Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO STOLE TWO FAMILIES
Carlo Vescari had spent thirty years hiding behind borrowed names and respectable businesses.
Now his carefully constructed identity was unraveling inside a luxury Chicago hotel.
Police officers secured the entrances.
Wedding guests were moved into protected areas.
The bride stood crying beside the ballroom doors, still wearing her white gown.
Rosie looked at her and felt a strange sadness.
The young woman had no idea her father's fortune was built on decades of deception.
Lorenzo stood beside Rosie near the security office.
"Are you ready to give your statement?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
A detective entered.
Rosie described Prescott's threats, the compromised guards, and his admission that he'd been keeping Michael Hastings hidden.
The detective listened carefully.
Then asked, "Did he mention where your father is being held?"
Rosie shook her head.
"No."
Lorenzo placed the threatening photograph on the desk.
"We received this earlier today."
The detective examined it.
"A newspaper. Recent date. Good."
He looked toward another investigator.
"Run the background against known properties."
Rosie sat down.
Her whole body felt exhausted.
Lorenzo noticed.
"Have you eaten?"
She looked at him.
"Seriously?"
"You've been working all day."
"My father is missing, a murderer is hiding in the hotel, and the wedding cake still hasn't been cut."
Lorenzo raised an eyebrow.
"The cake?"
Rosie sighed.
"Six tiers. Imported sugar flowers. I spent three months negotiating that cake."
Despite everything, Lorenzo laughed.
Rosie stared.
"What?"
"Nothing."
He handed her a bottle of water.
"Drink."
She accepted it.
For a few seconds, the world felt almost normal.
Then the detective returned.
"We found something."
Rosie stood.
"What?"
"The photograph was taken at a house near Lake Geneva."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"Vescari owns property there."
"Under a shell company," the detective confirmed.
Rosie's pulse raced.
"Can you get him?"
"We're coordinating with local authorities."
At that moment, Lorenzo's phone vibrated.
Dante.
The missing underboss.
Lorenzo answered.
"Dante."
A strained voice whispered, "Boss, don't trust the photograph."
Lorenzo went still.
"What?"
"The lake house is a distraction."
"Where are you?"
"Trying to fix what my father started."
Lorenzo's expression changed.
"Your father?"
Rosie watched him carefully.
Dante continued.
"I found Michael Hastings."
Rosie grabbed Lorenzo's arm.
"Where?"
Dante's voice shook.
"He's alive. But there's something you need to know."
Lorenzo switched to speakerphone.
Dante took a breath.
"Michael wasn't just being held prisoner."
Rosie's stomach tightened.
"What do you mean?"
May you like
Dante whispered the words that shattered everything she believed.
"He was working with the FBI."
