Chapter 11 - The Man Who Looked Like Gabriel
Clara backed toward the desk.
Sofia moved beside her.
The man in the doorway stayed still.
Up close, the resemblance to Gabriel remained unsettling but imperfect.
His jaw was narrower.
His nose had been broken at least once.
The scar across his right thumb was real.
Clara stared at it.
"Who are you?"
"Elias Bennett."
The surname hit almost as hard as the face.
"Bennett?"
"My mother was Gabriel's aunt."
Sofia's expression shifted.
"Elena's younger sister."
Elias nodded.
"Gabriel and I grew up seeing each other in summers before the Falcone side swallowed everything."
Clara's voice sharpened.
"You stood outside my restaurant."
"Yes."
"You broke into my apartment?"
"No."
"You called about the ring?"
"No."
"Then why were you watching me?"
Elias looked at the photographs.
"Because Gabriel asked me to."
Clara closed her eyes briefly.
Another person.
Another secret.
"Where is he?"
Elias hesitated.
"I don't know."
"Everyone says that."
"This time it is true."
Sofia stepped forward.
"When did you last see him?"
"Three weeks ago."
Clara's chest tightened.
"Where?"
"Here."
Elias pointed toward the desk.
"He knew Victor's people had started searching the old properties again."
"He was preparing to move the archive."
"Then he vanished."
Clara studied him.
"Did you make the call from New York today?"
"No."
"But Gabriel did."
Elias's eyes widened.
"He called you?"
That reaction looked genuine.
Clara nodded.
"He told me not to come here."
Elias swore under his breath.
"Then they forced him to call."
Sofia's expression hardened.
"Who are they?"
"Victor's people."
Clara shook her head.
"Gabriel's recording said Victor wasn't the Palermo betrayer."
"That doesn't mean Victor stopped hunting him."
Elias moved slowly toward the desk.
"Callahan gave Victor the schedule."
"Victor ordered the trap."
"Different roles, same result."
Clara folded her arms.
"Why should I trust you?"
"You shouldn't."
The answer surprised her.
Elias opened a drawer and removed a sealed plastic pouch.
Inside was Gabriel's wedding band.
Clara knew it instantly.
The inside carried a tiny scratch from the day Gabriel had tried to repair their kitchen sink with the ring still on his finger.
She reached for it.
Elias let her take it.
The metal was cold.
"He left this three weeks ago."
"Why?"
"He said if anything happened, you would know it was real."
Clara closed her hand around the band.
"He keeps leaving proof instead of himself."
Elias looked away.
"He thinks being near you puts you in danger."
"He has had years to invent better excuses."
A car door slammed somewhere above them.
Sofia killed the lamp.
The room dropped into darkness.
Elias moved to the wall and peered through a small camera monitor hidden beneath a shelf.
Two vehicles had entered the warehouse yard.
Men stepped out.
Clara recognized one of them from the restaurant.
He had been sitting alone near the bar when Leonardo grabbed her wrist.
"Victor's?" Sofia whispered.
Elias nodded.
"Probably."
"Back exit?"
"Tunnel."
Clara almost laughed.
"Of course there's a tunnel."
Elias pushed aside a storage cabinet, revealing a narrow service passage.
They entered just as footsteps sounded on the stairs outside.
The tunnel led toward an old utility building near the river.
They moved quickly but quietly.
Clara clutched Gabriel's wedding band in one hand and the black ring in the other.
Halfway through, Sofia stopped.
"Listen."
A phone was ringing.
Not Clara's.
Not Sofia's.
Elias reached into his coat.
His screen displayed an unknown number.
He answered.
"Yes?"
A distorted voice spoke loudly enough for the others to hear.
"You brought her to the warehouse."
Elias went pale.
"Who is this?"
"You were told to keep her away."
Clara grabbed the phone.
"Where is Gabriel?"
The voice paused.
Then it changed.
The distortion disappeared.
Gabriel spoke.
"Clara, listen to me."
Her knees nearly weakened.
"Where are you?"
"There isn't time."
"There has been three years."
Silence.
Clara's voice broke.
"There has been three years, Gabriel."
He inhaled shakily.
"I know."
"Then tell me where you are."
Another voice sounded faintly in the background.
Gabriel lowered his tone.
"The second key isn't with Victor."
Sofia looked at Clara.
"Who has it?"
Gabriel answered before Clara repeated the question.
May you like
"Leonardo."
The line went dead.
