Chapter 21 - Chapter 21 - The Echo of Footsteps
The morning sun washed through the towering glass windows of Elena Moretti’s executive suite, casting a sharp, clean geometry across the polished oak floors. Down below, the relentless pulse of Manhattan moved in a rhythm she no longer feared. Two full years had passed since the night that nearly ended her life and the life of her unborn child, yet every now and then, a sudden sharp sound—a slamming door, a heavy boot in a corridor—could still send a ghost of a shiver down her spine. She stood by the glass, her coffee cup warming her palms, looking out at the city where her darkest nightmare had been forged and ultimately conquered. Her son, now a bright-eyed toddler who inherited her resilient spirit, was safely playing fifty miles away at the upstate sanctuary under Gino’s watchful, fiercely loyal eye. The foundation's latest quarterly reports rested neatly on her desk, proving that every dollar salvaged from the wreckage of Matteo’s empire was actively transforming lives.
A soft knock broke her concentration, and Rosa stepped into the office, her expression unusually serious. "Elena, you have a visitor downstairs in the secure lobby. He insists it’s personal, not foundation business." Elena turned away from the window, her brow furrowing slightly. "Did he give a name?" Rosa hesitated, clutching a clipboard tightly against her chest. "He said his name is Detective Vance, but he’s not here with the federal bureau anymore. He retired last month. He said it’s about an inquiry regarding Matteo’s final transfer records from the supermax facility in Colorado." A cold knot tightened in Elena’s stomach. Even though Matteo was buried beneath decades of reinforced concrete and total isolation, the shadows of the past still occasionally stretched long enough to touch her peace. "Send him up, Rosa," Elena said steadily, her voice dropping into the calm resolve that had carried her through federal courtrooms and intensive care units alike. "Let’s see what he wants."
