Chapter 11 - THE EMPTY CHAIR|
Luca didn't shout when he saw his father's empty room.
He didn't threaten the guards.
He didn't break anything.
He stood perfectly still, staring at Frank's glasses on the table.
Then he called Detective Torres.
I had never respected him more.
A year earlier, I was certain Luca would have ordered armed men into the streets and demanded that the person responsible be brought back to him.
But now he understood that protecting his father meant trusting people trained to handle a kidnapping.
The police arrived quickly.
They examined the guesthouse, interviewed the staff, and reviewed the available security records.
A vehicle had entered through the service gate earlier that evening.
The driver had presented identification suggesting he was transporting Frank to a medical appointment.
Frank had apparently believed he was going to see a specialist.
The identification was false.
And somebody had provided enough personal information to make the deception convincing.
Detective Torres looked at Luca.
"Did your father have an appointment?"
"No."
"Would he have recognized the driver?"
"Not necessarily."
I remembered how often Frank complained about his medications and appointments.
Someone who knew his routine could have persuaded him to leave voluntarily.
That frightened me even more than the thought of somebody forcing him into a vehicle.
Dominic knew Frank.
He knew what worried him.
And he knew how to make fear sound like concern.
An hour later, Luca received another call.
This time, the detective was present.
Luca answered according to her instructions.
"Where is my father?"
Dominic's voice came through.
"Safe, for now."
"What do you want?"
"I want the financial records Elena left behind."
"They're with the police."
"Then persuade your friends to give them back."
Luca's voice remained steady.
"You're making a terrible mistake."
Dominic laughed.
"Don't lecture me about mistakes, Luca."
He paused.
"I raised you to understand that family comes first."
"Then why are you hurting mine?"
For the first time, Dominic sounded angry.
"Because your mother couldn't leave well enough alone."
I felt Luca's entire body tighten.
But he didn't interrupt.
"She wanted to expose everything," Dominic continued.
"She thought feeding strangers gave her the right to interfere with businesses she didn't understand."
Luca closed his eyes.
Then he asked quietly, "Did you help Vanessa kill her?"
Silence.
Dominic didn't answer.
Instead, he said, "Your father wants to speak with you."
There was a rustling sound.
Then Frank's voice came through.
"Luca?"
"Dad."
"I'm all right, son."
His voice was strained.
"Don't do anything foolish."
"Where are you?"
A pause.
Then Frank said something strange.
"Tell Claire the old pasta place still smells terrible."
I looked up.
Dominic shouted something in the background.
The call ended.
Detective Torres immediately began coordinating with other investigators.
"Does that phrase mean anything to you?"
Luca frowned.
"The old pasta place?"
I remembered a conversation from years earlier.
Mrs. Elena had once told me that Dominic and Frank's father operated a small pasta production business outside Chicago before the family became wealthy.
She had shown me a photograph of the building.
It was old.
Redbrick.
With tall windows and a painted sign above the entrance.
"Wait," I said.
Everyone turned toward me.
"Mrs. Elena told me about an old pasta factory."
Luca looked up.
"In Cicero."
"Yes."
He turned toward the detective.
"My grandfather owned it."
Within minutes, investigators were checking the property records and coordinating a response.
The factory had been closed for years.
A company connected to Dominic still controlled it.
That didn't prove Frank was there.
But it was enough to investigate.
I remained at the mansion while the police moved.
Those were the longest hours of my life.
Luca stayed beside the phone.
Gabriel paced the hallway.
I tried to make coffee, but my hands shook so badly that I spilled grounds across the counter.
Then, shortly after midnight, Detective Torres called.
Frank had been found alive inside the old factory.
Officers had secured the building and taken two men into custody.
Dominic had attempted to leave through another exit, but he was arrested nearby.
Frank was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
He had bruises and was badly shaken, but doctors believed he would recover.
Luca sank into a chair.
He covered his face with both hands.
For several moments, he didn't move.
Then he looked at me.
"He's alive."
I nodded, crying.
"He's alive."
At the hospital, Frank insisted on speaking to Luca before he would allow himself to rest.
I stood near the doorway while father and son held hands.
Frank's voice was weak.
"I thought he was taking me to see the doctor."
"I know, Dad."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing."
Frank looked at his son.
"Your mother was right about Dominic."
Luca nodded.
"She was."
Frank's eyes filled with tears.
"And I think she was right about Vanessa."
The room became quiet.
Frank swallowed.
"I remember something from the day Elena died."
Luca leaned closer.
"What?"
"Vanessa came into her room carrying a cup."
He paused.
"I thought it was tea."
My heart pounded.
Frank closed his eyes.
"Elena asked her to leave it on the table."
His voice broke.
"After Vanessa left, Elena looked at me and asked whether I would believe her if she told me somebody wanted her dead."
Luca lowered his head.
"What did you say?"
Frank began crying.
"I told her she was frightening herself."
The silence that followed felt endless.
Then Frank whispered the words that shattered my heart.
"She asked me to stay with her."
He covered his face.
"And I went downstairs to call Dominic."
Luca sat beside him without speaking.
For years, he had blamed himself for being absent.
Now he understood that his father had been present but had failed to believe what Elena was telling him.
And perhaps that was an even harder truth to survive.
I stepped outside the room and let them grieve together.
As I walked down the hospital corridor, my phone rang.
Detective Torres was calling.
"Claire, we need to speak with you tomorrow."
My stomach tightened.
"About what?"
"An additional witness has contacted us."
"Who?"
"A former employee of Vanessa's."
The detective paused.
"She says she knows what happened during Elena's final week."
I stopped walking.
"And Claire?"
May you like
"Yes?"
"She's willing to testify."
