As officers searched his belongings, they found a sealed envelope addressed to Lorenzo.
Inside was a letter written by Matteo's father.
May you like
It contained a warning that changed the case completely.
Vittorio did not order the thefts. He only covered them up. The person who planned the entire operation was someone Lorenzo has trusted since childhood.
