Chapter 4 - THE FILE HIDDEN UNDER THE FLOOR
Lorenzo didn't sleep that night.
He sat in his study with Sophie's stuffed rabbit still on the corner of his desk.
At 2:14 a.m., Gabe entered.
“We found something.”
Lorenzo looked up.
“Talk.”
“Marcus Carter wasn't killed by an overdose.”
Silence.
“What?”
“His toxicology report was altered.”
“Who altered it?”
“We don't know yet.”
Lorenzo stood.
“What did the original report say?”
“High levels of a sedative.”
“Enough to kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Then why call it accidental?”
“Because someone changed the report.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened.
“And Elena?”
Gabe placed a folder on the desk.
“She knew.”
Lorenzo opened it.
Inside were copies of old hospital records.
Three years earlier, Elena had reported discrepancies in medication logs.
She had discovered drugs disappearing from the hospital pharmacy.
She had reported it.
The complaints against her came afterward.
Eight complaints.
Eight accusations.
Eight steps designed to destroy her credibility.
Lorenzo read every page.
“She wasn't negligent.”
“No.”
“She was investigating.”
“Yes.”
“And they ruined her career.”
Gabe nodded.
“Then Marcus died.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo looked toward the window.
“Why would Adrian Vale care about Elena?”
Gabe hesitated.
“We don't know.”
“Find out.”
At 6:30 a.m., Elena entered the kitchen.
Lorenzo was already there.
She stopped when she saw him.
“Mr. Moretti.”
“Elena.”
He placed a folder on the table.
She recognized it immediately.
Her face changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“You tell me.”
She sat down slowly.
For a long time, she said nothing.
Then she whispered:
“I knew someone would eventually find it.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
Lorenzo sat across from her.
“Tell me.”
Elena looked toward the doorway.
“Is anyone listening?”
“No.”
She took a breath.
“Marcus wasn't a drug addict.”
“I know.”
“He was investigating the same people I was.”
“Why?”
“Because drugs were disappearing from Mercy Hospital.”
“How much?”
“Millions of dollars worth.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
“Who was involved?”
“I don't know.”
“You must have an idea.”
“Adrian Vale.”
Lorenzo leaned back.
“Why?”
“Because he was always around the hospital.”
“He was a doctor.”
“He wasn't just a doctor.”
Elena's hands trembled.
“He controlled people.”
“And Marcus?”
“Marcus found records.”
“What records?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why was he killed?”
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
“Because he found Sophie.”
Lorenzo went still.
“What does Sophie have to do with this?”
Elena looked down.
“Her father was supposed to give someone a package.”
“What package?”
“I never saw it.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Marcus told me.”
“When?”
“The night before he died.”
Lorenzo leaned forward.
“What did he say?”
“He told me if anything happened to him, I had to keep Sophie safe.”
“From who?”
“From Adrian.”
Silence.
“Why Sophie?”
Elena looked at him.
“Because Marcus hid something in her belongings.”
“What?”
“A memory card.”
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
“Where is it?”
“I don't know.”
“You don't know?”
“I thought Marcus took it.”
“He didn't.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Adrian has been watching your daughter.”
Elena's breathing became shallow.
“Then we have to leave.”
“No.”
“You don't understand.”
“I understand perfectly.”
“He will come here.”
“He already has.”
Elena stared at him.
Lorenzo continued.
“And that's why you're staying.”
“I can't risk Sophie.”
“You won't.”
“How can you promise that?”
“Because nobody gets through my house without me knowing.”
At that moment, Sophie appeared in the doorway.
“Mama?”
Elena immediately stood.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
“I can't find Bunny.”
Her stuffed rabbit.
The one she'd given Lorenzo.
Lorenzo looked at the desk.
He picked it up.
“Here.”
Sophie ran over.
She hugged the rabbit.
Then looked at Lorenzo.
“You kept him safe.”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
Lorenzo nodded.
Sophie smiled.
Then she noticed something on the floor.
A small black object.
She bent down.
“Mama.”
Elena looked.
It was a memory card.
Her face drained of color.
Lorenzo immediately took it.
“Where did you find this?”
“Under Bunny.”
He examined the rabbit.
There was a small tear beneath one ear.
Someone had hidden the memory card inside the stuffed animal.
Lorenzo looked at Elena.
“Did you know?”
“No.”
He turned to Gabe.
“Get the computers ready.”
Twenty minutes later, the memory card was opened.
There were seventeen files.
Most were encrypted.
One wasn't.
A video.
Marcus appeared on the screen.
He looked exhausted.
Afraid.
“Lena, if you're watching this, I'm probably dead.”
Elena covered her mouth.
Marcus continued.
“I found out who is behind the hospital thefts.”
The video shook slightly.
“It's bigger than drugs. It's money laundering. The hospital is being used to move money through fake medical charities.”
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
Marcus continued.
“Vale isn't working alone.”
Then he named three people.
One was a judge.
One was a city official.
And the third was a businessman Lorenzo knew personally.
Victor Russo.
Vincent Russo's younger brother.
Lorenzo stood.
Victor had disappeared after Vincent's death.
He had spent years believing Victor had fled Chicago.
Marcus's voice continued.
“The records are hidden where no one will look.”
The video ended.
Then the computer screen went black.
A second later, another file opened automatically.
A photograph appeared.
Sophie.
Taken six months earlier.
At a playground.
Lorenzo's blood turned cold.
Someone had been watching her long before Elena ever entered the Moretti estate.
Then a message appeared beneath the photograph.
WE KNOW WHERE SHE IS.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
His phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A man's voice whispered:
“Give us the child, Moretti.”
Lorenzo's expression became terrifyingly calm.
“You made one mistake.”
“What?”
“You told me where to find you.”
The line went dead.
Lorenzo looked at Gabe.
“Lock down the estate.”
Then he looked at Elena.
“You and Sophie stay beside me.”
Elena whispered:
“Why?”
May you like
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
“Because whoever wants your daughter has just declared war on me.”
