Chapter 3 - The Fortress on Lake Michigan
Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting in the plush leather interior of Dante Moretti’s armored SUV. The dark-tinted windows blocked out the neon glare of the city as we sped down Lake Shore Drive.
In my lap, I held a small diaper bag and the cream envelope Natalie had given me. Outside, three chase cars filled with Dante's men provided an escort that felt less like a rescue and more like a military convoy.
"Where are you taking us?" I asked, looking at Dante, who sat across from me, reviewing encrypted files on a tablet.
"My home," Dante said without looking up. "Highland Park. It's safe."
"Safe from who?" I demanded, my fear transforming into sharp anger. "You said my sister stole thirty million dollars. Natalie was a quiet, shy woman who collected porcelain teacups! She wouldn't steal a pen from an office desk!"
Dante set his tablet down, rubbing his temples. "Your sister wasn't a thief, Sophia. She was a whistle-blower. Belandi Imports is a front for Victor Belandi—the head of the rival crime syndicate operating out of the South Side. Six months ago, Victor began using international trade channels to traffic illegal weapons and move untraceable cash."
"And Natalie found out?"
"She found the ledger," Dante explained quietly. "Victor realized she knew. He tried to have her eliminated, but Natalie was smarter than he gave her credit for. She went into hiding, but not before transferring the master cryptographic key to a secure offshore drive."
My stomach did a violent flip. I pulled the cream envelope out of my purse, staring at it. "This envelope... it has a birth certificate inside. Lily’s birth certificate."
"Look at the back," Dante instructed softly.
I turned the thick paper over. Printed in tiny, invisible-ink watermarks that only showed under the overhead reading light of the SUV was a string of ninety-six random alphanumeric characters.
"A cold-wallet key," Dante murmured. "Whoever holds that key controls thirty million dollars of Victor Belandi’s money, along with the complete transaction records of his political bribe network. That’s why your landlord was paid off to evict you. That’s why your bank accounts were systematically drained."
"To break me," I whispered, tears of realization burning my eyes. "They wanted me starving, desperate, and homeless so I would surrender Lily to state child services... where Belandi could easily claim her."
"Exactly," Dante said, his voice laced with an icy fury. "If you were broken, you couldn't fight back."
"And what about you?" I asked, looking up, meeting his piercing gray eyes. "Why are you doing this, Dante? You don't know me. You're a crime boss. What do you get out of saving a broke waitress and her niece?"
Dante fell silent for a long moment. He looked out the rain-slicked window at the passing city lights.
"Three years ago, Victor Belandi set a fire at a warehouse in West Loop," Dante said softly, his voice dropping into a register of deep, hidden pain. "My younger brother was inside. I couldn't save him."
I caught my breath.
"Victor thinks he can control this city by tormenting the helpless," Dante continued, turning back to face me. "He tried it with your sister. He tried it with you. But I promised myself that as long as I breathe, Victor Belandi will never take another innocent life in Chicago."
The SUV slowed down, turning down a private, tree-lined drive guarded by high iron gates and armed security personnel. The gates swung open, revealing a sprawling, magnificent limestone estate overlooking Lake Michigan.
The car stopped in front of the grand entrance. Dante stepped out first, opening my door, holding out his hand to help me down.
"Welcome to my home, Sophia," Dante said softly. "Here, nobody touches you or Lily."
May you like
As I stepped onto the cold stone driveway, clutching my niece against my chest, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a text message from an unknown number:
I see you with the Moretti dog, Sophia. Enjoy your night. Your sister didn't survive hers.
