Chapter 2 - The Housekeeper’s Fear
Sophia almost dropped the laundry basket when she discovered her daughter inside Lorenzo’s study.
“Emma!” She hurried through the doorway. “What are you doing?”
Emma pointed at Lorenzo. “I told him about Mrs. DeLuca.”
Sophia went white. Lorenzo saw it. Not surprise. Fear.
“Sophia.”
She looked at him. “Did you see Isabella yesterday?”
“No.” Too fast.
He said nothing. Sophia shifted the basket against her hip. “I mean… I saw a woman.”
“What woman?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where?”
“Near the freight district.”
“Did she look like my wife?”
Sophia hesitated. That hesitation mattered. “Yes.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sophia looked toward Emma, then back. “Because Mrs. DeLuca is dead.”
“That did not answer my question.”
Her eyes filled. “I thought I was imagining it.”
“And Bruno?”
Sophia closed her eyes. So she had seen the dog. Lorenzo stood completely still. “Did you recognize him?”
“Yes.” The word barely came out.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Sophia whispered: “Because someone followed us home.”
Silence. Lorenzo’s face changed. Emma hugged her rabbit tighter.
Sophia continued: “We left the freight district. A gray SUV followed us for four blocks. I changed direction twice. It stayed behind us. Then it disappeared.”
“Did you get a plate?”
“No.”
“Make?”
“Maybe a Chevrolet. Maybe GMC. I don’t know. Dark windows.”
Lorenzo looked at Emma, then back at Sophia. “Did Isabella see you?”
“I don’t know. She looked toward us. Then she pulled the coat higher around her face and moved behind the warehouse.”
“What did Bruno do?”
Sophia swallowed. “He started coming toward Emma.”
That was enough. Bruno loved children, but he especially loved Emma because she always brought him pieces of biscuit from the kitchen.
Sophia continued: “Then the woman called him.”
Lorenzo’s chest tightened. “What did she say?”
“I couldn’t hear.”
“Think.”
Sophia closed her eyes. Then whispered: “B.”
“What?”
“It sounded like ‘B.’”
“Maybe ‘Bruno.’”
Lorenzo turned away. His hands flattened against the desk. Two months of grief. A sealed casket. A funeral. Condolence letters. The empty side of his bed. And now a housekeeper and her toddler were telling him Isabella might be alive. He wanted to believe them; that was exactly why he could not. Hope distorts evidence as efficiently as fear. He had learned that in business. Now he would have to learn it with his wife.
He pressed the intercom. “Mason.”
His head of security answered immediately. “Yes?”
“Come to my study.”
Pause. “Now.”
Mason Reed entered three minutes later. Forty-three. Former federal agent. The only man on Lorenzo’s payroll permitted to tell him no without immediately regretting it. He listened without interrupting, then looked at Emma. “Can you show me where?”
Emma nodded.
Lorenzo said: “We go quietly.”
Mason looked at him. “You don’t.”
“What?”
“You stay here.”
Lorenzo’s expression hardened. “No.”
“If Isabella is alive and hiding from someone, the worst thing we can do is send a convoy of black SUVs into the district.”
“I can go alone.”
“You are one of the most recognizable men in New York business.”
“I’m not that recognizable.”
Sophia almost laughed. Wrong moment. Lorenzo glanced at her, and she immediately looked down.
Mason continued: “I take Sophia and Emma.”
“No.”
“Two plainclothes officers from our private team. No weapons displayed. We verify the location. If we find anything, we preserve it. Then we involve law enforcement as appropriate.”
Lorenzo stared. “My wife may be alive.”
“I know.”
“And you’re telling me to wait.”
“Yes.”
“Do you enjoy employment?”
“Usually.”
Lorenzo looked away, then at Emma. If Isabella were alive and frightened, his sudden appearance might send her running. Or worse. Whoever had followed Sophia might be watching. He hated every part of Mason’s plan. That probably meant it was sensible.
“Fine.” Then: “Emma does not go near the location.”
Mason nodded. “She points from the car.”
“Sophia too.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo looked at Sophia. “You and Emma stay at the estate tonight.”
Her eyes widened. “For safety.”
May you like
“Not because you’re in trouble.”
She nodded slowly. Lorenzo turned to Mason. “Go.”
