Chapter 6 - THE RED NOTICE ON THE DOOR|
The notice was bright red.
It had been taped directly over the little hand-painted sign that said CARUSO'S FAMILY RESTAURANT.
Below an official-looking city seal were three words.
UNSAFE FOR OCCUPANCY.
Mrs. Caruso stood beneath the sign with tears running down her cheeks.
A crowd had gathered on the sidewalk.
Some people were neighbors.
Others were shopkeepers from nearby businesses.
Everyone seemed frightened.
I found her sitting on an overturned milk crate beside the entrance.
“Mrs. Caruso.”
She lifted her face.
“They're saying the back wall could collapse.”
I looked through the restaurant window.
The same wall had stood there since long before I was born.
“What happened to it?”
“I don't know.”
She gripped my hand.
“Three weeks ago, the city inspector said everything was fine.”
Luca arrived several minutes later with Nina and Marco.
He examined the red notice.
Then he called the number printed beneath the inspector's name.
He listened to the recorded message.
His expression hardened.
“Office is closed.”
Nina took a photograph.
“This order says the building presents an immediate public danger.”
“Is that true?” I asked.
“That's what we need to determine.”
Luca looked toward the roofline.
“I had our engineers inspect every property we purchased last quarter.”
Nina turned.
“Do you have their reports?”
“Marco will get them.”
A man in a gray city jacket approached from the sidewalk.
His identification badge read ROBERT FENWICK.
“Everybody needs to move away from the entrance.”
Luca stepped forward.
“Are you the inspector?”
“Yes.”
“Where's your structural assessment?”
Fenwick looked irritated.
“Filed with the department.”
“I want to see it.”
“You can request a copy.”
Nina produced her business card.
“I've already requested one.”
Fenwick glanced at it.
His expression shifted.
“Ms. Alvarez.”
“You issued an emergency closure without notifying the current tenant's attorney.”
“I wasn't aware she had one.”
“You are now.”
Fenwick looked toward Mrs. Caruso.
For a moment, something like guilt crossed his face.
Then he said, “My job is to protect public safety.”
“Then you'll have no objection to an independent engineer examining the building.”
His mouth tightened.
“Not while there's a demolition order pending.”
I stared at him.
“Demolition?”
He looked at me as though I'd interrupted something important.
“Yes, miss.”
“When?”
“Emergency work can begin once the required notices are served.”
Nina stepped closer.
“Which could be tomorrow morning.”
Fenwick didn't answer.
He didn't have to.
The crowd began murmuring.
A woman from the bakery next door stepped forward.
“My grandmother lived upstairs for forty-two years.”
Another man raised his voice.
“They've been sending us notices too.”
I looked at the frightened faces around me.
People whose entire lives had been built along these streets.
People who didn't have private attorneys or billionaire friends.
I suddenly understood why the list of thirty-seven addresses mattered.
Caruso's wasn't simply a valuable piece of real estate.
It was the first building someone wanted to clear from the block.
And if they succeeded, the others would have less reason to believe they could resist.
Luca faced Fenwick.
“Nothing happens to this building until the inspection is reviewed.”
Fenwick glanced at him.
“With respect, Mr. Moretti, your name is on the development application.”
Luca went completely still.
Nina held out her hand.
“May I see that application?”
Fenwick looked uncomfortable.
“You can obtain it through the department.”
“Then preserve the complete file, including all supporting documents and submission records.”
Luca stared at the inspector.
“Did Daniel Voss submit it?”
Fenwick looked away.
“I can't discuss that.”
That was answer enough.
Back at the mansion, Vanessa waited inside the drawing room.
She wore a cream-colored dress and looked as though she'd spent the afternoon at a spa.
The engagement ring still glittered on her finger.
She smiled when Luca entered.
“Darling, I was wondering when you'd come home.”
He didn't smile back.
“Your father's company is behind the redevelopment.”
She lowered her glass.
“That's hardly a secret.”
“It was to me.”
“You don't read half the contracts your people put in front of you.”
Luca didn't deny it.
Instead, he asked, “Did you know about the structural demolition order?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“I'm not responsible for city inspections.”
“Did you know?”
“Luca, the building is falling apart.”
“An independent report from three weeks ago says otherwise.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“You've been talking to that lawyer.”
“Yes.”
“She's been trying to destroy your family for years.”
“She's been trying to make my company answer for things it did.”
Vanessa laughed.
“Listen to yourself.”
She walked toward him.
“Your father built this empire through intimidation, and you inherited it because you were willing to protect what belonged to you.”
Luca stared at her.
“Is that what you think?”
“It's what everyone knows.”
She lowered her voice.
“Don't start pretending you're a saint because some housekeeper made you feel guilty.”
I stood beside the hallway door, carrying a tray of untouched coffee.
I hadn't intended to overhear the conversation.
But neither of them had noticed me.
Luca removed the engagement ring he'd been wearing on a chain beneath his shirt.
Vanessa had given it to him the night they announced their engagement.
He placed it on the table.
“We're finished.”
For several seconds, she didn't move.
Then she laughed.
“You're ending our engagement over a restaurant?”
“I'm ending it because I don't trust you.”
Her face changed.
Something frightened moved behind her anger.
“My father won't accept this.”
“Your father doesn't get a vote.”
“You have no idea what he'll do.”
Luca stepped back.
“Then he can tell me himself.”
Vanessa stared at the ring.
“You think Teresa Caruso is worth losing everything?”
Luca's answer came without hesitation.
“No.”
Vanessa looked momentarily relieved.
Then he continued.
“I'm finally realizing what everything has cost other people.”
He turned toward the doorway.
That was when he saw me.
Neither of us spoke.
I expected him to ask whether I'd been listening.
Instead, he looked at the untouched coffee in my hands.
“You can put that down, Emma.”
I set the tray on a side table.
Vanessa brushed past me.
Her expression was murderous.
“This isn't over,” she whispered.
I watched her disappear upstairs.
A few minutes later, Nina called.
She had obtained the emergency demolition paperwork.
Luca put the call on speaker.
“There's something you need to know,” she said.
“The demolition company has already reserved equipment.”
“When?” Luca asked.
Nina paused.
“Five thirty tomorrow morning.”
I looked at the clock.
It was nearly seven in the evening.
May you like
We had less than eleven hours to stop someone from tearing down Mrs. Caruso's entire life.
And the people behind it had already demonstrated that they weren't afraid to break the law.
