Chapter 5 - SOFIA’S VOICE
The shooter disappeared before my men reached the tree line.
Richard’s murder ended whatever doubt I had left.
This was about Grace.
And it had been planned years before she understood what a family name could cost.
We moved into the mansion’s underground safe room.
Grace hated it instantly.
“No windows.”
“That’s the point,” I said.
“I still hate it.”
Evelyn plugged the chip into an isolated laptop.
A password screen appeared.
One question.
WHAT DID GRACE HEAR FIRST?
I stared at it.
Grace frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn looked at me.
“Sofia loved puzzles.”
“Not this much.”
Grace sat down.
“What was the first thing I ever heard?”
“You were born blind, not deaf,” I said.
“I know, Dad.”
Evelyn smiled slightly.
“Hospital sounds?”
“No,” I said.
Then I remembered.
The delivery room.
Grace screaming.
Sofia crying.
And me standing beside them terrified to touch something so small.
Sofia had leaned close to our newborn daughter and hummed one melody over and over.
“You Are My Sunshine.”
I typed SUNSHINE.
The screen unlocked.
A video appeared.
Sofia filled the monitor.
Seven years dead.
Alive again for twenty-three minutes.
Grace reached toward the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Dominic.”
Sofia looked tired.
Scared.
“If you’re seeing this, then I didn’t get the chance to explain.”
My throat closed.
Grace’s hand found mine.
I let her hold it.
“Your father Antonio discovered someone was moving money through the family businesses.”
Sofia continued.
“Not street money. Not gambling. Not anything you already knew about.”
A list of companies appeared.
Shell corporations.
Offshore accounts.
Property acquisitions.
“Vittorio was building his own network using Caruso assets.”
I stopped breathing.
“He expected Antonio to leave him control. Instead, Antonio changed the trust.”
Grace squeezed my fingers.
“He left the controlling shares to Grace because he believed a child untouched by the organization might someday have a chance to end what all of you kept feeding.”
My father wanted Grace to dismantle the empire.
The idea almost made me laugh.
Antonio Caruso had been more ruthless than I was.
But apparently he had died regretting it.
Sofia continued.
“Vittorio learned about the trust.”
Evelyn stared at the screen.
“He confronted me.”
Sofia looked directly into the camera.
“He told me Grace would either become useful to him or she would not live long enough to inherit.”
Grace’s grip tightened.
I whispered, “Jesus.”
“I went to Evelyn because I could no longer trust your security.”
Sofia took a breath.
“If anything happens to me, do not believe it was an accident.”
My entire body went numb.
The crash.
The rain.
The police report.
Seven years of grief.
Sofia looked down before speaking again.
“Dominic, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I was afraid you would kill Vittorio before we had proof.”
I stood.
Evelyn watched me carefully.
“I’m going to kill him now.”
Sofia’s recorded voice continued.
“If you react with rage, he wins.”
I froze.
Even dead, she knew me.
“Protect Grace. Find the ledger. The ledger proves everything.”
A map flashed on screen.
An old Caruso warehouse near the Chicago River.
Then Sofia said one last thing.
“Evelyn knows where to look.”
The video ended.
I turned to Evelyn.
“You knew about the ledger?”
“I knew Sofia believed it existed.”
“You’ve had seven years.”
“And I spent seven years staying alive long enough to find it.”
Before I could answer, the safe-room phone rang.
Only one line connected directly to it.
Nobody should have known the number.
I answered.
Vittorio’s voice came through.
“Now you know.”
I looked at Grace.
“What do you want?”
“My inheritance.”
“It was never yours.”
He laughed softly.
“Bring Grace and the chip to the river warehouse.”
“No.”
“Then ask Evelyn where her brother is.”
Evelyn’s face changed.
For the first time, she looked broken.
Vittorio continued.
“I have Daniel.”
May you like
Evelyn closed her eyes.
“And if you want him breathing by sunset, bring me the girl.”
