Chapter 5 - THE THIRD PERSON
Vincent refused to answer my next call.
That was how I knew I had finally found the secret he was most afraid of.
By morning, Mara had obtained a court order allowing us to review certain sealed records connected to the old Moretti investigation.
The records were incomplete.
Pages missing.
Names redacted.
Dates altered.
But one detail appeared again and again.
Three people had been seen together the night Gabriel disappeared.
Vincent Moretti.
Gabriel Moretti.
And a woman named Elena Voss.
I stared at the name.
"Who is she?"
Mara turned a page.
"Former accountant for one of Vincent's shipping companies."
"Former?"
"She disappeared six years ago."
Daniel leaned over the table.
"Was she ever found?"
"No."
I looked at the photograph of Gabriel.
"Then the third person in the car was Elena."
Mara shook her head.
"Not necessarily."
"Why?"
"Because the report says the vehicle was registered to Elena."
I felt a chill.
"So she owned the car."
"Yes."
"Then where was she?"
"We don't know."
My phone buzzed.
Vincent.
I answered.
"Where are you?"
"At my office."
"Why didn't you tell me about Elena?"
Silence.
"Claire, you need to listen carefully."
"No. You need to answer."
"I didn't kill Gabriel."
"I never said you did."
"I know what you're thinking."
"Then tell me the truth."
"I was driving that night."
"You said there were three people."
"Yes."
"Who was the third?"
He hesitated.
"Elena."
Mara motioned for me to put the phone on speaker.
I did.
"Where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Is she alive?"
"I don't know."
"Did Gabriel survive?"
"Yes."
My heart tightened.
"How?"
"After the crash, Gabriel was badly injured. Elena was missing. I thought she had been taken."
"By whom?"
"People inside my organization."
"Your own people?"
"Someone was selling information."
"To whom?"
"Marcus Bell."
The room went quiet.
Marcus.
The man outside the courthouse.
The man who claimed to represent the people looking for Gabriel.
"You said Marcus was looking for him."
"He was."
"Then why would you accuse him?"
"Because he wanted Gabriel dead."
I looked at Mara.
She was writing everything down.
"Where was Gabriel taken?"
"A private medical facility."
"Which one?"
"I can't tell you."
"Why?"
"Because if you know, they can use you to reach him."
I laughed bitterly.
"They already know about me."
Vincent's voice softened.
"I know."
"Then maybe you should have trusted me."
"I was trying to keep you alive."
"You kept me ignorant."
"I thought that was the same thing."
"It wasn't."
Silence.
Then he said, "Claire, Sophia didn't come back because she wanted me."
"Then why?"
"Because she was being threatened."
"By Marcus?"
"No."
"Who?"
He hesitated.
"Elena."
I stared at the phone.
"Elena is alive?"
"I think so."
"You just said you didn't know."
"I don't know where she is."
"Then how can she threaten Sophia?"
"Because she sent her a message."
Mara looked up.
"What message?"
Vincent answered.
"She said she knew where Gabriel was."
I felt the room closing around me.
"So Sophia came back to you because she was scared."
"Yes."
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"Because she was afraid you'd become a target."
I almost laughed.
"I became a target anyway."
"I know."
"Did you ever sleep with her?"
"No."
"Did you kiss her?"
"No."
"Did you love her?"
A long silence.
That was the question I hadn't expected to ask.
Finally, Vincent said, "Once."
My chest tightened.
"Before me?"
"Yes."
"Do you still love her?"
"No."
I looked away.
"Then why did you call her sweetheart?"
"I didn't think about how it sounded."
"You stopped thinking about me years ago."
"That's not true."
"Then prove it."
His voice lowered.
"How?"
"Tell me where Gabriel is."
"I can't."
"Then we're done."
"Claire."
I ended the call.
Daniel watched me.
"You okay?"
"No."
Mara closed the folder.
"There's something else."
"What?"
She placed another document in front of me.
A bank transfer.
Sophia had received money from an offshore account.
Not Vincent's.
Marcus Bell's.
My stomach dropped.
"How much?"
"Enough to matter."
"Then Vincent was wrong."
"Maybe."
Daniel pointed to the date.
"When was this?"
"Three weeks ago."
Three weeks.
Sophia had been receiving money from the man Vincent claimed wanted Gabriel dead.
I stood.
"We need to find her."
Mara shook her head.
"Carefully."
"I want answers."
"You'll get them."
"How?"
"By letting her think we don't know."
That afternoon, Mara arranged a meeting with Sophia.
Neutral location.
Public café.
No Vincent.
