Chapter 4 - The Night She Turned Eighteen
Sophia couldn't hear anything except her heartbeat.
Alessandro didn't reach for a weapon.
Didn't deny it.
That frightened her more than Raymond's accusation.
“Say something.”
Alessandro stared at Raymond.
“Sophia—”
“Did you kill my father?”
“No.”
Raymond laughed.
“Ask him where he was that night.”
Sophia turned.
“Where?”
Alessandro's silence lasted too long.
“Where were you?”
“At the warehouse.”
The world tilted.
Her father had been found dead in a warehouse near Bellhaven Harbor.
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“Before he died?”
“Yes.”
“After?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father made me promise.”
Raymond slowly clapped.
“Beautiful.”
Alessandro's men raised their weapons.
Raymond smiled.
“If I die, every document Thomas Chen collected goes public, including the ones showing exactly what the Carusos built this city on.”
Alessandro's voice remained calm.
“You assume I care.”
“You care about her.”
Raymond looked at Sophia.
“That makes you predictable.”
Sophia stepped toward him.
“Where's Marie?”
“Safe.”
“She lied to me for years because of you.”
“She kept you alive because of me.”
“Then tell me what happened to my father.”
Raymond studied her.
“You really look like him when you're angry.”
“Tell me.”
“Your father discovered Vale was trafficking through the eastern terminals.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
Sophia felt sick.
“People?”
Raymond nodded.
“He wanted out. More importantly, he wanted to expose everyone.”
“Everyone?”
“Vale. Corrupt officials. Dock supervisors. Accountants.”
“And the Carusos?”
Raymond looked toward Alessandro.
“Thomas didn't know whether Vittorio was involved.”
“But Alessandro was at the warehouse.”
“Yes.”
Sophia looked at him.
“Why?”
Alessandro finally spoke.
“Your father called me.”
The hospital disappeared around Sophia as he continued.
“He knew someone had betrayed him. He didn't know who.”
“Why call you?”
“Because by then, we were legally married.”
Sophia flinched.
Alessandro noticed.
“He made me promise that if anything happened to him, I would protect you without dragging you into my world.”
“You did a terrible job.”
“Yes.”
No defense.
Again.
It made hating him harder.
“I reached the warehouse at 11:42.”
Sophia knew her father's estimated time of death.
Midnight.
“He was alive?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He'd been shot.”
Sophia closed her eyes.
For six years, she had imagined her father dying alone.
“Was he conscious?”
“Yes.”
Her voice broke.
“What did he say?”
Alessandro looked at her.
“He asked whether you were safe.”
Tears burned her eyes.
“I said yes.”
“What else?”
“He made me promise you would never know about the marriage unless the danger returned.”
Raymond scoffed.
“Touching.”
Alessandro ignored him.
“He gave me a key.”
Sophia's hand moved unconsciously toward her necklace.
A small brass key hung beneath her shirt.
Her father had given it to her when she was fifteen.
Alessandro noticed.
His face changed.
“What?”
She pulled it free.
“This?”
Raymond's smile disappeared.
Alessandro crossed the room in two strides.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father.”
“When?”
“Years before he died.”
Raymond reached inside his jacket.
Every gun rose.
“Easy.”
He produced a photograph.
It showed a bank deposit box.
Number 318.
“The evidence Thomas died protecting is inside that box.”
Sophia looked at her key.
“Where?”
“Bellhaven Union Bank.”
Alessandro said, “That branch closed five years ago.”
“The vault didn't.”
Raymond smiled.
“It sits beneath Vale Tower.”
Sophia stared at him.
Lucien Vale had built his corporate headquarters over the bank.
“He knows?”
“He knows something is there. He doesn't know which box.”
“Then why tell us?”
Raymond's expression darkened.
“Because Vale has Marie.”
“You said she was safe.”
“I lied.”
Sophia lunged.
Alessandro caught her.
Raymond didn't move.
“He'll trade Marie for the key.”
“No.”
Sophia turned toward Alessandro.
“You don't decide that.”
“Vale won't trade her.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Marie has been useful for six years. Once he has the key, she's useless.”
Raymond nodded.
“For once, your husband and I agree.”
Sophia looked between them.
“Then we open the box first.”
Alessandro shook his head.
“Vale Tower has private security.”
“You own half the city.”
“Not that half.”
“Then I guess we're visiting the other half.”
Hours later, Sophia entered Vale Tower wearing a red evening gown.
A charity gala occupied the upper floors.
Hundreds of guests drank champagne while a string quartet played beneath crystal lights.
Alessandro stood beside her in black tie.
His hand hovered near her back without touching.
“You're staring,” Sophia murmured.
“So is everyone else.”
“I thought ruthless mafia bosses weren't supposed to be jealous.”
“I'm not jealous.”
A man passing them smiled at Sophia.
Alessandro stared until he walked away.
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“Terrifyingly secure, then.”
His mouth almost curved.
They reached the private elevator.
Dante disabled the camera for twenty-eight seconds.
They descended.
The old vault remained beneath the building.
Sophia inserted her key into box 318.
It opened.
Inside was a ledger.
A flash drive.
And a sealed letter.
TO MY DAUGHTER.
Sophia touched it.
Then alarms screamed.
Red lights flooded the vault.
Alessandro pulled his weapon.
The elevator doors opened.
Lucien Vale walked out surrounded by armed men.
He was silver-haired, elegant, and smiling.
Beside him stood Marie.
A gun pressed against her head.
“Hello, Sophia.”
Sophia clutched her father's letter.
Vale's eyes dropped to her wedding ringless hand.
“What a shame.”
He smiled at Alessandro.
“You married her at eighteen to save her life.”
May you like
Then he looked at Sophia.
“But did your devoted husband ever tell you what he promised me in exchange?”
