Chapter 6 - Smoke Over Harbor StreetBy morning, the warehouse fire was all over Chicago's local news.
Elena watched footage of firefighters standing beneath a blackened brick building while smoke drifted toward the river.
The reporter described the blaze as suspicious.
The property belonged to Moretti Holdings.
The building had been scheduled for demolition.
And according to the broadcast, evidence had been recovered from a locked office upstairs.
Elena turned off the television.
Sophie sat beside her.
“Is this because of Ryan?”
“I don't know.”
“Are you going back to work?”
Elena looked at her uniform hanging beside the bedroom door.
She had washed it the night before.
The white collar was perfectly ironed.
The idea of putting it on felt absurd.
But staying home meant surrendering another part of her life to Ryan.
“Yes.”
Sophie stared.
“Elena.”
“I need to work.”
“You also need to be alive.”
Elena took her sister's hand.
“I'm going to be careful.”
Rachel had arranged secure transportation for both sisters.
Sophie would travel to campus with a trusted driver.
Elena would go to the mansion.
Neither liked the arrangement.
Both accepted it.
At the mansion, Mrs. Bennett greeted Elena with a hug.
“Dr. Reeves left instructions for managing the swelling if you need them.”
Elena smiled weakly.
“Thank you.”
“Mr. Moretti is in the library.”
Elena hesitated.
“Did he ask for me?”
“No.”
The housekeeper studied her.
“But I think he's hoping you won't disappear.”
Elena looked away.
She spent the morning polishing silver and organizing the breakfast room.
At noon, she carried a tray of tea toward the library.
The door stood slightly open.
Inside, Alessandro was speaking to Marco.
“Who authorized the demolition?”
“Vanessa's office signed the paperwork.”
“Before or after the insurance review?”
“Before.”
“And the warehouse security system?”
“Disabled at ten forty-three last night.”
Alessandro looked up as Elena approached.
She immediately stopped.
“I'm sorry.”
“You don't need to apologize for bringing tea.”
Marco moved aside.
Elena placed the tray on the table.
The room smelled of old books and coffee.
Behind Alessandro's desk hung a portrait of an older man with the same dark eyes.
His father.
Elena looked at it for a moment.
Alessandro noticed.
“Vittorio Moretti.”
“Your father?”
“Yes.”
“He looks very serious.”
“He usually was.”
There was a hint of sadness beneath the answer.
Elena glanced toward the files spread across the desk.
“Did you find anything in the warehouse?”
Alessandro exchanged a look with Marco.
Then he said, “A metal box.”
“Was the ledger inside?”
“No.”
Elena felt disappointed.
“But something else was.”
He opened a folder.
Inside was a photograph of a partially burned document.
Most of the writing was unreadable.
One name remained visible.
Mercer.
Elena stared.
“Ryan?”
“His father.”
She looked up.
“Ryan told me his father was an accountant.”
“He was.”
“For your family?”
“For several companies connected to mine.”
Alessandro leaned back.
“Charles Mercer handled certain accounts before my father died.”
Elena remembered Ryan mentioning his father occasionally.
Never with affection.
He always spoke about the inheritance he believed had been stolen from him.
“Ryan said his father lost everything because of a business betrayal.”
Alessandro's expression sharpened.
“Did he say who betrayed him?”
“No.”
She thought for a moment.
“He used to say the Morettis owed his family a fortune.”
Marco looked toward Alessandro.
A troubling silence settled over the room.
Elena continued.
“He said one day he'd collect.”
Alessandro stood.
“Marco, find Charles Mercer's probate records.”
“Already requested.”
Elena looked between them.
“What's happening?”
Alessandro came around the desk.
“My father's death left a lot of unfinished business.”
“Did Ryan's father take the ledger?”
“We don't know.”
“But Ryan thinks you have it.”
“Possibly.”
Elena's hands felt numb.
“Then he's using me to get close to you.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“That appears likely.”
Shame rushed through her.
“I brought this to your house.”
“No.”
“But if you hadn't hired me—”
“Elena.”
His voice stopped her.
“You applied for a job.”
He waited until she looked up.
“You didn't invite someone to threaten you.”
She stared at him.
The distinction seemed obvious when he said it.
Yet she had spent months blaming herself for everything Ryan did.
Suddenly, Marco's phone rang.
He answered, listened, and went pale.
“What?”
Alessandro turned.
Marco looked at Elena.
“We have a problem.”
Her heart sank.
“Sophie?”
Marco nodded.
“The driver reached her college.”
Elena gripped the desk.
“Where is she?”
“She never entered her classroom.”
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Elena's phone buzzed.
A message appeared from Sophie's number.
May you like
I'm sorry, Elena.
He said he'd hurt you if I didn't come.
