Chapter 2 - The Photograph Under the FloorThe phone kept ringing.
One of Lorenzo's men pulled it from Leo's abandoned seat.
“Boss.”
Lorenzo looked at the screen.
No name.
Blocked number.
He answered.
Nobody spoke.
Then a distorted voice said three words.
“She's lying to you.”
Click.
The call ended.
Lorenzo stared at the phone.
Nora had gone pale.
“You know that voice?”
She shook her head too quickly.
“No.”
Lorenzo noticed.
He noticed everything.
A hesitation.
A blink.
A clenched hand.
A person could hide words.
The body was harder to control.
“Nora.”
She looked at him.
“You know who called.”
She swallowed.
“I've never heard that voice.”
Lorenzo didn't press her.
Not yet.
Instead, he ordered one of his men to lock every exit.
Nora suddenly panicked.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because they'll come.”
“Who?”
She looked around the lounge.
“Everyone.”
One of Lorenzo's men frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
Nora pulled away from Lorenzo.
“I need to leave.”
“You just said you didn't want Leo.”
“I don't.”
“Then why run?”
“Because Leo isn't the worst part.”
Lorenzo stared at her.
“What is?”
Nora's eyes moved toward the windows.
“The people behind him.”
Before Lorenzo could answer, every light in the lounge flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then the entire building went dark.
A gunshot exploded somewhere downstairs.
People screamed.
Lorenzo stood immediately.
“Stay behind me.”
Nora obeyed.
Another gunshot.
Then another.
His men moved toward the doors.
Lorenzo pulled Nora behind the bar.
Glass shattered above them.
Someone was shooting from outside.
“Sniper,” one guard shouted.
Lorenzo looked at Nora.
“Who knew you were here?”
She shook her head.
“I don't know.”
He grabbed her hand.
“Think.”
She closed her eyes.
Then suddenly whispered.
“Leo.”
“He knew?”
“No.”
She looked horrified.
“Leo knew where I'd go because he put something in my apartment.”
“What?”
“A tracker.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
Before he could answer, the power returned.
The room became bright again.
And everyone froze.
A red laser dot appeared on Nora's chest.
Lorenzo moved instantly.
He shoved her down.
The window exploded.
A bullet tore through the sofa.
Lorenzo's men rushed toward the shattered glass.
The shooter was gone.
Nora was shaking.
Lorenzo crouched beside her.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head.
Then she reached beneath her dress.
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
Slowly, Nora pulled out a tiny brass key.
“I stole this from Leo.”
He took it.
“What does it open?”
“I don't know.”
“You risked your life for a key you can't identify?”
“No.”
She looked at the key.
“I risked my life because Leo was willing to kill me to get it back.”
Lorenzo turned it over.
There was a number engraved on the metal.
“Where did you find it?”
“In Daniel's old room.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“You said your brother died three years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you still had access to his room?”
“My mother kept the house.”
Nora hesitated.
“There was something beneath his floor.”
“What?”
“A locked box.”
Lorenzo waited.
“What was inside?”
“A photograph.”
He frowned.
“Just a photograph?”
“No.”
Nora stared directly at him.
“There was a second photograph behind it.”
“Of what?”
“Leo.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“And?”
Nora's voice dropped to a whisper.
“He wasn't alone.”
“Who was with him?”
Nora looked toward the broken window.
“Your father.”
Lorenzo went completely still.
His father had been dead for eleven years.
Nora's hands began shaking again.
“That's why Leo wants me dead.”
Lorenzo looked down at the brass key.
Then he noticed something engraved on the back.
A letter.
May you like
R.
His own family initial.
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