Chapter 6 - The Trap Behind the Safe House

Matteo left the flash drive on the table.

Dante stared at him.

“You are certain?”

“No.”

“That is not reassuring.”

“It is honest.”

Anna stood near the front door with Lily in her arms.

“What are you doing?”

“Giving Victor a location.”

“He knows the location.”

“He knows the drive is here. If the drive checks in and then stays still, he may assume we are analyzing it inside.”

“And if he sends people?”

“That is what I want.”

Anna’s eyes flashed. “With my daughter in the house?”

“No.”

Matteo pointed toward Dante.

“You and Lily leave now with the second vehicle.”

Anna shook her head.

“I’m not leaving you here to decide what happens with evidence about my child.”

“Then take the drive.”

Dante stared at him.

“What?”

Matteo looked at Rachel.

“You said it checks in when opened.”

“Yes.”

“Not continuously?”

“I don’t know.”

Aaron spoke. “It pings when connected to a computer. The files authenticate through a server.”

“So it is not a GPS tracker.”

“No.”

Matteo nodded.

“Then we copy it here. Leave the original connected. Take the copy.”

Dante’s expression changed. “Better.”

Anna did not move.

“You still want people to come here.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because Victor’s people know where he is.”

“And you think they will tell you?”

“Eventually.”

Anna looked at Lily.

Then at Matteo.

“I do not want her anywhere near this.”

“Neither do I.”

“That stopped being true when someone used your house and your name.”

He accepted the accusation.

“You are right.”

Rachel sat at the dining table while Dante copied the files onto an encrypted drive.

Lily whispered into Anna’s ear.

Anna looked at Matteo.

“She wants to know if she can keep the cup.”

Matteo looked at the paper cup in Lily’s hand.

“It belongs to Victor.”

Lily frowned.

“That means no?”

“It means absolutely yes.”

She smiled faintly.

Anna gave him a look.

“What?” he asked.

“She was kidnapped and you are teaching her theft.”

“Recovery of enemy property.”

Lily giggled.

For two seconds, the room felt almost normal.

Then Dante said, “Copy complete.”

The normal feeling disappeared.

Matteo handed the encrypted copy to Anna.

“Keep this with you.”

She stared at it.

“Why me?”

“Because everyone will assume I have it.”

“That is the most Moretti answer possible.”

“It is also practical.”

Dante said, “Vehicle ready.”

Anna looked at Rachel.

“What happens to them?”

“Police,” Matteo said.

Rachel looked surprised.

Dante looked even more surprised.

Matteo noticed.

“What?”

Dante shook his head. “Nothing.”

“You thought I would handle it differently.”

“I thought you might.”

Anna watched Matteo.

He looked at Rachel.

“You stole identities. You helped create false medical records. You assisted a man who abducted a child.”

Rachel whispered, “I know.”

“You will tell investigators everything.”

“Yes.”

“And if you lie, I will make sure they know exactly where to look.”

“Yes.”

Anna said quietly, “That is enough.”

Matteo looked at her.

She held Lily closer.

“Do not become him while trying to stop him.”

He understood who she meant.

Victor.

But perhaps also his father.

Perhaps every Moretti man who had confused fear with order.

Matteo nodded once.

Dante escorted Anna and Lily out through the rear garage.

Before she left, Lily held up the stuffed rabbit.

“Mr. Moretti?”

“Yes?”

“Can Bunny sit in your expensive room again?”

Matteo looked at Anna.

She seemed close to tears again.

“Any room he wants.”

Lily nodded seriously.

“Okay.”

Then they were gone.

Matteo stayed with Dante, two guards, Rachel, and Aaron.

The original flash drive remained connected to a laptop on the dining table.

Twenty-seven minutes passed.

Nothing.

Dante checked the windows.

“Maybe Victor knows it is a trap.”

“He always knows it could be a trap.”

“That does not mean he walks into it.”

“No.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“His curiosity.”

