Chapter 4 - THE BLOOD IN THE CAR
Cole was missing.
The police found enough blood in his car to suggest somebody had been badly hurt.
But there was no body.
That made Dominic more nervous, not less.
Dead men couldn’t talk.
Missing men could.
At four in the morning, the Moretti mansion stopped feeling like a home.
It felt like a bunker.
Security doubled.
Windows were locked.
Two guards stood outside the children’s rooms.
Dominic ordered every employee screened again.
Nobody complained.
People who worked for Dominic understood one thing.
When he became quiet, you followed instructions.
At breakfast, Lily ate pancakes like nothing had happened.
Ethan pushed cereal around his bowl.
“You don’t like pancakes?” Lily asked.
“I do.”
“Then why are you eating sad cereal?”
I almost laughed.
Ethan looked at his bowl.
“It’s not sad.”
“It looks sad.”
He pushed it away.
“Fine.”
She handed him half her pancake.
Dominic watched from across the table.
Something in his expression softened.
Then his phone vibrated.
Marco.
Again.
Dominic stood.
“I need to take this.”
I followed him with my eyes.
Five minutes later, he returned.
“Anna.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
“We need to talk.”
Never good words.
He led me into the library.
Marco was already there.
A laptop sat open on the table.
“What did you find?”
Marco looked uncomfortable.
“Cole made a phone call the night before the party.”
“To who?”
“We traced the number.”
Dominic folded his arms.
“Tell her.”
Marco looked at me.
“Your brother.”
I laughed.
Actually laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it made no sense.
“My brother lives in Ohio.”
“Daniel Reed?”
“Yes.”
“He received a seven-minute call from Cole.”
“That’s impossible.”
Marco turned the screen.
My brother’s number.
Cole’s number.
Seven minutes and twelve seconds.
I stared.
“I haven’t spoken to Daniel in eight months.”
Dominic’s eyes stayed on me.
“Why?”
“Because he’s an idiot.”
Marco blinked.
I continued.
“He gambles.”
“How much?”
“Enough to lose his apartment twice.”
Dominic frowned.
“Does he owe money?”
“Always.”
“How much?”
“I don’t know.”
Dominic’s expression told me that answer wasn’t enough.
I pulled out my phone.
“Call him,” he said.
I dialed.
Voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
My pulse quickened.
Daniel might be irresponsible, but he always answered me eventually.
Especially if he thought I was mad.
“Send a message,” Dominic said.
I typed.
CALL ME. NOW.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered immediately.
“Daniel?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
“Daniel?”
A man spoke.
Not my brother.
“You should’ve kept the little girl quiet.”
My entire body went cold.
Dominic grabbed the phone and switched to speaker.
“Who is this?”
The caller laughed softly.
“Well. Dominic Moretti.”
Dominic’s face went blank.
“Where is Daniel Reed?”
“Alive.”
I gripped the table.
“What did you do to him?”
The man ignored me.
“I asked for one simple thing.”
Dominic looked at Marco.
Marco was already tracing the call.
“What do you want?”
“You know what I want.”
“No. I don’t.”
Another laugh.
“Still pretending Elena didn’t leave anything behind?”
Dominic stopped breathing.
I saw it.
Just for a second.
The name hit him like a punch.
Elena.
His dead wife.
“What are you talking about?” Dominic asked.
“Ask your housekeeper’s daughter.”
My stomach twisted.
“What does Lily have to do with this?”
“She sees things.”
The caller paused.
“And children who see too much tend to become inconvenient.”
Dominic’s voice dropped.
“If you touch that child, there will not be a place on this planet—”
“Threats.”
The man sighed.
“So predictable.”
Then his tone changed.
“Midnight tomorrow. Pier Forty-Seven.”
“For what?”
“You bring Elena’s ledger.”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed.
“And if I don’t?”
“You lose the brother.”
A beat.
“Then eventually, the girl.”
The call ended.
Marco slammed his hand against the keyboard.
“Damn it.”
“Trace?”
“Burner.”
I stared at Dominic.
“What ledger?”
He didn’t answer.
“Dominic.”
His eyes met mine.
“You heard him.”
“What did your wife leave?”
He looked toward the library doors.
Then back at me.
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t believe him.
And he knew it.
“Anna.”
“You know something.”
He rubbed a hand over his face.
“Elena kept records.”
“What kind?”
“Names.”
“Whose names?”
“People who paid officials. Judges. Police. Business owners.”
I felt sick.
“A blackmail file?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Insurance.”
I understood.
Powerful people.
Dangerous information.
“And where is it?”
His answer made everything worse.
“Elena hid it before she died.”
“You never found it?”
“No.”
“Then what does Lily know?”
Dominic looked toward the ceiling.
Toward the room where my daughter was playing.
“I have no idea.”
Then Ethan appeared in the library doorway.
His face was pale.
“Dad?”
Dominic turned.
May you like
“What?”
“I think I know where Mom hid it.”
