Chapter 6 - EVELYN’S BROTHER
Evelyn walked away from us.
Just three steps.
But they felt like miles.
“You have a brother?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“He disappeared three days ago.”
“You didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t know Vittorio had him.”
Grace stood.
“You knew someone you loved was missing and you still stayed here?”
Evelyn looked at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised your mother.”
Grace’s anger softened.
“So you picked me over him?”
Evelyn didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
I hated Vittorio more for making her choose.
“We’re not trading Grace.”
“I know,” Evelyn said.
Grace crossed her arms.
“I’d like to be part of the discussion about whether I’m being traded.”
“No.”
“Dad.”
“No.”
She groaned.
“Wonderful. Growth.”
Despite myself, I almost smiled.
Evelyn brought up Sofia’s map.
The warehouse had belonged to my grandfather.
Closed fifteen years.
Vittorio wanted us there.
Which meant he controlled the building.
“He expects us to come through the front,” I said.
“He expects you to come angry,” Evelyn replied.
“That too.”
Grace touched the table.
“Does the warehouse have an old loading tunnel?”
I looked at her.
“How do you know that?”
“Grandpa Antonio’s stories.”
I had forgotten.
My father used to tell Grace stories about hiding during police raids when he was young.
To her, they had sounded like adventures.
To me, they had been family history.
“There was a coal delivery tunnel,” I said.
Evelyn opened old building plans.
“There.”
A narrow passage entered from beneath an abandoned factory next door.
I looked at Grace.
“You stay here.”
She shook her head.
“Absolutely not.”
“You are the target.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re not coming.”
“If Vittorio expects me and I’m not there, he kills Daniel.”
Evelyn stepped in.
“She’s right.”
I stared at her.
“You are becoming very irritating.”
“I was always irritating. You just thought I was cleaning.”
Grace laughed.
For one second, the room felt normal.
Then my phone rang.
Video call.
Vittorio.
I answered.
Daniel Shaw sat tied to a chair.
His face was bruised.
Alive.
Vittorio stood behind him.
He looked exactly as he always had at family dinners.
Gray hair.
Expensive suit.
Kind eyes.
The man who had taught me to shave after my father died.
The man who had held Grace at her baptism.
“Hello, Dominic.”
“You killed Sofia.”
His smile faded.
“Sofia made choices.”
“You killed my wife.”
“She was going to destroy this family.”
“No.”
I looked at Grace.
“She was trying to save it.”
Vittorio’s eyes moved toward my daughter.
“There she is.”
Grace stood straighter.
“Hi, Uncle Vittorio.”
His expression softened.
“Grace. I’m sorry you’re caught in this.”
“No, you’re not.”
He laughed.
“You sound like your mother.”
“Good.”
His face hardened.
“Four o’clock. Warehouse seventeen.”
“What if we’re late?”
Vittorio drew a pistol and pressed it against Daniel’s head.
“One minute late, one bullet.”
The call ended.
Evelyn stared at the blank screen.
I expected panic.
Instead, she picked up two batons.
One she kept.
The other she held toward Grace.
“Time to see whether you were listening.”
Grace took it.
I looked between them.
“This is insane.”
Grace smiled sadly.
“No, Dad.”
May you like
She slid the baton into the loop on her backpack.
“This is what being prepared looks like.”
