Chapter 6 - THE CHURCH WITH NO SAINTS
Rosa had never known about David’s investigation.
She worked as a kindergarten teacher in Yonkers.
Bruno took her from the school parking lot.
The security video showed him wearing a police uniform.
Children had watched him lead their teacher away.
Bruno selected an abandoned church in the Bronx for the exchange.
The building had belonged to a charity funded through Luca’s accounts.
Federal agents surrounded the neighborhood.
Bruno demanded Mariana come alone.
Alejandro offered to go in her place.
“This is my sister,” Mariana said.
“He wants the drive.”
“He wants the child’s mother.”
“He wants leverage against Emma.”
Mariana looked at him.
“You do not get to decide because you feel responsible.”
Alejandro accepted the boundary.
Ruiz created the plan.
Mariana would carry a copy of the drive.
A tracker would be hidden inside the metal casing.
Agents would enter through the collapsed rectory.
Alejandro and Gabriel would remain outside police control.
Alejandro agreed.
Then he broke the agreement.
He entered through an old tunnel connected to the church basement.
The tunnel appeared on a Moretti construction map David had copied.
Alejandro believed Bruno would recognize police tactics.
He wanted another route.
Inside the church, Rosa sat near the altar.
Bruno held a gun against her shoulder.
Mariana walked down the center aisle.
Broken stained glass scattered colored light across the floor.
“You came.”
“Let her go.”
“The drive first.”
Mariana held it up.
“Why did you kill David?”
Bruno smiled.
“Luca ordered it.”
“You were there.”
“I followed his car.”
“I watched it leave the road.”
“Did he suffer?”
Rosa began crying.
Mariana remained still.
Bruno wanted rage.
He wanted her to rush forward.
She refused to give him the movement he expected.
“You threatened Emma.”
“She should have stayed downstairs.”
“She is four.”
“She destroyed twenty years of planning.”
“No.”
“She helped one person breathe.”
“Everything after that was your choice.”
The words angered him.
He struck Rosa.
Mariana took one step forward.
A shadow moved behind the altar.
Alejandro emerged from the tunnel.
Bruno turned the gun toward him.
“You were supposed to die quietly.”
Alejandro stopped.
“You killed Kiara.”
“I helped save the empire.”
“You keep using that word.”
“It is what made all of us powerful.”
“It made us afraid of children.”
Bruno laughed.
“You have become sentimental because a maid’s daughter reminds you of your own.”
Alejandro’s expression hardened.
“Emma is not a replacement for Kiara.”
“She is not a symbol.”
“She is a child you tried to kill.”
Bruno aimed at Mariana.
Alejandro moved.
The shot struck his shoulder.
Federal agents entered through the rear doors.
Gabriel crossed the aisle and tackled Bruno.
The drive slid across the floor.
Rosa fell sideways with the chair.
Mariana reached her first.
Bruno attempted to pull a second gun.
Alejandro kicked it away despite the blood spreading across his coat.
Gabriel pinned Bruno down.
“Let me kill him,” Gabriel said.
Alejandro looked at the man who had murdered his daughter.
Then he looked at the cameras on the agents’ uniforms.
“No.”
Bruno laughed from the floor.
“Weak.”
Alejandro pressed one hand against his wound.
“Alive men can testify.”
Bruno’s smile disappeared.
He had expected death.
Death would have protected the Covenant.
May you like
Prison would make him speak or remain publicly responsible.
For the first time, Alejandro chose evidence over revenge.
