Chapter 7 - THE PAPER TRAIL
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Two hours later, the grand study of the Moretti estate was illuminated only by the crackling fire in the massive hearth.
Eleanor sat comfortably in an oversized leather armchair, sipping hot chamomile tea from fine porcelain china.
I stood beside her chair, holding an old leather handbag that Eleanor had carried into the house that morning.
Luca paced in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the heavy rain that had begun to batter the sprawling grounds.
His guards were stationed every twenty feet along the stone wall, armed with automatic rifles and thermal scopes.
"Tell me everything, Eleanor," Luca requested, stopping his pacing and sitting opposite the elderly woman.
"I want every detail from the night he was taken."
Eleanor set her teacup down on the mahogany table with a soft clatter.
"It was a Tuesday night in November, thirty years ago," she began, staring deeply into the orange flames.
"Your father had invited Arthur Sterling and his top lieutenants to the estate under the guise of an anniversary dinner."
"Maria overheard them in the library; they had locked the doors, but the old dumbwaiter shaft carried their voices straight to the pantry."
"Sterling demanded Julian as collateral for the distribution rights to the Great Lakes shipping corridor."
"Your father didn't even argue with him, Luca."
"Frank simply poured another glass of Scotch and said, 'Take the boy after midnight while he is sleeping, and make sure Maria thinks it was an intruder.'"
Luca closed his eyes, his knuckles turning pure white as he gripped the arms of his leather chair.
"My mother couldn't fight armed men alone," Luca whispered, his heart bleeding through every syllable.
"No, she couldn't," Eleanor agreed, nodding slowly.
"So she called me in absolute panic at eleven o'clock that night."
"We knew that if Frank discovered she helped Julian escape, he would execute her without hesitation."
"So Maria drugged the guard at the back gate, took Julian from his bed, and met my sister Clara at a diner off the interstate."
"They substituted another vehicle, staged the fiery wreck down south with an abandoned vehicle, and let the lake story cover the rest."
"Clara took Julian to a lovely young couple named David and Sarah Miller in Green Bay."
"They were decent, hardworking people who couldn't have children of their own."
"They named him Samuel—Samuel Miller."
Luca leaned forward, his breath catching in his throat.
"Samuel Miller," he repeated the name, tasting it on his tongue as if it were holy scripture.
"Where is he now, Eleanor? Is he still in Wisconsin?"
Eleanor reached into her handbag and pulled out a small, laminated newspaper clipping dated only three months prior.
She handed it across the table to Luca.
I leaned slightly forward and caught a glimpse of the photograph printed on the newsprint.
My breath hitched in my chest.
The man in the photo was thirty-six years old, wearing the blue uniform of a Chicago Fire Department captain.
He had the exact same striking jawline, the same piercing hazel eyes, and the unmistakable wave of dark hair as Luca Moretti.
The headline read: 'Captain Samuel Miller Awarded Medal of Valor for Rescuing Three Children from Burning High-Rise.'
"He is here?" Luca whispered, his hands trembling as he held the paper.
"He lives in Chicago?"
"He moved here five years ago," Eleanor said with a tearful smile.
"He chose to run into burning buildings to save strangers, Luca."
"Maria's blood ran true in him, despite everything Frank tried to steal away."
Luca stared at the photo of his baby brother, a profound sense of awe washing over his hardened features.
"He has no idea who he is, does he?"
"None at all," Eleanor answered softly.
Suddenly, the study doors burst open, and Marco entered with an expression of pure emergency.
"Boss, we have a major problem," Marco announced, out of breath.
"Arthur Sterling's old network just mobilized three armored vehicles heading directly toward the city center."
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"They aren't coming here, Luca."
"They found out who Samuel Miller is, and they're heading straight for Engine Company 42."
