Chapter 14 - DELLA STOPS RUNNING
Luca wanted Della out of the city.
She refused.
"Absolutely not."
"They know where you are."
"They've known for weeks."
"They threatened your child."
"Which is exactly why I'm done letting them decide where I go."
Luca stared at her.
"You are five months pregnant."
"I'm aware."
"I can put you somewhere nobody knows."
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
Della stepped closer.
"My entire life, people with more money have told me what was best for me."
"Employers."
"Landlords."
"Doctors."
"Owen."
"Now you."
Luca's expression shifted.
She continued.
"Owen disappeared because he decided protecting me meant lying to me."
"He took my choices away."
"I won't let you do the same thing."
Luca was silent for a long moment.
Then he nodded.
"What do you want?"
The question surprised her.
"I want to find Owen."
"Okay."
"I want whoever threatened my baby exposed."
"Okay."
"And I want Cordelia held responsible for what she did."
Luca's mouth tightened.
"That one I particularly like."
For the first time in days, Della laughed.
It lasted only seconds.
Mara arrived with new information.
The threatening photograph had been printed at a private business center.
The business center belonged to Vance Development.
But the access badge used was registered to Evan.
Della shook her head.
"He warned me about Conrad."
"Maybe because he wanted you focused on his father," Mara said.
Luca folded his arms.
"Or somebody is framing him."
Mara looked toward Della.
"There's more."
She placed a document down.
A copy of Owen's employment records.
His last project had been called Harbor Renewal Initiative.
The project involved condemned waterfront property.
Della recognized the address.
"Fulton Street."
Mara nodded.
"Warehouse Twelve sits inside the redevelopment zone."
Luca frowned.
"So Owen wasn't investigating random payments."
"He was investigating the same location where I was shot."
Della stared at the map.
A memory surfaced.
The man at the hospital.
The umbrella.
The V pin.
But there had been another detail.
A voice.
He had spoken to someone on the phone while walking away.
Della whispered.
"I remember something."
Luca looked at her.
"He said, 'Tell Mr. Mercer we recovered the key.'"
Mara immediately wrote the name.
"Mercer?"
Della nodded.
Luca's face changed.
"What?"
She looked at him.
"Who is Mercer?"
Luca slowly sat down.
"Arthur Mercer was my father's business partner."
"Where is he now?"
May you like
Luca looked directly at Della.
"Chairman of Moretti Holdings."
