Within sixty seconds, the Moretti estate transformed into a fortress.
Security gates sealed shut with a metallic groan. Armed guards took their positions at every entrance, while surveillance operators reviewed hours of camera footage. Every vehicle approaching the property was stopped and inspected.
No one questioned Aleandro’s orders.
They had all heard the recording.
Emma was no longer simply the housekeeper’s granddaughter.
She was now under the personal protection of the Moretti family.
Victor entered the security command room carrying a tablet filled with surveillance feeds.
« We’ve already moved Emma and Mrs. Greene to the east wing, » he reported. « Six guards are stationed outside the suite. »
« Double it. »
Victor nodded without hesitation.
« What about Sophia? » he asked.
Aleandro’s expression remained unreadable.
« She’s staying here. »
Victor looked surprised.
« You still trust her? »
« I trust facts. »
« And right now, I don’t have enough of them. »
He refused to let anger make decisions that evidence had not yet justified.
That discipline had kept him alive for years.
It would keep everyone else alive now.
Sophia sat alone in one of the estate’s private sitting rooms, staring at the engagement ring on her finger.
It suddenly felt heavier than it ever had before.
A gentle knock broke the silence.
Aleandro stepped inside.
He closed the door behind him but remained several feet away.
« You heard the recording? »
She nodded.
« They’re threatening a child. »
« They’re threatening an innocent child because they failed to manipulate you. »
Tears filled her eyes.
« I never wanted this. »
« I believe you. »
She looked up in surprise.
« You do? »
« I believe you never intended for Emma to become involved. »
He paused.
« But intentions don’t erase consequences. »
Sophia lowered her head.
« They won’t stop. »
« No. »
« They’ll keep escalating. »
Aleandro sat opposite her.
« I need the truth. »
« I’ve already told you everything. »
« No. »
His voice remained calm.
« You’ve told me about the threats. »
« You haven’t told me who made them. »
« I don’t know their names. »
« Describe them. »
Sophia closed her eyes, forcing herself to remember.
« There were always different men. »
« They never met me twice in the same place. »
« Coffee shops. »
« Parking garages. »
« An empty church once. »
« They wore gloves. »
« They never used first names. »
« They always carried identical black phones. »
Victor entered quietly.
« We found something. »
He placed several photographs on the coffee table.
« They came from traffic cameras near tonight’s warehouse. »
Aleandro studied the images.
Three black SUVs.
No license plates.
Professional drivers.
Military posture.
Then he reached the final photograph.
His eyes narrowed.
The gray-haired stranger from the engagement dinner was removing what appeared to be…
…a silicone mask.
Victor spoke softly.
« It wasn’t his real face. »
Sophia gasped.
« That’s impossible. »
« No, » Aleandro said quietly.
« It’s expensive. »
He turned another page.
Beneath the mask appeared a completely different man.
Younger.
Dark-haired.
A scar along his jaw.
Victor looked directly at Aleandro.
« We finally identified him. »
« His name is Adrian Wolfe. »
The room fell silent.
Aleandro recognized the name immediately.
Adrian Wolfe had disappeared seven years earlier after federal authorities dismantled one of the largest international money-laundering networks on the East Coast.
Most intelligence agencies believed he was dead.
Apparently…
…he had simply become invisible.
Meanwhile, Emma couldn’t sleep.
Mrs. Greene sat beside her bed, reading quietly.
« Grandma? »
« Yes, sweetheart? »
« Did I do something bad? »
Mrs. Greene immediately closed the book.
« No. »
« I told Mr. Moretti what I saw. »
« You did exactly the right thing. »
Emma looked toward the window.
« I’m scared. »
Mrs. Greene hugged her gently.
« So am I. »
Neither of them noticed the tiny blinking red light hidden inside the birdhouse just outside the bedroom window.
A camera.
Someone was still watching the estate.
Just after midnight, the alarm system chimed once.
Only once.
Victor frowned.
« Sector Twelve. »
One of the eastern security cameras had gone offline.
Then another.
Then a third.
Aleandro was already walking toward the command center.
« Drone? »
Victor shook his head.
« No signal interference. »
« They’re being disabled one at a time. »
The fourth camera went dark.
Then the fifth.
Whoever was approaching knew exactly where every surveillance blind spot existed.
Victor reached for his radio.
« Alpha teams, report. »
Static answered.
Nothing else.
For the first time in years…
…someone had managed to silence the Moretti security network.
Then every monitor in the command room suddenly switched to the same image.
A single black dot.
The same symbol from the note.
The flash drive.
And the stranger’s message.
Beneath it, white letters slowly appeared across every screen.
YOU CHOSE THE CHILD.
NOW WE CHOOSE YOURS.
At that exact moment, a terrified scream echoed through the east wing.
Emma.
