Chapter 10 - THE DOOR BETWEEN A FATHER AND HIS SON|
By the time we reached the waterfront, the city was asleep.
Cold wind swept across the docks.
The river looked black beneath the scattered lights of distant buildings.
Police vehicles were positioned along the streets surrounding the old Harbor Light warehouse.
I sat in the back of an unmarked car with Elena while Luca spoke to Detective Brooks.
Nobody had allowed him to enter the building.
For once, Luca Moretti didn't argue about who was in charge.
His son was somewhere beyond those brick walls.
And he understood that pride would not bring Benjamin home.
Detective Brooks approached our car.
"We've confirmed that three adults and one child are inside."
My breath caught.
"Is Benjamin okay?"
"We haven't established his condition yet."
Luca stepped closer.
"Let me speak to them."
The detective considered him.
"They've demanded contact with you."
"Then use me."
A negotiation officer joined them.
Elena handed over copies of Caroline's notebook and the financial records.
"The originals are secured," she explained.
"These are the documents they believe Luca still has."
Detective Brooks nodded.
"We aren't giving anyone control of the evidence or the trust."
Luca looked toward the warehouse.
"I only want my son."
A few minutes later, his phone rang.
Dominic's name appeared on the screen.
The detective activated the recording equipment.
Luca answered.
"Where is Benjamin?"
Dominic laughed.
"Still asking the wrong questions."
"Let me hear his voice."
"First, tell me whether you brought Caroline's notebook."
"I have copies of everything."
"Copies aren't enough."
Luca glanced at Detective Brooks.
She nodded for him to continue.
"What do you want, Dominic?"
"The original records destroyed, the complaint withdrawn, and the bank transfer released."
Luca didn't hesitate.
"You can have a discussion about the documents when my son is safe."
Dominic's voice hardened.
"You don't get to make demands."
Luca closed his eyes briefly.
Then spoke in a voice I had never heard from him.
"Dominic, I've known you since I was nineteen."
Silence.
"You stood beside me when my father died."
No response.
"You held Benjamin at his christening."
Dominic exhaled.
"Don't try to make this sentimental."
"You told him he was family."
Luca's voice cracked.
"And now you've taken him from me."
For several seconds, neither man spoke.
Then Dominic answered.
"You should have left Caroline's things alone."
The call ended.
I saw Luca lower his phone.
His expression was one of pure devastation.
Detective Brooks immediately spoke into her radio.
An officer had spotted movement near the rear loading doors.
Another reported that one of the suspected kidnappers was preparing a vehicle.
Everything began happening quickly.
I remained beside Elena, my heart racing.
Then a sharp voice came over the radio.
"Child located in the upstairs office."
I grabbed Elena's hand.
Another voice answered.
"Officers moving to secure the room."
The next few minutes felt longer than my entire life.
We heard orders being shouted.
Footsteps.
A door slamming.
Then silence.
Finally, Detective Brooks's radio crackled.
"The child is safe."
I broke down.
I didn't care who saw me.
I covered my face and cried.
Luca stood motionless.
Then he turned toward the detective.
"Can I see him?"
She nodded.
"Once the medical team checks him."
They brought Benjamin outside wrapped in a gray emergency blanket.
His face was pale.
His hair was tangled.
There were tear marks on his cheeks.
But he was walking.
He was alive.
When he saw Luca, he stopped.
For one terrible second, he seemed uncertain whether he was allowed to run.
Then he screamed.
"Daddy!"
Luca dropped to his knees.
Benjamin ran straight into his arms.
His father held him so tightly that the emergency blanket slipped from his shoulders.
"I'm here, Ben."
The child sobbed.
"I'm sorry, Daddy."
Luca pulled back.
"Why are you apologizing?"
Benjamin's voice shook.
"Because I went with them."
Luca pressed a kiss to his forehead.
"You were trying to reach me because they lied to you."
Benjamin cried harder.
"I thought you were hurt."
"I'm okay, sweetheart."
"I thought I was never going to see you again."
Luca's eyes filled.
"You came home."
I stood several feet away, trying not to intrude.
Then Benjamin looked over his father's shoulder.
"Miss Claire!"
I moved toward him.
He reached out one hand.
"You're here."
I knelt beside them.
"Of course I am."
Benjamin threw his arms around my neck.
"You told Daddy."
I began crying again.
"I promised I would."
He held me for several seconds.
Then whispered something against my shoulder.
"I tried to remember what you said."
"What did I say, sweetheart?"
"That being scared doesn't mean I'm bad."
I held him a little tighter.
"That's right."
An emergency medical worker approached to examine Benjamin.
He had minor bruising and was exhausted, but there were no signs of serious physical injury.
Detective Brooks returned shortly afterward.
"Two men have been arrested inside."
Luca looked up.
"And Vanessa?"
"In custody."
"Dominic?"
She hesitated.
"He escaped through a rear service exit before the perimeter was fully secured."
Luca's expression hardened.
Detective Brooks continued.
"We've issued an alert, and we're searching for him."
Luca looked down at Benjamin.
For a moment, I feared he would let anger carry him away.
But instead, he simply held his son closer.
"Find him," he said quietly.
The detective nodded.
"We intend to."
As Benjamin was helped into the ambulance for a precautionary examination, he suddenly grabbed Luca's sleeve.
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Is Uncle Dominic going to be angry because I told?"
Luca went still.
"Told what?"
Benjamin looked frightened.
"The thing he said about Mommy."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Luca crouched beside him.
"What did he say?"
Benjamin twisted the emergency blanket between his fingers.
"He said Mommy would still be alive if she'd learned when to keep her mouth shut."
Luca's face turned white.
I stared at the little boy.
Benjamin began crying again.
"I don't understand, Daddy."
His voice became smaller.
"Did Uncle Dominic make Mommy go away, too?"
Luca couldn't answer.
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And for the first time, I understood that Caroline's death might be more than a tragedy connected to stolen money.
It might have been the first crime in a plan that had finally reached her son.
