Chapter 6 - The Vanishing at Midnight
While Dante and Salvatore finalized their tactical plan in the meatpacking plant, three black unmarked vans rolled silently down the tree-lined street outside the Moretti estate on the Gold Coast.
Gregory Vance had not survived in the cutthroat world of defense procurement by being careless. When Marcus failed to check in at noon, Vance immediately activated his contingency protocol. He knew that Dante Moretti was still breathing. And through a compromised surveillance tap on Marcus's residence, Vance had traced the leak back to the Alvarez child.
In Vance's cold, algorithmic mind, a five-year-old child was simply an unsecured variable that needed deletion.
Inside the estate, Clara was reading a fairy tale to Sophie in the second-floor bedroom. The child was laughing, clutching a plush brown bear Dante had sent up with the kitchen staff. Suddenly, the chandelier flickered and died.
The backup generators failed to kick on. Complete darkness swallowed the mansion.
""Mommy?"" Sophie whimpered, clinging to Clara's apron.
""Shh... baby, stay right here,"" Clara whispered, her instincts flaring. She had lived through the chaos of naval shipyards and rough neighborhoods; she knew the sound of a coordinated power cut.
From the front lawn came the muffled thwip-thwip-thwip of suppressed carbines, followed by the heavy thuds of the estate guards falling to the ground.
Clara didn't hesitate. She didn't scream or cower. Remembering Mateo's calm under fire, she scooped Sophie into her arms, grabbed a heavy brass fireplace poker from the hearth, and slipped into the secret dumbwaiter shaft hidden behind the suite's wood-paneled closet. Dante’s mother had shown her that shaft three years ago during a deep cleaning.
Just as Clara pulled the narrow sliding door shut, the bedroom's heavy oak door was kicked off its hinges with explosive force.
Through the wooden slats of the shaft, Clara saw the silhouettes of four men entering the bedroom, wearing night-vision goggles and urban camouflage uniforms. Their laser sights sliced through the dark room like thin red threads.
""Target isn't here!"" one of the mercenaries barked into a tactical headset. ""Room is clear. Bed is still warm. Search the perimeter!""
Clara held her hand tightly over Sophie's mouth, praying with every beat of her racing heart. The child remained dead silent, her tiny hands gripping her mother's wrist, remembering what she had done in the East Gallery. She did not cry. She did not breathe.
Carefully, centimeter by centimeter, Clara lowered the counterweighted dumbwaiter platform down the shaft toward the cold storage pantry in the basement.
Meanwhile, on the ground floor, Dr. Sabini, who had remained behind to monitor the estate's medical supplies, heard the commotion. Arming himself with an antique revolver from Dante’s desk, the elderly physician crept into the central hallway, only to be ambushed by two mercenaries. A heavy rifle butt struck Sabini across the temple, sending him crashing to the floor, blood pooling on the pristine marble.
""Secure the perimeter! Plant the thermite charges! Burn the place to the ground!"" the mercenary commander ordered.
From the shadows of the basement laundry chute, Clara heard the command. If the house burned, Sophie would die in the cellar. Gathering every ounce of courage she possessed, Clara pulled Sophie out of the dumbwaiter, wrapped her in a heavy canvas laundry sack, and dashed across the dark kitchen towards the underground wine tunnel leading to the carriage house.
She burst into the carriage house just as Nico’s reserve guards recovered from the initial shock. A deafening firefight erupted in the driveway as the Moretti kin engaged the tactical strike team.
Clara sprinted through the crossfire, ducking behind the stone fountain, shielding Sophie with her own body. A ricocheting round grazed Clara's shoulder, tearing the cotton dress and leaving a fiery red trail of blood, but she didn't stop. She crashed through the side gate into the alleyway just as an armored SUV driven by Nico’s younger brother screeched to a halt beside her.
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""Get in! Get in now!"" the driver screamed, kicking the passenger door open.
Clara dove into the back seat, pulling Sophie beneath her as bullets shattered the rear windshield. The SUV roared away into the Chicago rain, leaving behind the burning gates of the Moretti estate.
