Chapter 2 - SIX MINUTES AND FORTY-THREE SECONDS
At 9:06 p.m., Alessandro discovered that someone had tried to erase more than a security recording.
They had tried to erase the little girl who witnessed it.
Elena's room was empty.
Sophia's stuffed rabbit lay beneath the bed. The small pink suitcase Elena kept above the wardrobe was gone.
Gabriel stood in the doorway, his phone pressed against his ear.
“The east service gate opened seven minutes ago,” he said.
Alessandro turned.
“Who authorized it?”
“Nobody.”
“Then why did it open?”
Gabriel listened.
His expression darkened.
“Someone used your personal override code.”
Alessandro felt a cold pressure settle behind his ribs.
Only three people knew that code.
He did.
Gabriel did.
And Victor Salvatore did.
“Find them,” Alessandro said.
Gabriel was already moving.
Downstairs, Victor sat in the drawing room beneath a portrait of Alessandro's grandfather. Two guards stood outside the doors.
When Alessandro entered, Victor looked up with a tired expression.
“Are we finished with this nonsense?”
“Where are Elena and Sophia?”
Victor frowned.
“How should I know?”
“The east gate opened with my code.”
Victor shrugged.
“Perhaps Elena decided your house wasn't safe for her daughter.”
Alessandro stepped closer.
“That's an interesting explanation.”
“It's the obvious one.”
“Then why did someone disable the gate camera before she left?”
Victor said nothing.
Alessandro leaned forward.
“Sixteen years, Victor. You've stood beside me for sixteen years. Don't make me ask twice.”
Victor's expression hardened.
“You're treating me like a criminal because a child drew a picture.”
“No,” Alessandro said. “I'm treating you like a suspect because evidence is disappearing.”
Elena was not running away.
She was driving through the rain with Sophia asleep in the passenger seat, trying to reach the only person she trusted outside the estate.
Her older sister, Marisol.
Ten minutes earlier, someone had slipped a folded note beneath her door.
YOUR DAUGHTER WILL NOT SURVIVE THE NIGHT IF YOU STAY.
Elena had not stopped to question it.
She had packed Sophia's clothes, taken her car keys, and left.
Now headlights appeared behind her.
A black SUV.
It followed her through two turns.
Then three.
Elena's hands tightened around the steering wheel.
Sophia stirred.
“Mommy?”
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart.”
“Are we going home?”
Elena swallowed.
“Somewhere safe.”
The SUV accelerated.
Elena's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She ignored it.
It rang again.
Then a message appeared.
PULL OVER.
Elena felt her stomach drop.
She pressed the accelerator.
The SUV followed.
At the next intersection, she turned sharply toward a brightly lit gas station.
She pulled beneath the canopy, where cameras faced every pump.
Then she locked the doors and called emergency services.
The SUV slowed.
For one terrible moment, Elena thought it would stop.
Instead, it continued past.
At 9:23, Gabriel called Alessandro.
“We found them.”
Alessandro closed his eyes.
“Are they safe?”
“For now. Elena called the police from a gas station.”
“Send protection, but let the officers handle the scene.”
Gabriel hesitated.
“Boss, there's something else.”
“What?”
“The vehicle following her belongs to a company registered under Victor's brother-in-law.”
Alessandro looked toward the drawing room.
Victor was still sitting inside.
Still pretending he had nothing to hide.
“Get the registration records,” Alessandro said.
Then he ended the call.
Dr. Hale emerged from the study shortly afterward.
His face was pale.
“I've examined the medication's appearance and packaging. It doesn't match the prescription records. I can't identify the substance without proper laboratory testing.”
Alessandro stared at him.
“So Sophia was right.”
“She noticed a discrepancy worth investigating. That's all we can establish tonight.”
“Could it have killed me?”
“I won't speculate. We need an accredited laboratory and an independent pharmacy review.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Arrange both.”
Hale hesitated.
“There's another issue.”
“What?”
“Your prescription was renewed last month.”
“Yes.”
“But the pharmacy listed on the paperwork says it never dispensed the refill.”
Alessandro went still.
“Who signed the delivery receipt?”
Hale looked down.
May you like
Then answered.
“Victor Salvatore.”
