Chapter 9 - THE BROTHER WHO WANTED THE THRONE
Gabriel Marchesi had always believed he deserved more.
More money.
More respect.
More authority.
And most of all, the position Lorenzo inherited after their father's death.
Growing up, Gabriel watched their father praise Lorenzo for his discipline and intelligence.
Gabriel was called impulsive.
Unreliable.
A disappointment.
By adulthood, resentment had become the organizing principle of his life.
Now he stood inside the Marchesi family's abandoned summer estate, holding a phone and smiling at the voice on the other end.
“Hello, brother.”
Lorenzo sat in the back of Matteo's car.
“Where's Sofia?”
Gabriel laughed.
“Always Sofia.”
“Answer me.”
“She's safe. For now.”
Lorenzo looked toward Special Agent Carter, who was listening through a secure connection.
“Let me speak to her.”
“You'll have to come here.”
“Gabriel—”
“Alone.”
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
“You know I can't do that.”
“Then perhaps Sofia doesn't come home.”
The call ended.
Chloe sat beside Lorenzo.
She had insisted on accompanying him to the task force's command location, though she would not approach the estate.
Carter was coordinating the response.
Lorenzo stared at the phone.
“He's lying.”
Chloe looked at him.
“About what?”
“Sofia.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Gabriel always overplays his hand.”
Carter approached.
“We've confirmed Sofia is safe at her treatment facility.”
Lorenzo exhaled.
For the first time in several minutes, he seemed able to breathe.
“So he doesn't have her.”
“No.”
Carter continued.
“But he may have someone else.”
She showed them a photograph transmitted from Gabriel's phone.
A woman sat in a chair with her hands restrained.
Her face was bruised.
Chloe gasped.
“Sarah.”
Lorenzo turned toward her.
Chloe stood so quickly her chair fell backward.
“No.”
Carter reached for her arm, then stopped.
“We're working on it.”
Chloe stared at the photograph.
Sarah had disappeared after leaving work that afternoon.
She had texted Chloe at 5:12 p.m.
Going home. Call you tomorrow.
Now she was in Gabriel's hands.
Chloe began shaking.
“This is because of me.”
Lorenzo stood.
“No.”
“They took her because she's my friend.”
“Gabriel chose to hurt her.”
Chloe looked at him.
“He wants you to come.”
“Yes.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
Lorenzo looked toward Carter.
“Whatever gives Sarah the best chance of coming home alive.”
The operation began after midnight.
Federal agents surrounded the estate.
Negotiators established contact with Gabriel.
He demanded access to offshore accounts and safe passage out of the country.
Carter refused to promise anything she couldn't deliver.
Hours passed.
Inside the house, Sarah sat in a dining room beneath a portrait of the Marchesi patriarch.
Gabriel paced.
“You know,” he said, “your friend has caused an extraordinary amount of trouble.”
Sarah stared at him.
“Chloe didn't do anything wrong.”
Gabriel laughed.
“That's what makes her dangerous.”
He crouched beside her.
“Do you know what people like Chloe never understand?”
Sarah remained silent.
“They think the truth matters.”
He smiled.
“Power matters.”
Sarah looked directly at him.
“Then why are you hiding in an empty house?”
His smile disappeared.
For a moment, she thought he would strike her.
Instead, he stood.
“You're going to regret that.”
Outside, Carter received new information.
The estate's caretaker had provided an updated floor plan.
A concealed service passage connected the kitchen to the old wine cellar.
Agents used the information to plan a rescue.
At 3:41 a.m., Gabriel heard a noise downstairs.
He reached for his gun.
Before he could leave the dining room, officers announced themselves.
Gabriel grabbed Sarah.
She screamed.
The next seconds unfolded in a blur.
An officer ordered Gabriel to drop the weapon.
Sarah twisted away.
Gabriel fired once.
The bullet struck the wall.
Officers subdued him before he could fire again.
Sarah fell to the floor.
Then everything went quiet.
Outside, Chloe waited beside Lorenzo.
A radio crackled.
“Hostage secured.”
Chloe stopped breathing.
Then came the words she had prayed to hear.
“She's alive.”
Chloe began crying.
Lorenzo pulled her into his arms.
She held him tightly.
For a moment, nothing else mattered.
But the nightmare wasn't over.
When agents searched the house, they found financial records, encrypted drives, and a folder containing photographs of several women.
Chloe was among them.
So was Sarah.
So was Sofia.
And beside Chloe's photograph was a handwritten note.
SUBJECT SELECTED — 2022.
The year Aaron Miller had first approached her.
Chloe stared at the document.
May you like
She had thought their relationship began by chance.
Now she understood that it had been planned.
