Chapter 8 - The Man Who Died Twice
Luca did not react immediately.
That frightened everyone.
He stared at Anthony Russo’s photograph for almost a minute.
“My father attended his funeral.”
Marco said quietly, “We all did.”
Anthony Russo had supposedly died from pancreatic cancer.
Closed coffin.
Private service.
The doctor who certified his death?
Henry Caldwell.
The same doctor who later signed Salvatore’s death certificate.
Two fake deaths.
Maybe more.
Vanessa finally told us everything.
Her father and Anthony Russo had been partners for years.
Anthony wanted Salvatore removed.
Carlo wanted control of financial routes.
Dr. Caldwell created the deaths.
And Vanessa?
She had been placed near Luca.
“You were assigned to me.”
It wasn’t a question.
She looked ashamed.
“At first.”
Luca laughed once.
Coldly.
“And the engagement?”
“I didn’t expect—”
“Don’t.”
She stopped.
I understood then that Vanessa had probably loved him.
Maybe that made her betrayal worse.
She had chosen her father anyway.
Or perhaps she had been too afraid not to.
Carlo contacted us that night.
Video call.
He sat somewhere dark.
Thomas Reed was tied to a chair behind him.
Anthony Russo stood nearby.
Alive.
Smiling.
“Hello, Luca.”
Luca’s face went hard.
“You should have stayed dead.”
Anthony laughed.
“So should your father.”
Luca moved closer to the screen.
“What do you want?”
“The archive.”
“You already emptied the safe.”
“That was only half.”
Anthony looked directly at me.
“Michael Sullivan designed a secondary archive.”
I felt cold.
“He gave the access to his daughter.”
“I don’t know anything.”
“You know more than you think.”
Carlo stepped into view.
Older than Vanessa.
Elegant.
Controlled.
“Emma.”
Vanessa flinched hearing her father say my name.
“You have something your father left you.”
“The password?”
“Not the password.”
He smiled.
“A melody.”
My heart stopped.
My father used to whistle while he worked.
The same six notes.
Every day.
I had forgotten them until that moment.
Carlo saw recognition on my face.
“There.”
He smiled.
“You do remember.”
Luca ended the call.
“What melody?”
I hummed it.
Six notes.
My mother covered her mouth.
“Oh, God.”
“What?”
“That was the code he used on your music box.”
“What music box?”
“The one you had as a child.”
I remembered.
A wooden box with a ballerina.
My father had given it to me when I was seven.
After his death, my mother packed his belongings.
“Where is it?”
She looked toward the hall closet.
We found it inside a plastic storage bin.
The ballerina no longer turned.
I opened the bottom.
Nothing.
Then Luca noticed one screw was newer than the others.
He removed it.
Inside was a microSD card.
A complete copy of Salvatore’s ledger.
Names.
Payments.
Dates.
Recordings.
Enough evidence to destroy Carlo Bellini and Anthony Russo.
But one file was encrypted.
Title:
THE NIGHT SALVATORE DIED.
The password required six numbers.
The melody.
Each note corresponded to a number.
I entered them.
The file opened.
Security video.
Lake house.
Seven years earlier.
Salvatore walked into frame.
Carlo followed.
Anthony appeared.
Then someone else entered.
Marco leaned closer.
“No.”
Luca said nothing.
The fourth person was Dr. Caldwell.
The recording had no sound.
But it showed enough.
Salvatore was arguing.
Anthony shoved him.
Carlo struck him.
Caldwell injected something into Salvatore’s arm.
Then they carried him toward a vehicle.
The official story said Salvatore crashed alone.
The video proved otherwise.
Then a fifth person appeared.
My father.
Michael Sullivan.
He had filmed everything.
Carlo saw him.
The recording ended.
I began shaking.
“They knew.”
Luca looked at me.
“That’s why your father died.”
Another file opened automatically.
My father’s voice.
“If Emma finds this, then I failed to finish what Salvatore started.”
I covered my mouth.
“Don’t avenge me.”
He paused.
“Expose them.”
Luca looked at me.
My father continued.
“Violence will bury the truth. Evidence will make it impossible to bury us.”
The message ended.
Luca was silent for a long time.
Then he gave an order none of his men expected.
“Call the federal prosecutor.”
Marco stared.
“Luca.”
“You heard him.”
“You’re handing over everything?”
“Everything connected to my father’s murder.”
That decision would change Luca’s empire forever.
But before the call could be placed, Bruno began barking toward the apartment door.
May you like
Dante joined him.
A second later, the hallway exploded into darkness.
