Chapter 9 - A Heart Worth Saving
“No.”
Lorenzo said it before Rafael finished speaking.
The line went quiet.
Then Rafael laughed.
“You still think you get to say no.”
“You threaten my daughter again,” Lorenzo said, “and there will be nowhere you can hide.”
“I’m not threatening Isabella. I’m reminding you what fear feels like.”
The call ended.
For a moment, Lorenzo stood perfectly still.
Then he turned to Vincent.
“Prepare the cars.”
“No,” I said.
Both men looked at me.
“You are not taking me to that warehouse.”
Rafael had asked for me.
That meant he wanted Lorenzo emotional.
Reactive.
Easy to control.
“I’m not leaving you unprotected,” Lorenzo said.
“You are not using me as bait.”
“We may not have a choice.”
“Yes, we do.”
I walked to the table where the evidence from Vivien’s case had been spread out: camera logs, keycard records, printed messages, copies of her bank transfers.
Then I saw it.
A number scribbled beside one of the transfers.
A warehouse inventory code.
Rafael had not chosen the Red Hook warehouse randomly.
Vivien had paid someone connected to the old Duca operation.
“Vincent,” I said. “Who owned the warehouse before Lorenzo?”
Vincent’s expression shifted.
“His uncle, Matteo.”
“And who worked for Matteo?”
“Rafael.”
“Then he knows the building better than you do.”
Lorenzo’s face darkened.
“He knows every exit.”
May you like
“Not every room.”
I pointed at the old floor plan.
