Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Blue-Gray Eyes
Aurora spent the next three hours avoiding Michael Moretti.
It was nearly impossible.
Not because he followed her.
He didn’t.
That would have been easier to understand.
Instead, Michael returned to his table and behaved like an ordinary customer while his presence seemed to occupy half the restaurant.
He finished his coffee.
Zach ate chocolate cake.
One of the security men quietly carried the little boy’s jacket.
Michael never approached Aurora again.
But whenever she looked up, she found those blue-gray eyes studying the room.
Not her.
The doors.
The windows.
The staff.
Every person who entered.
He was looking for whoever had delivered the envelope.
That frightened Aurora almost as much as the envelope itself.
At nine-thirty, her shift ended.
She changed into jeans, a cream sweater, and an old brown coat in the employee room.
Then she waited.
Ten minutes.
Twenty.
Thirty.
She stared at the security monitor above the manager’s desk.
A black sedan remained across the street.
It had been there since seven.
Her manager, Teresa, frowned.
“You okay, honey?”
“Yeah.”
“You've checked that camera about fifty times.”
Aurora attempted a smile.
“Just tired.”
Teresa wasn't convinced, but she had a restaurant to close.
Aurora eventually slipped through the kitchen exit.
Cold Brooklyn air hit her face.
She took three steps.
“Miss Aurora!”
She turned.
Zach stood beneath the awning beside Michael.
The boy wore a little wool coat over his blue suit. Mr. Buttons was tucked beneath one arm.
“You forgot this.”
He held out the tiny toy ring.
Aurora stared at it.
“You should keep it.”
“But I gave it to you.”
Michael looked mildly exhausted.
“We've discussed this.”
“It’s pretend,” Zach announced.
Aurora smiled.
“Exactly.”
“So you can keep it pretend.”
She crouched.
“How about Mr. Buttons guards it for me?”
Zach considered the idea.
Then he tucked the box into the teddy bear’s tiny backpack.
“Good plan.”
Aurora rose.
Michael looked toward the black sedan across the street.
His expression changed.
“Is that yours?”
“No.”
“You've seen it before?”
Aurora hesitated.
“That isn’t an answer.”
She crossed her arms.
“You promised not to interrogate me.”
“I’m asking whether the vehicle watching the restaurant belongs to you.”
Her stomach tightened.
“It was outside yesterday.”
Michael glanced at one of his security men.
“Marco.”
The man nodded and quietly walked toward their SUV.
Aurora stiffened.
“Don't do anything.”
“We’re leaving.”
“We?”
Michael opened the rear door.
“You said you didn't want me ordering you around, so here's the polite version. May we drive you home?”
“No.”
Zach looked worried.
“Dad.”
Michael exhaled.
Aurora almost laughed despite herself.
Apparently the feared Michael Moretti could be defeated by a six-year-old using a single disappointed syllable.
Michael lowered his voice.
“Aurora, someone photographed you, knows where you work, and mentioned my son. Getting into a taxi alone right now is not courage. It’s unnecessary risk.”
“I don't want you knowing where I live.”
“I won't ask.”
She stared at him.
“How would you drive me home without knowing?”
“My driver will take the address. I'll stay in the back with Zach and develop sudden hearing loss.”
Against every sensible instinct she possessed, Aurora almost smiled.
Then the black sedan’s headlights came on.
Her smile vanished.
Michael saw it.
“Get in.”
This time Aurora did.
Not because Michael commanded her.
Because the car across the street had begun moving.
The Moretti SUV pulled away first.
Aurora sat beside Zach, who fell asleep within seven minutes with his head resting against Mr. Buttons.
Michael occupied the opposite seat.
For several blocks, neither adult spoke.
Finally Aurora whispered, “Tell me about Felix.”
Michael looked out the window.
“He handled finances for several restaurants my family invested in.”
“Invested in?”
“Yes.”
“People say your family did more than invest.”
“They say many things.”
“Are they wrong?”
Michael turned toward her.
“No.”
The honesty unsettled her more than denial would have.
He continued.
“My father built his power in ways I won't defend. When he died, I inherited businesses I wanted and obligations I didn't.”
“You expect me to believe you're different?”
“I don't expect you to believe anything.”
Aurora studied him.
“What happened to Felix?”
“I don't know.”
“He disappeared.”
“I know.”
“Three days after I found his records.”
Michael leaned forward slightly.
“What records?”
Aurora instantly regretted saying it.
“Nothing.”
“Those messages aren't nothing.”
She looked down at sleeping Zach.
Michael followed her gaze.
His voice softened.
“He won't hear.”
Aurora swallowed.
“I worked at Bellissimo on Atlantic Avenue.”
“I know the place.”
“Of course you do.”
Michael ignored the tone.
“I started as a server. Eventually the owner let me help with scheduling and invoices. Felix came in once every week.”
She twisted her hands together.
“One night I stayed late because payroll was wrong. Felix had left his laptop open.”
Michael’s attention sharpened.
“I wasn't snooping. I was looking for a vendor invoice. But there were payments—hundreds of them—to companies I'd never heard of.”
“Names?”
“I don't remember most.”
“That means you remember some.”
Aurora looked at him.
“Moretti Development.”
Michael went still.
“There were payments under your family name,” she continued. “But later I realized the account numbers didn't match the legitimate invoices.”
Michael sat back.
“Felix was using our name.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“What did you do?”
“I copied everything.”
His eyes narrowed.
“To where?”
“A flash drive.”
“Where is it?”
“I threw it away.”
Michael studied her.
Aurora held his stare.
Then he said quietly, “You're a terrible liar.”
She looked away.
