Chapter 3 - The Name Inside the Family
“Your uncle hired her?”
Matteo stood near the window.
“Apparently.”
“What’s his name?”
“Vincent Moretti.”
I typed it into my notes.
Matteo reached over and closed my laptop.
“Not yet.”
I looked up sharply.
“Open that.”
“You publish his name without proof, he'll know exactly what we know.”
“We?”
“You’re in my apartment.”
“Your apartment doesn't make us partners.”
“No. Voss tracking your phone does.”
I reopened the laptop.
“Tell me about Vincent.”
Matteo remained silent.
“Three women are missing.”
“I heard you.”
“Then talk.”
He finally sat opposite me.
“My father built businesses along the waterfront. Shipping. Construction. Restaurants.”
“Legitimate?”
“Some.”
“That's refreshingly vague.”
“My father died seven years ago. I took control of most operations. Vincent kept several companies.”
“Hudson Hospitality?”
“No.”
“Bellini House?”
“Mine.”
“Then why was your uncle holding private dinners there?”
“Because family members rarely ask permission.”
I leaned closer.
“Could he make three women disappear?”
Matteo's eyes hardened.
“Anyone can do terrible things, Lauren. Power only makes hiding them easier.”
My phone replacement rang on the table.
Gabriel answered.
His expression changed.
“Matteo.”
“What?”
“We found Reed’s apartment.”
I stood.
“What do you mean found?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“Someone searched it.”
My stomach dropped.
“Was anything taken?”
“We don’t know.”
“I’m going home.”
“No,” Matteo said.
“My notes are there.”
“You have copies?”
“Some.”
“Then you stay.”
“You don’t order me around.”
He stood.
“And you don't walk into an apartment somebody may still be watching.”
“I need my corkboard.”
Matteo stared at me as though I'd lost my mind.
“Your what?”
“My case board.”
Thirty minutes later, we entered my building with Gabriel and another security man.
The lock was broken.
My apartment looked almost normal.
That made it worse.
Someone had carefully searched rather than destroyed.
My corkboard was gone.
“Damn it.”
Matteo walked through the room.
“Anything else?”
I checked my desk.
“External drive.”
Gone.
Then I saw something beneath the bed.
A photograph.
Michelle Torres.
It must have fallen from the board.
I picked it up.
There was writing on the back.
I had never noticed it.
Locker 214 — Exchange Place.
I showed Matteo.
“Train station?”
“Maybe.”
We went immediately.
Locker 214 was inside a twenty-four-hour luggage facility near the PATH entrance.
The key?
I didn't have one.
Matteo made one phone call.
I stared at him.
“What did you just do?”
“Saved us twenty minutes.”
“That answer worries me.”
Inside the locker was a cheap backpack.
Nothing else.
Gabriel opened it.
Clothes.
A charger.
A disposable phone.
And a small notebook.
I recognized the handwriting from Michelle’s mother.
Michelle’s.
I opened it.
Most pages contained shift schedules and expenses.
Then the entries changed.
Jan 19 — Private dinner. Same men again.
Jan 24 — Sarah working tonight. Told her not to stay late.
Jan 28 — V came downstairs angry. Heard argument about girls being moved.
I looked at Matteo.
“V.”
He said nothing.
I continued.
Feb 1 — Took photos. If something happens, D.V. knows.
Daniel Voss.
Matteo took the notebook.
“What photos?”
We searched the bag.
Nothing.
Then Gabriel picked up the disposable phone.
“Locked.”
“Can you open it?”
“Eventually.”
The screen suddenly lit.
Incoming call.
UNKNOWN.
We all stared.
Matteo answered and put it on speaker.
Silence.
Then a woman whispered.
“Michelle?”
I grabbed the phone.
“No. My name is Lauren Reed.”
A sharp breath.
“Where did you get this phone?”
“Locker 214.”
Silence.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Emily.”
“Do you know Michelle?”
The woman started crying.
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“I don't know.”
“Do you know Sarah and Amanda?”
“Yes.”
My knees nearly gave out.
Matteo pulled out a chair.
I sat.
“Emily, where are you?”
“I can’t tell you.”
“Are you safe?”
“No.”
Matteo leaned toward the phone.
“Emily, listen carefully. My name is Matteo Moretti.”
The line went completely silent.
Then:
“Oh God.”
Matteo frowned.
“You know me?”
“No.”
“But you know the name.”
“Yes.”
“From whom?”
Emily whispered two words.
“Vincent Moretti.”
May you like
The call ended.
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