Chapter 3
My Father'S Secret
I didn't sleep.
At three in the morning, I sat in Luca Moretti's kitchen wearing borrowed sweatpants and holding a cup of coffee I had forgotten to drink.
Bruno was asleep in the library under Dr. Harris's supervision.
Vanessa had been taken to the police station.
Antonio had left with his attorney after the police said they didn't yet have grounds to detain him.
And my entire understanding of my father had just been destroyed by a photograph.
Luca sat across from me.
His suit jacket was gone.
His tie hung loose around his neck.
I'd never seen him look tired before.
“Tell me about Daniel Sullivan.”
I stared at the photograph between us.
“There isn't much to tell.”
“There is always more than people think.”
“My father repaired elevators.”
Luca's eyebrows lifted.
“Elevators?”
“Yes.”
“For whom?”
“Different companies. Hotels. Office buildings. Hospitals.”
“Warehouses?”
I looked at the photograph.
“I don't know.”
“What year did he die?”
“Fourteen years ago.”
“That photograph was taken fifteen years ago.”
I looked at him.
“So?”
“So your father knew mine shortly before his death.”
“My father never mentioned the Morettis.”
“Mine never mentioned the Sullivans.”
That didn't make me feel better.
I rubbed my temples.
“My dad wasn't involved in organized crime.”
“I didn't say he was.”
“You were thinking it.”
“No.”
“How do I know?”
Luca leaned back.
“Because people who work for criminal organizations rarely pose smiling beside my father while wearing an elevator repair uniform.”
I looked at the picture again.
He was right.
Dad wore navy coveralls.
His company logo was visible over his chest.
Morrison Vertical Systems.
A company I'd almost forgotten existed.
“What did your father own at the time?”
“Several buildings.”
“Did he own that warehouse?”
Luca studied the background.
“I don't recognize it.”
Michael entered carrying a laptop.
“We found the address.”
He placed the computer on the counter.
An old property record filled the screen.
The warehouse had stood on West Cermak Road.
It had belonged to a holding company.
Luca read the company name.
“Lake Sterling Development.”
Michael nodded.
“Dissolved eleven years ago.”
“Owners?”
“On paper? Nobody interesting. But the registered agent worked for Bellini Holdings.”
Luca went still.
Vanessa's family.
I stared at him.
“So my father worked in a Bellini building?”
“Possibly.”
Michael clicked another file.
“There's more. Lake Sterling had an elevator modernization permit issued fifteen years ago.”
My heart beat faster.
“Contractor?”
Michael looked at me.
“Morrison Vertical Systems.”
The room became very quiet.
Luca folded his hands.
“Your father was there because of work.”
I exhaled.
A little relief.
Then Michael ruined it.
“The building burned down six months after this photograph.”
My relief vanished.
“Accident?”
“Officially electrical.”
“Unofficially?” Luca asked.
Michael gave him a look.
“I'm still digging.”
I stood.
“I should go home.”
Luca's expression changed.
“No.”
I stared at him.
“No?”
“Someone searched your room.”
“I noticed.”
“Someone may know where your family lives.”
That stopped me.
My mother.
Ethan.
I reached for my phone.
Luca spoke quietly.
“Call them.”
My mother answered on the fourth ring.
“Emma?”
Her voice was sleepy.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“What?”
“Is everything okay at the apartment?”
“Yes. Why?”
I closed my eyes.
“Nothing. I just... wanted to hear your voice.”
“It's three-thirty in the morning.”
“I know.”
“Did something happen at work?”
I looked at Luca.
He watched me carefully.
“Sort of.”
“What does sort of mean?”
“It means I'll explain later.”
My mother sighed.
“Emma Sullivan, you have been saying you'll explain later since you learned how to talk.”
Despite everything, I smiled.
“Is Ethan there?”
“No. Library.”
“At three-thirty?”
“He has exams.”
My brother was twenty-one and studying engineering.
He also believed sleep was a government conspiracy.
“Text me when he gets home.”
“Emma, what's going on?”
“Please.”
She became quiet.
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I ended the call.
Luca stood.
“Michael, put a car outside their building.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
He looked at me.
“My mother will notice.”
“Then make it discreet.”
Michael nodded.
I frowned.