Michael didn't press.
“What happened after you copied it?”
“Felix came back unexpectedly. He saw me near the computer.”
“Did he know?”
“I don't think so. But two days later, someone broke into my apartment.”
Michael’s jaw tightened.
“Were you hurt?”
“No. Nothing was stolen either.”
“Which means they were looking for something.”
“Yes.”
“Then Felix disappeared.”
Aurora nodded.
“I quit. Moved. Changed my number.”
“And eventually the messages started.”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three weeks.”
Michael frowned.
“Why now?”
“I don't know.”
The SUV stopped at a red light.
Zach stirred.
Aurora instinctively pulled the little boy’s coat higher around his shoulders.
Michael noticed.
Something in his expression softened.
“My wife died four years ago,” he said suddenly.
Aurora blinked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Zach barely remembers her.”
She did not know why he had told her.
Perhaps because she had been gentle with his son.
Perhaps because Michael Moretti understood that trust rarely began with demanding someone else’s secrets.
“He talks about you,” Michael continued.
“Why?”
“He likes you.”
“He barely knows me.”
“He's six. You gave him cherries.”
Aurora laughed quietly.
Michael smiled.
Then his expression became serious again.
“Whatever Felix was involved in, it didn't end with him.”
Aurora looked toward the passing buildings.
“I know.”
“If the records still exist, whoever wants them believes you have them.”
“I don't.”
“Aurora.”
“I said I don't.”
Michael watched her for another moment.
Then he nodded.
“Fine.”
She looked at him suspiciously.
“Fine?”
“Your decision.”
“You’re not going to threaten me?”
“No.”
“Search my apartment?”
“No.”
“Have your men follow me?”
A pause.
Aurora's eyes narrowed.
“Michael.”
“For twenty-four hours.”
“No.”
“Someone is already following you.”
“That doesn't mean you get to.”
“It means I'd rather know they're not standing outside your bedroom window.”
Her anger faltered.
Michael leaned forward.
“I am not asking you to trust my family. I am asking you to understand one thing. Whoever used our name in those accounts stole millions from businesses I inherited. They may also have used that money for things I don't know about.”
“You want the flash drive.”
“Yes.”
“And if I give it to you?”
“I give it to my attorney and the federal investigator who's already examining those accounts.”
Aurora stared at him.
That was not what she expected.
“You're cooperating with investigators?”
“I told you. I inherited obligations I didn't want.”
For the first time she wondered whether Michael Moretti was trying to escape the same world she was.
The SUV turned onto her street.
Aurora immediately looked at him.
“I didn't give you my address.”
“The driver has it.”
“And you?”
Michael pointed to Zach.
“I was busy.”
Zach was awake now.
“I told Dad not to listen.”
Aurora laughed.
Michael looked offended.
“You were supposed to be asleep.”
“I woke up.”
The vehicle stopped outside Aurora’s building.
Michael stepped out first.
Aurora frowned.
“You're not coming upstairs.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
He scanned the street.
The black sedan was gone.
Zach rolled down the window.
“Bye, Miss Aurora!”
“Bye, Zach.”
“And remember the promise!”
Aurora smiled.
“Friends.”
“Friends,” he agreed.
Then Michael spoke.
“Aurora.”
She turned.
He was holding something.
The photograph from the envelope.
She had forgotten he still had it.
Michael pointed to the background.
Behind Aurora and Felix was a reflection in Bellissimo’s glass door.
A man.
Older.
Silver-haired.
Watching them.
Aurora’s breath caught.
“You know him?” Michael asked.
She did.
Vincent Caruso.
Felix’s older brother.
Owner of three restaurants.
Political donor.
And the last person Aurora had seen arguing with Felix before Felix vanished.
Michael watched her face.
“You do.”
Aurora backed toward her building.
Michael’s voice remained calm.
“Vincent contacted me two months ago. He offered to buy several properties from my company.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“He specifically asked about Bellissimo.”
Aurora froze.
Michael continued.
“And three weeks ago, after I refused to sell, someone began moving money through one of the old accounts again.”
Three weeks.
Exactly when Aurora’s messages had started.
Suddenly everything fit too well.
Michael looked at the photograph.
“Vincent knows you saw something.”
Aurora shook her head.
“He doesn't know what.”
“He doesn't need to. He only needs to believe you can hurt him.”
She reached for the door.
Michael’s next question stopped her.
“Where is the flash drive?”
Aurora did not turn around.
Silence stretched between them.
Finally she whispered, “Somewhere nobody would think to look.”
Michael’s voice became softer.
“If Vincent Caruso is threatening you, hiding isn't going to end this.”
Aurora closed her eyes.
“What will?”
“The truth.”
She looked over her shoulder.
Michael Moretti stood beneath a Brooklyn streetlamp, dark suit immaculate, blue-gray eyes unreadable.
A man with a dangerous name asking her to trust the law.
It would have been funny if she hadn't been terrified.
Aurora entered the building without another word.
She locked her apartment.
Checked the windows twice.
Then walked into her bedroom and knelt beside an old wooden dresser.
She pulled out the bottom drawer.
Reached beneath the lining.
And removed a tiny black flash drive wrapped in a plastic sandwich bag.
Aurora stared at it.
Eleven months of fear.
Eleven months of running.
All contained in something smaller than her thumb.
Her phone buzzed.
UNKNOWN NUMBER.
She opened the message.
Moretti can't protect you.
A second message appeared.
Ask him what happened to Felix.
Aurora stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
This one contained a photograph.
It had been taken minutes earlier.
Michael standing outside her apartment building.
And beneath it, three words.
May you like
Choose your side.
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