Chapter 7 - The Case Beneath My SeatThe rescue boat arrived forty minutes later.
Vincent said nothing about the case.
Neither did I.
It was taken to shore with us.
We were transported to a private compound hidden beyond a wall of pine trees.
Nobody asked questions.
Nobody searched us.
Everyone already knew who Vincent was.
But they also looked at me.
Not like a child.
Like a problem.
That night, I couldn't sleep.
Maya was in the next room with Luca.
Vincent was somewhere downstairs.
I left my room.
The compound was enormous.
Stone walls.
Cameras.
Guards.
And one locked room at the end of the corridor.
I tried the handle.
Locked.
I heard footsteps.
Vincent.
"What are you doing?"
"I want the case."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because you're ten."
"That doesn't answer me."
He looked at me for several seconds.
Then he unlocked the door.
The case was inside.
I stared.
It was much smaller than I expected.
Vincent placed it on the table.
"You open it."
"Why?"
"Because it's yours."
I didn't like that answer.
I touched the latches.
They opened immediately.
Inside was a red notebook.
A hospital bracelet.
A USB drive.
Three photographs.
And a sealed envelope.
My hands shook.
I picked up the bracelet.
LENA MORETTI.
DOB: October 14, 2016.
Mother: Elena Moretti.
Father: Vincent Moretti.
I looked at Vincent.
"These are fake."
"No."
"You said my mother was Rachel."
"She changed her identity."
"You are my father."
His silence was enough.
I stepped backward.
"No."
"Lena."
"No."
"Listen."
"You lied to me."
"I did."
"Why?"
"Because I needed to know whether your mother had told you."
"Told me what?"
He looked at the envelope.
"Open it."
I did.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
My mother's.
Lena,
If you're reading this, then Vincent finally knows you survived.
I stopped breathing.
I lied to you because the truth would make you a target.
You were never supposed to know your father's name.
You were never supposed to remember the fire.
And you were never supposed to find the room.
I looked at Vincent.
He was reading over my shoulder.
The letter continued.
The Ravens believe there are three keys.
One is with Vincent.
One is with the child who survived.
And one is hidden inside the family.
I frowned.
"Three keys?"
Vincent's eyes hardened.
The next line was underlined.
Do not trust the man who saved you.
I looked up.
"You saved me from the crash."
Vincent didn't speak.
I read on.
He did not save you in the fire.
The room went silent.
I stared at Vincent.
"Who did?"
He closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
The final sentence was written in different ink.
Ask Vincent what happened to Elena.
I looked at him.
"What happened?"
He didn't answer.
I asked again.
"What happened to my mother?"
Vincent's jaw tightened.
Then the door behind us opened.
One of his guards entered.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We found something."
The guard held up the black disc.
"The transmitter wasn't transmitting to the people who planted it."
Vincent turned.
"Then who?"
The guard swallowed.
"It was transmitting to this house."
Vincent's face changed.
"From where?"
The guard pointed toward the wall.
"Inside."
We all looked at it.
There was a faint vibration.
A hidden speaker clicked.
Then my mother's voice filled the room.
"Vincent."
He froze.
"You brought her home."
A pause.
"Good."
I stepped closer to the wall.
"Mom?"
Her voice returned.
"Hello, Lena."
I almost cried.
"Where are you?"
"Very close."
"Come out."
"I can't."
"Why?"
Silence.
Then:
"Because Vincent isn't the one protecting you."
Vincent reached for his gun.
My mother's voice whispered:
"He's the reason they found you."
The speaker went dead.
Vincent stared at the wall.
I looked at him.
"Is it true?"
He didn't answer.
Then every camera in the compound turned toward us.
One by one.
The screens outside the room lit up.
And on every screen was a live image of my mother.
Standing inside the house.
Only she wasn't ten meters away.
May you like
She was standing in our old apartment in New York.
And behind her was a burning wall.
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