No Daniel.
Just me and her.
Sophia arrived ten minutes late.
She looked exhausted.
No designer coat.
No perfect makeup.
No polished smile.
She sat across from me.
"I know you hate me."
"I don't hate you."
She looked surprised.
"I don't have enough energy left for hate."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Claire, I never wanted this."
"What did you want?"
"To survive."
"By destroying my marriage?"
"No."
"Then why did you keep calling Vincent?"
"Because he was the only person who could help."
"Help with what?"
She looked around.
Then whispered, "Elena."
I leaned forward.
"Tell me."
Sophia's hands trembled.
"Six years ago, Elena Voss disappeared after the crash."
"I know."
"She didn't disappear."
My heart stopped.
"She went into hiding."
"Why?"
"Because she stole something."
"What?"
Sophia looked directly at me.
"The ledger."
"What ledger?"
"The one that can destroy Vincent's empire."
I stared at her.
"Then why would Vincent protect you?"
"Because I had the ledger."
My mouth went dry.
"Where is it?"
She shook her head.
"I don't have it anymore."
"Who does?"
Sophia's eyes moved toward the café window.
Then she whispered the answer.
"Your husband."
I felt the blood drain from my face.
"Vincent has the ledger?"
"He always has."
"Then why is Marcus looking for Gabriel?"
"Because Gabriel knows what is inside it."
"What is inside?"
Sophia swallowed.
"Names."
"Whose names?"
She looked at me.
"Judges."
"Politicians?"
"Police."
I stared at her.
"People who helped Vincent."
She shook her head.
"People who used Vincent."
The meaning hit me.
Maybe Vincent had not built an empire by controlling everyone.
Maybe he had spent years being controlled by people more powerful than he realized.
Sophia reached into her purse.
She placed a small envelope on the table.
"This is why I came."
I opened it.
Inside was a hospital wristband.
Gabriel Moretti.
Date: six years ago.
Below his name was a second line.
PATIENT TRANSFERRED UNDER PROTECTIVE CUSTODY.
I looked up.
"Where was he transferred?"
Sophia whispered, "St. Jude's."
I frowned.
"There is no St. Jude's hospital in Chicago."
"Exactly."
She stood.
"Because it isn't a hospital."
Before I could ask anything else, the café lights went out.
People screamed.
Glass shattered near the front window.
I ducked.
Sophia grabbed my arm.
"Don't move!"
A second later, the lights returned.
Sophia was gone.
So was the envelope.
I searched the floor.
Nothing.
My phone vibrated.
A message from Vincent.
GET OUT OF THE CAFÉ.
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
I'M SORRY.
I looked toward the door.
Two men stood outside.
Neither was Vincent.
And both were watching me.
Mara called from across the room.
"Claire!"
I moved toward her.
"Stay behind me."
The two men outside turned away.
They did not enter.
That somehow frightened me more.
"They wanted you to see them," Mara said.
"Why?"
"To make sure you knew you were being watched."
Daniel arrived ten minutes later.
When I told him what happened, his face hardened.
"Where's Sophia?"
"I don't know."
"Did she take the wristband?"
"Yes."
He stared at me.
"Why would she give it to you and then take it back?"
"I don't know."
Mara answered for me.
"Because someone else wanted it."
She pointed at my phone.
"Vincent knew there was going to be trouble."
I stared at his message.
GET OUT OF THE CAFÉ.
Then the second one.
I'M SORRY.
"He knew," I whispered.
Daniel shook his head.
"Or he arranged it."
I hated that I couldn't tell which possibility was worse.
That night, we returned to the apartment.
Emma ran into my arms.
"Mommy!"
I held her so tightly she giggled.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too."
She looked behind me.
"Where's Daddy?"
"He isn't here."
Her smile faded.
"Did he forget me again?"
The question nearly destroyed me.
"No, baby."
I kissed her forehead.
"He didn't forget you."
At midnight, Mara called.
"We found St. Jude's."
My heart jumped.
"Where?"
"An old rehabilitation facility outside Milwaukee."
"Is Gabriel there?"
"We don't know."
"Then let's go."
"Claire, listen."
Her voice was serious.
"Someone accessed the facility records two hours ago."
"Who?"
"They used Vincent's credentials."
I froze.
"Vincent?"
"Yes."
I looked at Emma sleeping beside me.
For the first time, I understood the real danger.
If Vincent was checking on Gabriel tonight, someone else might be checking on him.
May you like
And if Gabriel was alive, he might be the one person who could finally tell me whether my husband had spent six years protecting our family...
or protecting himself.