Another nine minutes.

A vehicle stopped two houses away.

Dante saw it first.

“Gray SUV.”

“Plate?”

“Rental.”

Two men got out.

Then a third.

Dante’s jaw tightened.

“Cole.”

“The driver?”

“Yes.”

Matteo looked at Rachel.

She nodded.

“That is him.”

The three men approached the back of the property.

Matteo spoke quietly.

“No shooting unless someone gives us no choice.”

Dante gave him a sideways look.

“You are becoming difficult.”

“I have always been difficult.”

“Different kind.”

The first man entered through the laundry door.

Dante’s guards closed behind him.

Within seconds, all three were restrained without gunfire.

Cole struggled.

“Do you know who I work for?”

Matteo stepped into the hallway.

“Yes.”

Cole stopped.

“Then you know this does not end here.”

“No.”

Matteo walked closer.

“It ends where Victor is.”

Cole laughed.

“You think I know?”

“You picked up Lily from my house.”

“I was told to move a package.”

Matteo’s expression changed.

Dante immediately grabbed Cole by the collar.

“Do not call her that again.”

Cole grinned.

Matteo raised one hand.

Dante released him.

Cole looked surprised.

Matteo said, “You are going to the police.”

Cole laughed harder.

“That is your threat?”

“No.”

“Then what is?”

“I am going to make sure Victor knows you were captured alive.”

Cole’s amusement vanished.

There it was.

Fear.

Matteo leaned closer.

“You are afraid he will assume you talked.”

Cole said nothing.

“He will not wait to find out.”

Silence.

“You know what he does to people he thinks might cooperate.”

Cole looked away.

Matteo stepped back.

“So you can either speak to investigators first and enter protective custody, or stay silent and hope Victor believes in your loyalty.”

Cole’s jaw worked.

Dante whispered, “That was cruel.”

“It was true.”

Cole looked at Matteo.

“What do you want?”

“Where is Victor?”

“I don’t know exactly.”

Matteo started to turn away.

“Wait.”

He stopped.

Cole swallowed.

“He uses a church property near Waukegan.”

Dante frowned. “Which church?”

“Not active. Old retreat center. St. Bernadette.”

Matteo knew it.

The Moretti family had once donated to the diocese that owned it.

Of course Victor would choose something connected to their past.

“How long has he been there?”

“Two weeks.”

“Who is with him?”

“Four men. Maybe five.”

“What is he doing?”

Cole hesitated.

Matteo waited.

Finally: “Preparing to leave.”

“Where?”

“Canada first. Then Europe.”

“When?”

“Tonight.”

Dante checked the time.

4:18 p.m.

Matteo asked, “Why did he need Lily again if he was leaving?”

Cole’s expression shifted.

“I do not know.”

“Wrong.”

“I swear.”

Dante stepped forward.

Cole said quickly, “He said the Mercer identity was the cleanest dependent file. He needed one last verification.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know.”

Rachel spoke from the dining room.

“I do.”

Everyone turned.

She had been listening.

Matteo walked toward her.

“What?”

Rachel’s face was white.

“The Lily identity is not just a dependent file.”

Anna’s encrypted copy was already on the road.

Matteo felt a warning in his chest.

“What is it?”

Rachel swallowed.

“Victor attached it to a trust.”

“What trust?”

“A Moretti family medical trust.”

Dante froze.

Matteo stared at her.

Only one trust fit that description.

The Sofia Moretti Children’s Foundation.

Created after his sister’s death.

Funded with nearly forty million dollars.

Money intended for children with serious medical needs.

His mother had built it.

Matteo had protected it for years.

Rachel continued.

“Victor used Lily’s fake disability identity to create a beneficiary chain.”

Matteo’s voice was barely audible.

“How much?”

“Not eight thousand.”

The missing household money had never been the theft.

It had been the test.

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Rachel looked at him.

“If the transfer clears tonight, Victor gets access to twelve million dollars.”