Chapter 9 - The Other Name
Ruby would not let go of her brother for almost a full minute.
Owen held her with both arms and whispered apologies into her hair.
Santiago looked away.
He understood reunions that came with too many missing years.
When they finally sat, Agent Keller placed a recorder on the table.
“This conversation stays inside the active investigation unless we agree otherwise.”
Santiago nodded once.
Owen did not.
“I don’t trust him.”
Ruby flinched.
Santiago said, “Fair.”
That surprised everyone.
Owen looked at him.
Santiago continued.
“I trusted the wrong people for seven years. You don’t have to make the same mistake in five minutes.”
Owen studied him.
Then opened a thin folder.
“Three years ago I copied Lakeview’s restricted server.”
“I found payments from a Moretti shell company to Voss.”
“I assumed Matteo authorized them.”
“He did.”
“But someone else approved the security transfers.”
Santiago leaned forward.
“Who?”
Owen slid a printout across the table.
CARLO DELUCA.
Santiago stared.
Carlo was not family by blood.
But he had been beside Santiago since they were teenagers.
He ran daily security operations.
He knew routes.
Codes.
Schedules.
He was the man Santiago called when he needed something handled before the world knew there was a problem.
“The right hand,” Santiago said.
Owen nodded.
“He authorized off-site backups of mansion camera feeds.”
“Destination?”
“A server leased through one of Voss’s companies.”
Ruby looked sick.
“So Matteo watched Sophia through Carlo.”
“More than watched.”
Owen opened another page.
“Whenever Sophia’s doctors scheduled an independent evaluation, Carlo sent Matteo the appointment.”
“Three specialists canceled after receiving anonymous threats.”
Santiago remembered each cancellation.
He had blamed rival crews.
“Why help Matteo?”
Owen looked at Agent Keller.
She answered.
“Money and succession.”
“Matteo promised DeLuca control of your legitimate security companies if he gained majority voting power.”
Santiago sat back.
The betrayal was almost elegant.
Matteo handled family trust.
Carlo handled security.
Voss handled the diagnosis.
Each person controlled one wall of Sophia’s cage.
And Santiago had paid for the cage.
Ruby reached for Owen’s hand.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were alive?”
His face broke.
“Because two men followed me after I left Lakeview.”
“Keller’s team pulled me out before they reached me.”
“They said if I contacted you, they could trace it.”
“You could have sent something.”
“I did.”
Ruby frowned.
“The postcards?”
He nodded.
Three years of postcards with no return address.
National parks.
Roadside diners.
One sentence each.
Still looking at the sky.
Ruby had thought they were cruelty from someone who knew she missed him.
They had been proof of life.
She started crying again.
Santiago looked at Keller.
“What do you need from me?”
“The truth.”
“That’s expensive.”
“Your sister already paid for it.”
He did not argue.
Keller continued.
“We can move on Voss now.”
“Matteo is harder.”
“He insulated himself.”
“And Carlo?”
“Still active.”
Santiago’s phone buzzed.
A message from Carlo.
Boss, Sophia’s wing just tripped a silent alarm. I’m on my way.
Santiago looked at the time.
Sophia was at the mansion with Tomas’s vetted team.
Carlo should not have known Santiago was away.
He should not have known the alarm existed.
Santiago stood.
“Keller.”
She was already reaching for her coat.
They drove hard through afternoon traffic.
Ruby called Sophia’s secure phone.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Tomas called from another car.
“Front gate is locked from inside.”
“What about the west entrance?”
“Camera offline.”
Santiago’s blood went cold.
When they reached the mansion, the service door stood open.
One guard was unconscious near the pantry.
Alive.
Breathing.
No serious visible injury.
Santiago ran upstairs.
Sophia’s room was empty.
The green curtains moved in the open window.
On her bed lay a single sheet of paper.
Not a ransom note.
Not a threat.
A medical commitment order.
Emergency transfer authorized by Carlo DeLuca.
Ruby grabbed Santiago’s arm.
“There.”
Beneath the order, Sophia had scratched three letters with a green marker.
L.V.W.
Tomas frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Ruby’s face changed.
“Lakeview.”
Santiago turned toward the door.
The clinic that had helped keep Sophia silent for years was supposed to be closed.
May you like
But Sophia had just told them exactly where Carlo was taking her.
