Chapter 6 - SOFIA KNEW THE VOICE
Alessandro did not ask Sofia to identify anyone immediately.
She was six.
Terrified children could be led too easily.
Instead, he moved Elena and Sofia into a guarded guest suite away from Isabella.
Then he had several men speak from behind a screen.
Luca.
Two guards.
Pietro.
Marco.
Sofia listened.
She shook her head each time.
Then Chef Antonio spoke.
Nothing.
Alessandro almost felt relief.
Maybe the voice belonged to an outsider.
Then Enzo Romano arrived.
Alessandro’s cousin had been handling business downtown.
He was forty-one, charming, impeccably dressed, and had spent his entire life complaining that Alessandro inherited the position Enzo deserved.
Alessandro never treated him as an enemy.
Enzo was family.
That word was becoming less reassuring by the hour.
Marco’s temporary confinement ended after investigators discovered his access code had been copied from a handwritten emergency list in the security safe.
Only four people knew about that list.
Alessandro.
Marco.
Luca.
And Enzo.
Sofia sat with Elena in another room.
Enzo did not know she was listening.
He entered the hallway.
“What the hell happened?”
The color vanished from Sofia’s face.
She grabbed Elena.
“That’s him.”
Elena stared toward the closed door.
“You’re sure?”
Sofia nodded.
“The man in the wall.”
Alessandro watched through the camera.
He had never felt betrayal arrive so quietly.
Enzo was laughing with Luca outside.
The same cousin who attended birthdays.
Funerals.
Family dinners.
The man Alessandro had trusted with millions.
Alessandro did not confront him.
Not yet.
He had learned from Isabella.
Fear revealed more when people did not know how much you knew.
That evening, Enzo asked to see Isabella.
Alessandro approved it.
But every word was recorded.
Enzo entered the room.
Isabella immediately whispered.
“You said the child would be handled.”
Enzo’s face changed.
“Keep your voice down.”
“She saw me.”
“And now she’s alive.”
“I know.”
“You told me she was gone.”
“I thought she was.”
Alessandro stood behind the one-way glass with Marco.
Marco’s jaw tightened.
Enzo continued.
“Stop panicking.”
“The lab still has nothing.”
“What about the bottle?”
“Empty.”
“The flash drive?”
“Most of it is encrypted.”
Isabella paced.
“What about the policy?”
Enzo swore.
“You were supposed to destroy that.”
“I didn’t think he’d search my jewelry.”
Enzo grabbed her arm.
“Listen to me.”
“If this falls apart, we say you were building financial protection for after the wedding.”
“And the food?”
“No proof.”
“What about Sofia?”
Enzo smiled.
“She’s six.”
“People hear what they expect to hear from children.”
Behind the glass, Alessandro’s expression became deadly calm.
May you like
Then Isabella asked the question that revealed the real plan.
“And when do we get the remaining seventy million?”
