Chapter 13 - Rosie's Last Secret
Alessandro hit Dominic before he could speak.
The old man crashed against the conference table.
“Where is she?”
Dominic wiped blood from his lip.
“You really think I’d tell you?”
Alessandro grabbed his collar.
Nathan rushed into the room.
“Don’t kill him.”
“He has Emma.”
“I know.”
Nathan pulled Alessandro back.
“Police are tracing the car.”
Dominic laughed.
“You’re already too late.”
Alessandro turned.
“What do you mean?”
“Children should learn not to involve themselves in adult problems.”
Nathan slammed Dominic against the wall.
“Careful.”
Alessandro ran to his office.
Rosie sat on the desk.
He grabbed the rabbit.
Seven video files.
He opened number two.
Elena appeared.
Emma’s mother.
The recording had been made inside an office.
She looked directly toward the hidden camera.
“If anything happens to me, Dominic Romano ordered the transfers.”
Alessandro froze.
Elena continued.
“I copied everything. Vendor names. Account numbers. Payments.”
She held up a memory card.
“The original records are somewhere nobody in this family would ever look.”
Behind the camera, a little girl giggled.
Emma.
Elena smiled.
“Exactly, sweetheart. Rosie will keep our secret.”
Alessandro stared at the rabbit.
The flash drive had been hidden in its back.
But Elena said memory card.
Somewhere else.
He examined Rosie carefully.
One plastic eye looked slightly different.
He twisted it.
The eye popped free.
Inside was a tiny microSD card.
Nathan stared.
“That woman was smart.”
They inserted it into the computer.
Hundreds of files appeared.
Bank transfers.
Shell companies.
Emails.
One file named ELENA ACCIDENT.
Inside were photographs of Dominic’s driver beside Elena’s car the night before her crash.
Another email read:
Brake line handled. No second chance.
Nathan exhaled.
“That’s murder.”
Alessandro copied everything to police.
Then another file caught his attention.
A property address.
Old Romano distribution warehouse.
Newark.
Nathan’s phone rang.
“Traffic cameras just caught Dominic’s driver.”
“Where?”
Nathan looked at Alessandro.
“Heading toward Newark.”
They ran.
Police surrounded the warehouse quietly.
Alessandro insisted on going in.
Mills objected.
“That man may be armed.”
“He knows Emma trusts me.”
“That’s exactly why you should stay back.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“She warned me when every adult around me missed the truth.”
Mills held his gaze.
Then nodded once.
“Stay behind us.”
They entered.
The warehouse was dark.
A child cried somewhere above.
“Emma!”
“Mr. Alessandro!”
He ran toward the voice.
Shots cracked.
Police shouted.
Dominic’s driver fled across a metal catwalk.
Emma was tied to a chair near the edge.
Teresa lay nearby, conscious but injured.
Alessandro rushed upward.
The driver grabbed Emma.
“Stay back!”
Police raised their weapons.
The man pressed a gun against the railing beside her.
Emma sobbed.
Alessandro lifted both hands.
“Okay.”
He stepped forward slowly.
“Take me instead.”
The driver laughed.
“That wasn’t the order.”
“What was?”
His eyes shifted.
That was all Emma needed.
She kicked him hard in the shin.
The man stumbled.
Alessandro charged.
They hit the railing.
The gun fell.
Nathan tackled the driver.
Alessandro grabbed Emma.
“I’ve got you.”
She wrapped both arms around his neck.
“I knew you’d come.”
He held her tightly.
Then Emma whispered something into his ear.
“Mr. Alessandro…”
“Yes?”
“Grandpa Dom said there’s one more person you trust.”
Alessandro pulled back.
“What person?”
May you like
Emma looked terrified.
“The one who told Isabella what medicine to use.”