“You can't just assign armed men to my family.”
“I can.”
“That wasn't permission.”
His eyes met mine.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he said something I didn't expect.
“You're right.”
Michael looked almost shocked.
Luca continued.
“I should have asked.”
He pulled out a chair.
“Emma, may I put security near your mother and brother until we know whether they're in danger?”
The feared man in Chicago had just asked his housekeeper for permission.
I sat down again.
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Michael left.
I watched Luca.
“You're different tonight.”
“So are you.”
“I carried your dog into an engagement dinner.”
“Yes.”
“I think that excuses me.”
For the first time all night, the corner of his mouth moved.
Almost a smile.
“You've always been like this, haven't you?”
“Like what?”
“Stubborn.”
“My mother calls it determined.”
“Your mother is diplomatic.”
I finally took a sip of my coffee.
It was cold.
At four in the morning, Dr. Harris came in.
“Bruno's stable.”
Luca stood immediately.
“Stable meaning?”
“Meaning I'm cautiously optimistic.”
“Can I see him?”
“He's sleeping.”
“I didn't ask if he was awake.”
The veterinarian sighed.
“Five minutes.”
Luca looked at me.
“Come with me.”
I followed him.
Bruno lay under a blanket.
His breathing was slower now.
Luca sat beside him.
I stayed near the doorway.
“You don't have to hover,” he said.
“I wasn't hovering.”
“You're six feet away.”
“That's not hovering.”
“Emma.”
I walked closer.
Bruno opened one eye.
His tail tapped.
“You scared everyone,” I whispered.
His tail tapped again.
Luca touched the dog's ear.
“My father gave him to me when I was twenty.”
I looked at him.
“I thought Bruno belonged to your father.”
“He did, technically.”
His voice softened.
“My father bought him because I was becoming someone he didn't like.”
“What does that mean?”
“I was angry.”
“At twenty?”
“At everything.”
He smiled faintly.
“He said a dog forces a man to care about something that can't be impressed by money or afraid of his last name.”
“That sounds smart.”
“He usually was.”
Luca looked toward the doorway.
“Except about Antonio.”
I hesitated.
“You think your uncle poisoned your father?”
“I think my father believed somebody was.”
“And Vanessa knew about the safe.”
“Yes.”
“What was on the flash drive?”
“I haven't opened it.”
“Why?”
His eyes met mine.
“Because somebody tore apart your room looking for something.”
He took the photograph from his pocket.
“And somehow this was hidden inside your apron.”
My skin prickled.
“You think whoever searched my room put it there?”
“Maybe.”
“That makes no sense.”
“Unless they wanted you to find it.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
Bruno suddenly lifted his head.
He sniffed.
Then growled toward the hallway.
Luca stood immediately.
Footsteps approached.
Michael appeared.
His face was grim.
“What happened?” Luca asked.
“Your office.”
We followed him.
Luca's office door was open.
The safe behind his painting had been unlocked.
Not forced.
Unlocked.
The flash drive was gone.
Luca stared.
“Who has the code?”
“You. Me. Antonio.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
Michael continued.
“Security cameras went down for six minutes.”
“When?”
“Eleven minutes ago.”
I looked toward the hallway.
We had all been with Bruno.
“Antonio came back?”
Michael shook his head.
“No vehicle entered the property.”
“Then somebody's still inside,” I said.
Luca looked at me.
Michael reached for his radio.
The lights went out.
The mansion fell into darkness.
Somewhere downstairs, glass shattered.
Then a woman screamed.
Luca grabbed my wrist.
“Stay behind me.”
A gunshot exploded from the first floor.
Then another.
Bruno began barking.
Michael drew his weapon.
Emergency lights flickered red along the hallway.
Through the darkness, a voice came over the security radio.
“East gate breached.”
Luca pulled me toward the wall.
“Whoever came for that drive isn't leaving with it.”
Another shot.
Closer.
Then my phone vibrated.
A text message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There were only seven words.
YOUR FATHER DIDN'T DIE IN THAT CAR.
Underneath was a photograph.
Taken less than one hour ago.
A gray-haired man walking into a convenience store.
My hands started shaking.
Because even after fourteen years, I recognized him.
May you like
My father was alive.
Chapters 1–10
