Chapter 3 - THE DAUGHTER SHE NEVER MENTIONED
Nicolo looked at Sofia.
"Your daughter?"
She didn't answer.
The man outside laughed.
"She's getting older, Sofia. Eleven now, isn't she?"
Sofia's face had gone pale.
Nicolo understood something immediately.
This wasn't simply an assassination attempt.
It was leverage.
The kind of leverage his own organization had once used.
And suddenly he hated the familiarity of it.
Sofia pressed a finger to her lips.
Then spoke into her radio.
"Control, this is Blackbird. Confirm civilian extraction."
Static.
She tried again.
Nothing.
The man outside continued.
"Open the door."
Sofia looked toward the ventilation panel above the shelves.
Then toward Nicolo.
"Can you climb?"
He stared.
"What?"
"Can you climb?"
"Yes."
"Good."
She moved a stack of crates beneath the vent.
Nicolo followed.
The refrigerated room was narrow.
The air smelled of raw dough and cleaning chemicals.
Sofia climbed first.
She removed the vent cover.
Nicolo watched in disbelief.
"You planned this?"
"I planned several exits."
"From my café?"
"Your security was terrible."
He almost laughed.
Then remembered the four bodies in the dining room.
He stopped.
They crawled through the ventilation shaft.
Below them, the attackers forced the storage-room door.
A man shouted.
"Empty!"
Sofia continued moving.
Nicolo followed.
The shaft ended above the loading corridor.
She lowered herself carefully.
Then helped him down.
Outside, sirens sounded.
Federal vehicles blocked the street.
Sofia raised both hands.
"Federal agent!"
Several armed officers approached.
One recognized her.
"Bellini!"
She nodded.
"Seven attackers inside. Possible additional team outside."
The officer spoke into his radio.
Nicolo looked at her.
"Your daughter."
Sofia turned.
"What about her?"
"Is she really missing?"
For the first time, her composure cracked.
"I don't know."
An hour later, they sat in a secure federal office.
Sofia stared at a photograph on her phone.
A little girl with dark curls and a missing front tooth.
Nicolo sat across from her.
"What's her name?"
Sofia hesitated.
"Elena."
He looked at the photograph.
"Beautiful."
Sofia nodded.
"She's everything."
Nicolo swallowed.
"Where is she supposed to be?"
"With my sister in Vermont."
He leaned forward.
"Have you called?"
Sofia looked at him.
"Six times."
"And?"
"No answer."
Nicolo closed his eyes.
He had spent twenty years believing he understood power.
May you like
Now he was sitting across from a woman who had helped dismantle sixty-seven criminals and was terrified because she couldn't reach her child.
And for the first time, he understood how small power could become when someone you loved was missing.
