Chapter 5 – THE DOCTOR’S SECRET

Marco stumbled backward, his thumb still pressed tightly to the detonator.

“FBI?” Luca demanded, stepping in front of Sofia and me.

Lorenzo reached into his coat and produced a gold badge.

“Special Agent Lorenzo Bianchi. Undercover Division.”

My jaw dropped.

The Italian rehabilitation specialist Vanessa had hired was a federal agent?

“You’re lying,” Marco spat. “Vanessa hired you! She checked your credentials!”

“Vanessa hired the man I replaced,” Lorenzo said calmly. “We intercepted the real doctor at O’Hare airport yesterday. The Bellini family has been under federal investigation for two years regarding racketeering and extortion. We knew they were making a play for the Moretti shipping routes.”

Lorenzo looked at Luca.

“We also knew there was a mole in your house, Mr. Moretti. We just didn’t know it was your head of security.”

Marco’s hand was shaking now.

“I’ll blow this house to hell!” he screamed.

“No, you won’t,” Lorenzo said. “Because our bomb squad cut the wires to your basement explosive twenty minutes ago while everyone was arguing in the dining room.”

Marco looked down at the detonator in horror.

He pressed the button.

Nothing happened.

Before Marco could raise his gun, Lorenzo’s men tackled him to the marble floor, disarming him instantly.

Luca let out a massive breath, dropping the shotgun.

He pulled Sofia into his arms, kissing the top of her head.

I slumped against the wall, sliding down to the floor, completely exhausted.

Lorenzo walked over to Luca.

“Mr. Moretti, my apologies for the deception. But it was the only way to catch the Bellinis in the act of fraud and attempted murder.”

Luca stood up, his face stern.

“You used my daughter as bait.”

“I protected your daughter,” Lorenzo corrected gently. “And as for her medical condition… everything I told you was true. She has made remarkable progress. The original prognosis was manipulated by a doctor paid off by the Bellinis.”

Sofia smiled through her tears.

“I can walk, Daddy. I really can.”

“I know, sweetheart,” Luca choked out.

Lorenzo turned to me.

“Emily Carter. We need to talk.”

I stood up nervously. “About what?”

Lorenzo reached into his pocket and pulled out an old, faded photograph.

He handed it to me.

It was a picture of my father, standing in his auto shop.

But he had his arm around another man. A younger, smiling man.

It was Lorenzo.

“Your father was my informant six years ago,” Lorenzo said softly. “He was helping the FBI build a case against the Bellinis. That’s why he was murdered.”

My hands began to shake.

“He was working with you?”

“He was a hero,” Lorenzo said. “And before he died, he mailed me a letter. He said if anything ever happened to him, he had hidden a ledger containing all the Bellini family’s crimes in a safety deposit box at the Continental Bank.”

I looked at Luca.

Luca reached into his pocket and pulled out the heavy, tarnished silver key.

“This one?” Luca asked.

Lorenzo smiled.

“Exactly. But there’s a problem.”

The FBI agent looked back at me, his expression turning grave.

“The safety deposit box is listed under two names. Frank Carter. And Emily Carter. You are the only person alive who can legally open it.”

Before I could process this, Lorenzo’s radio cracked.

“Agent Bianchi. We have a situation. Vanessa Bellini just breached the perimeter. She has a hostage.”

We all spun toward the front door.

Vanessa was standing on the porch.

And she had a gun pointed directly at my mother’s head.

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