Chapter 7 - The Mother at the Funeral Home
Sofia had lived under federal protection outside Milwaukee.
Only a few people knew the address.
The leak proved Salvatore still had someone inside the investigation.
Agent Ruiz refused to let Hannah go alone.
They created a controlled exchange.
A tracker was hidden inside the locket.
Tactical teams surrounded the old Valentasi funeral home.
Lucas and Michael remained in custody but monitored the operation from separate command vehicles.
The funeral home looked abandoned.
Its windows were covered.
A single light burned above the entrance.
Hannah walked toward it carrying the locket.
The door opened before she knocked.
Gabriel Moretti stood inside.
His shoulder was bandaged.
He had escaped the church before agents arrived.
He searched Hannah for wires.
His hands shook.
“Where is Sofia?”
“Chapel.”
“Is she hurt?”
“Not yet.”
Gabriel found the tracker inside the locket.
He removed it and crushed it beneath his shoe.
Then he leaned close.
“My father has my sister.”
Hannah looked at him.
“You mean Salvatore.”
His face tightened.
“He promised to acknowledge me after Lucas and Michael were gone.”
“He promised me a place in the family.”
“Instead, he kept evidence against everyone I love.”
Hannah remembered the file from the rail yard.
Salvatore maintained leverage over every loyal person.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Go inside.”
“Keep him talking.”
“I will open the basement entrance for the agents.”
Gabriel slipped a brass key into her hand.
Then he pushed her toward the chapel.
Sofia knelt beside a closed casket.
Her wrists were tied.
Salvatore stood near the altar wearing a dark suit.
He looked like a grieving patriarch preparing another family funeral.
“Hannah Collins.”
“You have caused extraordinary damage for a waitress.”
“I dropped a locket.”
“No.”
“You made my nephews believe truth mattered more than blood.”
Hannah placed the locket on the floor.
“They chose that themselves.”
“People rarely choose anything themselves.”
“They choose what fear allows.”
Sofia lifted her head.
“That is what you told me after Antonio died.”
Salvatore looked at her.
“You remained alive because you understood.”
“I remained silent because you threatened my sons.”
“You still buried one of them.”
Sofia’s voice became stronger.
“And I allowed it.”
“That is my shame.”
Salvatore opened the casket.
Explosives filled the white satin interior.
A remote rested in his hand.
“You will call Lucas.”
“You will tell him to withdraw his cooperation.”
“He cannot.”
“He can refuse to testify.”
“And Michael?”
“He will do whatever Lucas does.”
Hannah shook her head.
“You do not know them anymore.”
Salvatore smiled.
“I built them.”
“No.”
“You built the fear around them.”
A faint sound came from beneath the floor.
The basement door.
Gabriel had opened it.
Hannah stepped closer to the casket.
Salvatore raised the remote.
“Stop.”
Sofia kicked the metal casket stand.
It rolled into his legs.
The remote slipped from his hand.
Hannah kicked it beneath a pew.
Agents entered through the basement.
Gunfire erupted near the rear doors.
Gabriel tackled Salvatore.
Sofia crawled toward Hannah.
Salvatore struck Gabriel and pulled a pistol from his ankle.
He aimed toward the entrance.
Michael entered before Ruiz could stop him.
Lucas appeared from the opposite door.
Salvatore fired at Michael.
Lucas stepped into the path.
The bullet struck his protective vest and knocked him onto the floor.
Michael shot Salvatore in the shoulder.
Agents surrounded him.
Sofia reached her sons.
Lucas struggled to breathe.
Michael dropped beside him.
“You are an idiot.”
Lucas coughed.
“You disappeared for two years.”
“I was owed one bad decision.”
Salvatore looked at them from the floor.
“You will destroy each other.”
Sofia stood between her sons.
May you like
“No.”
“You only taught them to expect it.”
