Chapter 4 - Sophia’s Father Was Not Dead
Elena read the sentence six times.
Miguel Castillo is alive.
Five years of anger collapsed into something worse.
Hope.
Hope was dangerous.
It could resurrect a person only to kill them again.
Adrian returned to the mansion that afternoon against medical advice.
He looked pale but upright.
Titan ran to him.
For several seconds, the dog became almost puppy-like.
Adrian knelt and held his massive head between both hands.
Then Titan turned toward Sophia.
Adrian noticed.
“So you're the miracle.”
Sophia smiled.
“He was scared.”
Adrian looked at Dante.
“She approached Titan while I was unconscious?”
Dante nodded.
Adrian stared at Elena.
“You allowed that?”
“No.”
“Good.”
It was the closest thing to humor anyone had heard from him since waking.
Then Elena showed him Isabella’s letters.
Adrian read silently.
His jaw tightened at every line.
When he reached:
Miguel Castillo is alive.
He looked up.
“I know the name.”
Elena’s heart stopped.
“What?”
“Vincent had a courier named Miguel.”
“You knew him?”
“Barely.”
“Where is he?”
“I assumed dead.”
Adrian looked toward Dante.
“Find everything.”
They did.
Within six hours, Dante traced a cash withdrawal from an account Miguel had supposedly abandoned.
Three months earlier.
New Hampshire.
Then another.
Maine.
Then a traffic citation under the name Michael Castor.
Photograph attached.
Elena knew instantly.
Older.
Beard.
Scar along the chin.
But Miguel.
Alive.
Sophia’s father.
Elena had to grip the table.
“Where is he now?”
Dante traced the vehicle.
Registered to a fishing supply company in Portland.
Before midnight, they found a rented room above a hardware store.
Empty.
Recently.
A half-eaten meal in the refrigerator.
Fresh coffee grounds.
Someone had left fast.
On the wall was a map of Boston.
The Moretti mansion circled.
Adrian’s hospital.
Sophia’s school.
Elena went cold.
“He’s been watching us.”
Dante found photographs.
Elena walking Sophia to school.
Sophia at a playground.
Adrian entering a restaurant.
Vincent leaving a courthouse.
Then one image frightened everyone.
Dr. Ethan Reynolds.
Adrian’s doctor.
Photographed meeting Vincent Moretti behind a church.
Three days before Adrian was poisoned.
Adrian stared at the picture.
“Reynolds has treated my family for twenty years.”
Dante looked at him.
“That doesn't make him innocent.”
The brass key Isabella left led them to a safe-deposit box.
Inside:
A USB drive.
Copies of the ledger Miguel stole.
A voice recorder.
And Isabella’s wedding ring.
Adrian saw the ring and turned away.
Elena understood.
It was the first physical piece of Isabella he had seen since the funeral.
The USB contained a video.
Isabella appeared on screen.
Alive.
Nervous.
“If Adrian is watching this, I failed.”
He sat.
“I found the person selling protected names.”
She held up the ledger.
“They are inside the family.”
Adrian whispered:
“Vincent.”
But Isabella shook her head on the recording.
“Vincent is involved, but he is not the one controlling it.”
Adrian frowned.
Isabella continued.
“The person behind him has access to medical information, police contacts, and Adrian’s private schedule.”
Everyone looked at the photograph of Dr. Reynolds.
Then the video said:
“Ethan Reynolds knows enough to kill my husband without ever touching a gun.”
The room went silent.
And downstairs, a maid screamed.
They ran.
Sophia stood in the foyer beside Titan.
On the marble floor lay a small white envelope.
It had been pushed beneath the front door.
Inside was one photograph.
Miguel Castillo.
Tied to a chair.
Alive.
May you like
And written beneath him:
BRING SOPHIA OR HER FATHER DIES.
