Chapter 2 - The Men Waiting at Gate C12
“Don't look behind you,” I whispered to Julie. “Someone on this plane knows exactly who Lily is.”
Julie went rigid.
“What are we going to do?”
I looked at the child sitting beside me.
Lily was quietly feeding imaginary crackers to her stuffed rabbit.
“We're going to keep her safe.”
That was the only promise I was willing to make.
Because unlike the men who had controlled my family's empire for decades, I understood that promises meant nothing unless someone was prepared to honor them.
I opened my phone again.
Gabriel replied to my last message.
I'm checking the passenger manifest and airport arrangements. Do not leave with anyone claiming to represent Moretti Holdings.
Gabriel Reyes had worked for me for eleven years.
He was forty-two, a former Marine with dark hair, a permanent scar through his left eyebrow, and the irritating habit of telling me things I didn't want to hear.
He was also one of the few men I trusted without hesitation.
Five years earlier, when Naomi disappeared, Gabriel had helped me search for her.
He remembered the weeks I spent calling hospitals and searching through every address connected to her.
He also remembered the day my father told me to stop.
Some women don't want to be found, Dante.
I'd accepted those words eventually.
I hated myself for it now.
The flight attendant approached with a professional smile.
“Mr. Moretti, can I get you anything before we land?”
“Water, please.”
She nodded.
I lowered my voice.
“Has anyone asked about the little girl beside me?”
Her smile faltered.
“I'm sorry?”
“Any passengers asking questions about her?”
The woman hesitated.
“A gentleman near the front asked whether your party would need assistance exiting the aircraft.”
My pulse quickened.
“What did he look like?”
“Dark hair. Gray jacket. Perhaps forty.”
“Did he give a name?”
“No, sir.”
“Thank you.”
She glanced at Julie's frightened expression and seemed to understand that something was wrong.
“If you need assistance after landing, I can contact the airport authorities.”
“I may take you up on that.”
I didn't want to create a scene that would terrify Lily.
But I also wasn't going to treat an anonymous threat against a child as a private business disagreement.
I asked the attendant to notify airport security discreetly.
Twenty minutes later, our plane touched down at LaGuardia.
Lily pressed her face toward the window.
“Look! We're in New York!”
I smiled despite everything.
“You've been here before?”
“Nope. Mommy says the buildings are so tall they make your neck tired.”
“She isn't wrong.”
Lily laughed.
It was a tiny sound.
And somehow, it reminded me that the world still contained things worth protecting.
Julie gathered their belongings while I waited for instructions from Gabriel.
Another message arrived.
Two corporate vehicles requested access to your arrival terminal. Neither was authorized by me.
I stared at the screen.
Who ordered them?
Gabriel's response came quickly.
Your father's office.
My stomach tightened.
My father.
Vittorio Moretti.
Sixty-eight years old.
Chairman of Moretti Holdings.
The man who had taught me that weakness was a luxury our family couldn't afford.
He rarely raised his voice.
He didn't need to.
People obeyed him because his silence was usually more frightening than someone else's threats.
For years, I had believed he was ruthless in business but loyal to his family.
Now I wasn't sure I understood the meaning of either word.
We waited until most passengers had left.
Two airport security officers met us near the aircraft door.
I explained that a passenger had received a threatening message involving a child and gave them the photograph.
They agreed to escort us to a secure waiting area while airport police examined the information.
Lily looked worried.
“Did I do something bad?”
I crouched to her height.
“No, sweetheart.”
“Then why are the police here?”
“Sometimes grown-ups need help making sure everybody gets home safely.”
She considered that answer.
“Like when Mommy calls the fire department?”
“Exactly.”
Her shoulders relaxed.
“Okay.”
Julie turned away, wiping her eyes.
Half an hour later, Gabriel arrived with a plain black SUV and documentation identifying him to the officers.
He listened as I explained everything.
When I mentioned the photograph, his expression changed.
“Show me.”
I held out the phone.
He studied the angle carefully.
“Whoever took this was sitting behind your row or standing near the galley.”
“The man in the charcoal jacket disappeared before landing.”
Gabriel nodded.
“I'll give airport police everything we have. We should assume the person knows your destination.”
“We don't have a destination.”
“Yes, we do.”
He glanced at Julie.
“There's a protected location we can use until we establish what's happening.”
Lily approached him shyly.
“Are you Mr. Dante's friend?”
Gabriel's severe expression softened.
“Most days.”
“That's funny.”
“Your Mr. Dante doesn't always think so.”
I nearly laughed.
For the first time since Julie's revelation, something in my chest loosened.
We drove through Queens in heavy afternoon traffic.
Julie sat beside Lily in the back seat.
I studied every vehicle behind us.
“Gabriel, find out who changed the airline seats.”
“Already working on it.”
“And pull everything you can about the Harbor Light Relief Trust.”
He looked at me in the rearview mirror.
“That's your father's charity.”
“I know.”
His eyes remained on mine for a moment.
Then he said, “Understood.”
We reached a discreet apartment in a quiet neighborhood overlooking the East River.
It wasn't one of my usual properties.
Gabriel had arranged it through an independent security company.
Inside, Lily immediately discovered a small bowl of wrapped chocolates.
“Can I have one?”
Julie hesitated.
I looked at her.
“Chocolate seems reasonable after a very strange day.”
Lily grinned.
Julie finally managed a weak smile.
While they settled in, Gabriel took me into the kitchen.
“I found something,” he said.
He turned his tablet toward me.
It displayed a security photograph from the private entrance of Moretti Tower.
My father's headquarters.
The picture was dated the previous afternoon.
A woman stood near the elevators wearing a dark coat and carrying a brown leather shoulder bag.
Her face was partially turned toward the camera.
But I recognized her immediately.
Naomi.
Five years had changed her.
Her hair was shorter.
Her shoulders looked thinner.
But she was still the woman I'd loved.
I touched the tablet before I could stop myself.
“She's alive.”
Gabriel's expression remained serious.
“Dante, look at the access record.”
Beneath the photograph was a visitor authorization.
It hadn't been issued by the general reception desk.
It came from the chairman's private office.
The approval field contained two words.
Vittorio Moretti.
I stared at my father's name.
Then Gabriel showed me another photograph.
Naomi had entered the building at 4:17 p.m.
But according to the records, she had never officially checked out.
And the last security camera that captured her showed her following a man into a private elevator.
May you like
The man was my uncle.
Carlo Moretti.
