Chapter 9 - THE MAN WHO WANTED LILY
By midnight, Lily was moved to a secure Moretti property with Elena and twelve guards.
Claire refused to leave her until Lily was asleep.
She sat beside the little girl’s bed, brushing hair from her forehead.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Are you and Daddy mad?”
Claire’s heart tightened.
“Sometimes.”
“Do you still love him?”
Children always found the question adults avoided.
Claire looked toward the doorway.
Vincent stood there.
He had heard.
Claire answered carefully.
“I will always love your daddy in some way.”
Vincent’s expression changed.
Lily frowned.
“What way?”
Claire smiled.
“The grown-up complicated way.”
Lily considered that sufficient.
“Okay.”
Ten minutes later, Claire joined Vincent outside.
He leaned against the hallway wall.
“You still love me.”
She sighed.
“You heard the rest.”
“I heard enough.”
“Don’t make this romantic.”
“I wasn’t.”
“You looked hopeful.”
“I’m allowed to hope.”
She stopped.
Vincent’s voice softened.
“I know I destroyed what we had.”
Claire looked at him.
“You didn’t destroy all of it.”
His eyes lifted.
“But you don’t get it back because you miss it.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get me back because you were manipulated.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to decide that discovering you loved me all along fixes anything.”
“I know.”
That answer made her angry.
“Stop agreeing with me.”
A faint smile.
“I can disagree if it helps.”
She almost laughed.
Almost.
Then Marco called them downstairs.
Samuel Rhodes had been recovered.
Alive.
Bruised.
Terrified.
He sat at the table holding an ice pack against his face.
“I’m sorry, Claire.”
She folded her arms.
“Start explaining.”
Samuel told them Anthony Russo had worked with Henry Bennett years ago.
At first, Anthony had helped expose Salvatore’s financial crimes.
Henry trusted him enough to name him emergency guardian in early trust drafts.
Then Henry discovered Anthony wanted the port company for himself.
He changed the guardianship.
But not before Anthony stole copies.
“The documents Marco found were old drafts,” Samuel explained.
“Then Anthony has no legal claim.”
“No.”
Samuel looked grim.
“But he may not know that.”
Vincent asked:
“Why Price?”
“Price was Anthony’s brother-in-law.”
Claire stared.
Family.
Again.
Samuel continued.
“Anthony believed the Moretti empire belonged to men like him. Men who spent decades building it while younger men inherited power.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“He wanted my organization.”
“And Bennett Port Holdings.”
Samuel nodded.
“Together, they would control nearly every major shipping route your companies use.”
Claire understood the scale.
This wasn’t only money.
It was control.
Vincent asked:
“Why manipulate me into divorce?”
Samuel looked at Claire.
“Because Henry’s trust becomes visible after divorce.”
“And the medication?”
“To make Vincent impulsive. Dissatisfied. Suspicious.”
Claire swallowed.
“So Anthony created the problem, then waited for Vincent to destroy his marriage.”
“Yes.”
Vincent looked sick.
Samuel continued.
“There’s more.”
Of course there was.
“Anthony has been preparing this for years.”
“How?”
“He placed people inside Moretti companies. Hotels. Casinos. Shipping.”
Marco asked:
“How many?”
“At least nineteen.”
Vincent stared.
A hidden organization inside his own empire.
Samuel looked toward Claire.
“Your father discovered their symbol.”
He drew something on paper.
A black crown inside a circle.
Claire’s blood went cold.
“I’ve seen that.”
Vincent looked at her.
“Where?”
“At the townhouse.”
“Where exactly?”
“On a delivery box last week.”
Marco was already moving.
“What delivery?”
Claire thought.
“Lily’s birthday decorations.”
Vincent’s face changed.
“Birthday?”
“Her party supplies.”
“When is the party?”
Claire whispered:
“Tomorrow.”
They pulled security footage.
A delivery worker entered Claire’s townhouse garage.
He carried three large boxes.
Two left the garage empty.
One did not.
Marco zoomed in.
A tiny transmitter had been placed beneath Lily’s car seat.
Vincent’s voice turned cold.
“They’ve been tracking my daughter.”
Then another video surfaced.
The delivery worker removed his cap.
Claire knew the face.
He worked at Lily’s preschool.
Assistant teacher.
Mr. Daniels.
Marco ran the identity.
Fake name.
Former private military contractor.
Employed by a shell company linked to Anthony Russo.
Then the school’s overnight alarm triggered.
Claire grabbed the table.
“Lily isn’t there.”
Marco checked.
“No.”
Vincent stared at the alert.
A fire had started inside Lily’s classroom.
May you like
And written across one wall in red paint were four words:
BRING US CLAIRE TOMORROW.
