Chapter 6 - Locker H-17
Alexander read the message twice.
He displayed no reaction.
That frightened Emily more than anger would have.
“My father wrote that.”
“I recognize his handwriting.”
Alexander handed the note back.
“Then he believed someone in my family was involved.”
Renato had returned thirty minutes after the fire.
He claimed he had gone downstairs to help security.
No camera showed him there.
Dr. Cole’s car was found abandoned near the south gate.
Cole had disappeared.
Alexander ordered Luca to seal the estate.
Renato objected.
“You cannot treat your own uncle like a prisoner.”
Alexander looked at him.
“The gates open when I know who tried to send my mother down a staircase.”
Renato’s expression became wounded.
“You believe I did that?”
“I believe someone did.”
“And therefore everyone is guilty?”
“Until proven useful.”
Emily watched the two men.
They had the same stillness.
They did not have the same eyes.
Alexander’s anger pointed outward.
Renato’s anger seemed to calculate.
Luca traced H-17 to a bank of long-term storage lockers beneath Union Station.
The lockers had been sealed after a renovation.
One remained registered to Thomas Carter.
Alexander wanted to send a security team.
Emily refused.
“My father left the key for me.”
“He left a warning against my family.”
“That includes you.”
Alexander nodded.
“Yes.”
His willingness to admit it irritated her.
“You are still not going alone,” he said.
“I will take Noah.”
“No.”
“Noah is my family.”
“He is also twenty years old and currently eating cereal in a mansion guarded by eighteen armed professionals.”
Emily stared.
“He told you he wanted cereal?”
“He complained that my cook used the wrong milk.”
“That sounds like Noah.”
Alexander almost smiled.
Emily noticed.
She wished she had not.
They reached Union Station before dawn.
The terminal was mostly empty.
Their footsteps echoed beneath the high ceiling.
Luca walked twenty feet behind them.
Two other guards remained near the entrances.
Locker H-17 stood at the end of a narrow underground corridor.
The brass key turned smoothly.
Emily pulled the metal door open.
Inside sat a black leather case.
Nothing else.
She removed it carefully.
Alexander scanned the corridor.
Emily opened the case.
Her father’s watch lay on top.
The leather strap was cracked.
The glass was broken at the edge.
Beneath the watch was a flash drive.
A photograph.
And a sealed letter.
Emily unfolded the letter first.
Her father’s handwriting shook across the page.
Emily,
If you are reading this, Eleanor Moretti has remembered enough to put you in danger.
The attack was not meant to kill her.
She was never the target.
Alexander Moretti was.
Do not trust the police.
Do not trust the Harrington Foundation.
Do not trust anyone wearing the crown.
Your mother knows where the ledger is.
Forgive me for leaving you with my name.
One day, I hope it will no longer be something you have to defend.
Dad.
Emily pressed the letter against her chest.
She had imagined hearing her father apologize a thousand times.
She had never wanted it like this.
Alexander stood beside her.
“He knew someone wanted me dead.”
“You were twenty-nine at the time.”
“I had just taken control of Moretti Global.”
“Who benefited if you died?”
Alexander did not answer immediately.
“My uncle would have become chairman.”
Emily looked toward the corridor.
“Renato.”
“He was already wealthy.”
“That has never stopped a wealthy person from wanting more.”
Alexander picked up the photograph.
It showed Victoria Harrington entering a rehabilitation clinic.
Dr. Adrian Cole walked beside her.
The date in the corner was three days before Eleanor’s attack.
A third person was visible behind them.
His face had been blurred by rain.
A crown-shaped pin gleamed on his coat.
Emily inserted the flash drive into Luca’s secure tablet.
Most of the folders were corrupted.
One video opened.
The image shook.
Thomas Carter had apparently filmed it from inside a parked car.
Victoria stood beneath a streetlamp.
Dr. Cole was with her.
A man faced away from the camera.
His voice was distorted by rain.
“He must not reach the board meeting.”
Victoria crossed her arms.
“And Eleanor?”
“She is collateral.”
The video ended.
Alexander stared at the frozen screen.
“That voice.”
Emily looked at him.
“You recognize it.”
“I am not sure.”
Luca tilted his head.
A faint beeping echoed from inside the locker.
Alexander grabbed Emily.
“Move.”
Luca threw the leather case down the corridor.
The three of them ran.
An explosion burst behind them.
The force knocked Emily against the wall.
Metal fragments struck the ceiling.
Dust filled the corridor.
Alarms screamed.
Alexander shielded Emily with his body.
“Are you hurt?”
“My ears are ringing.”
“Can you walk?”
“Yes.”
Luca drew his weapon and moved toward the smoke.
A figure ran through a side door.
Luca followed.
Alexander helped Emily stand.
The photograph was gone.
The watch was gone.
The tablet had been damaged.
Emily still held the letter.
Something else pressed against her palm.
The flash drive.
She had pulled it free before the explosion.
Luca returned five minutes later.
“The man escaped through a maintenance tunnel.”
“Did you see him?” Alexander asked.
“Only his jacket.”
“What about it?”
“There was a crown stitched inside the collar.”
Police flooded the station.
Detective Mason Creed arrived personally.
Emily remembered his name.
He had handled her father’s death.
Creed was broad-shouldered.
His hair was graying.
His smile did not reach his eyes.
“Emily Carter.”
She looked at him.
“You remember me?”
“I remember every victim’s family.”
“My father was the victim.”
“Of course.”
Creed looked toward Alexander.
“This is an active crime scene.”
Alexander remained beside Emily.
“I am aware.”
Creed held out his hand.
“I need the evidence from the locker.”
“The explosion destroyed it,” Emily said.
Creed looked at her closed fist.
“What are you holding?”
“Nothing.”
He stepped closer.
“Open your hand.”
Alexander moved between them.
Creed’s smile disappeared.
“Do not obstruct me.”
Alexander’s voice was quiet.
“Do not threaten her.”
Creed glanced at the security cameras.
“You may be powerful, Mr. Moretti.”
“But this is still my city.”
Alexander looked around the ruined corridor.
“No.”
“This is a train station.”
Creed’s radio crackled.
An officer’s voice came through.
“Detective, we found another item inside the locker.”
Creed turned.
An evidence technician approached with a clear bag.
Inside was a diamond bracelet.
Victoria Harrington’s initials were engraved on the clasp.
Creed looked at Emily.
“This bracelet was reported stolen from the gala.”
Emily stared at him.
“That is not mine.”
Creed removed handcuffs from his belt.
“No.”
Alexander stepped forward.
Creed smiled.
“The bracelet was found in a locker registered to her father.”
May you like
He placed one cuff around Emily’s wrist.
“And we just found a matching diamond inside her brother’s coat at the Moretti estate.”
