Chapter 2 - THE MEN AT THE GATE|
"Nobody opens that gate."
Luca Moretti's voice was so cold that even Vanessa stopped moving.
I stood near the marble staircase with Benjamin trembling in my arms.
Outside, two strangers were waiting to take a nine-year-old boy away from his home.
And somehow, they already knew his father had discovered their plan.
Luca pressed his phone against his ear.
"Mateo, lock down the property and photograph their license plate."
His head of security answered immediately.
"Already done, boss."
"Are they armed?"
"Can't confirm, but neither man is wearing a uniform."
"Then nobody approaches them alone."
Vanessa took a nervous step forward.
"Luca, you're making this situation unnecessarily dramatic."
Luca turned toward her.
"Unnecessarily dramatic?"
She swallowed.
"It's a private educational placement, not a kidnapping."
"Then explain why two strangers arrived to collect my son without my permission."
Vanessa opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Benjamin clung to my neck.
"Claire, don't let them take me."
I kissed the top of his head.
"Nobody is taking you anywhere, sweetheart."
But I could feel his heart pounding against my chest.
He had been living with this fear long before tonight.
And suddenly, I wondered how many nights he had cried himself to sleep without anyone knowing why.
Luca approached us slowly.
"Benjamin, look at me."
The little boy raised his tearstained face.
"I'm not going to New York."
Benjamin stared at him.
"You're staying?"
"I'm staying."
"Even if Vanessa gets mad?"
Luca's jaw tightened.
"Especially then."
For the first time that evening, Benjamin loosened his grip around my neck.
Luca held out his arms.
His son hesitated for one heartbreaking second before reaching for him.
I watched Chicago's most feared mafia boss lift his nine-year-old child as though he were something impossibly fragile.
"I'm sorry, buddy," Luca whispered.
Benjamin pressed his face against his father's shoulder.
"I thought you didn't want me anymore."
Luca closed his eyes.
Those seven words seemed to hurt him more than anything his enemies had ever done.
Then Mateo's voice came through the phone again.
"Boss, the men are showing us paperwork."
"What paperwork?"
"They say they're from Hawthorne Residential Services."
Vanessa immediately looked toward the front doors.
Luca noticed.
"Have they got a court order?"
"No, sir."
"Any government identification?"
"Just identification cards from a private transportation company."
"Then call the police and keep them outside."
Vanessa gasped.
"The police?"
Luca faced her.
"Did you think I would simply hand my son over?"
She pressed a hand against her chest.
"Darling, I was trying to get him professional help."
"Help for what?"
"His behavioral problems."
I felt anger rise inside me.
Benjamin was one of the gentlest children I had ever known.
He apologized when he accidentally stepped on flowers.
He saved the marshmallows from his hot chocolate because he believed the kitchen staff might enjoy them.
And every Sunday, he placed fresh roses beside the photograph of his grandmother.
If he had become withdrawn recently, it was because someone had made him afraid inside his own home.
"Mr. Moretti," I said quietly.
Luca looked at me.
"Benjamin hasn't been having behavioral problems."
Vanessa laughed bitterly.
"Of course you'd say that, Claire."
I continued anyway.
"He's been asking whether people can stop loving someone without telling them."
Benjamin went still against his father's shoulder.
"He's been hiding food in his bedroom because he thought he might be sent somewhere he wouldn't get dinner."
Luca's expression changed.
"What?"
Vanessa shook her head.
"That's ridiculous."
"Three nights ago," I continued, "he asked me whether children are allowed to call home from boarding schools."
Luca looked at his son.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Benjamin's lips trembled.
"Vanessa said you were too busy."
Silence filled the entrance hall.
Then Luca turned toward his wife.
"You told my son I didn't have time for him?"
Vanessa's eyes filled with angry tears.
"You've been traveling constantly, Luca."
"That's not what I asked."
"You leave me here to manage everything!"
"You managed to arrange my son's disappearance."
Before she could respond, Mateo called again.
"The SUV is leaving, boss."
Luca frowned.
"Why?"
"Police dispatch confirmed a patrol car is on its way, and the men suddenly decided the appointment was canceled."
"Follow with the exterior cameras and save every second of footage."
"Understood."
I expected Vanessa to look relieved.
Instead, she looked frightened.
Her phone vibrated inside her evening purse.
She glanced down.
Then she quickly turned the screen away.
Luca noticed that too.
"Who keeps messaging you?"
"My sister."
"You told me your sister was in Paris."
"She is."
"Then answer it."
Vanessa stared at him.
"You're not seriously demanding to inspect my personal messages."
Luca said nothing.
He simply watched her.
Finally, Vanessa backed toward the staircase.
"I won't stand here and be interrogated like a criminal."
She hurried upstairs.
Nobody followed her.
Luca lowered Benjamin gently to the floor.
"Claire, could you take him to the sitting room?"
"Of course."
Benjamin grabbed his father's hand.
"You're not leaving again, are you?"
Luca crouched beside him.
"I'm going to check my office, buddy."
"Promise you'll come back?"
"I promise."
Benjamin studied his face before finally releasing him.
I took the boy toward the sitting room and settled him beneath a blanket.
He asked me to leave the door open.
I agreed without hesitation.
A few minutes later, Mateo appeared in the doorway.
His face was grim.
"Claire, is Benjamin all right?"
"He will be."
Mateo glanced toward the staircase.
"Something happened while those men were at the gate."
My stomach tightened.
"What happened?"
"Someone used Vanessa's security authorization to open the west garage."
"Who?"
"We're still checking the cameras."
He looked toward Benjamin, then lowered his voice.
"A white sedan left the property through the service entrance."
"Was Vanessa inside?"
"No."
"Then who was driving?"
Mateo's expression darkened.
"That's what worries me."
Before I could ask another question, Luca appeared at the end of the hallway.
He was holding a small black velvet pouch.
His face had lost all color.
"Mateo, seal the garage."
"Yes, boss."
Then Luca looked directly at me.
"Claire, did my mother ever tell you about a blue notebook?"
I shook my head.
"Why?"
He opened the velvet pouch.
It was empty.
"Because someone just stole the one thing she left behind that could explain why she died."
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And from the sitting room, Benjamin whispered something I almost didn't hear.
"Grandma told me there were two."
