Chapter 4 - The Daughter Who Wouldn’t Come Home
Vincent had not spoken to Sophie in eight months.
Their last conversation had ended with her telling him that money was not an apology.
He had sent money anyway.
At the time, he thought he was being patient.
Now, staring at the photograph on his phone, he understood how often he had used generosity to avoid listening.
Miriam contacted the investigator.
Elena moved closer to Vincent.
“Does your daughter know Claudia would threaten her?”
“My daughter knows more about Claudia than I wanted to hear.”
“What did she say?”
“That Claudia married the gates.”
Elena frowned.
Vincent gave a humorless smile.
“The house. The name. The men standing outside. Sophie said she loved being protected from consequences.”
“And you believed your wife.”
“I told Sophie she was being cruel.”
He called his daughter.
She did not answer.
He tried again.
On the third attempt, she picked up.
“What?”
The anger in her voice nearly made him grateful.
“Sophie, listen carefully. Are you somewhere safe?”
A pause.
“Dad?”
“Where are you?”
“At home.”
“Alone?”
“No.”
His heart stumbled.
Then Sophie added, “My roommate’s here. What’s happening?”
Vincent looked at Miriam, who nodded for him to keep speaking.
“I need you to speak to someone who can explain. Her name is Miriam Hale.”
“You’re with Miriam Hale?”
The disbelief was unmistakable.
“Yes.”
“Are you dying?”
“No.”
“Because that’s the only explanation I can come up with.”
Despite everything, Elena almost smiled.
Miriam took the phone.
Her voice became calm and practical.
Within an hour, Sophie and her roommate had been met by officers from the investigative team Miriam had contacted. The threatening photograph had been preserved.
Nobody asked Sophie to return to the mansion.
Nobody let Vincent arrange her protection through his own men.
It was the right decision.
He disliked how much relief it gave him.
At four in the morning, Sophie called back.
“I’m safe.”
Vincent sat down.
“Thank God.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Sound like everything’s fixed because I’m breathing.”
He closed his eyes.
“All right.”
“What did you do?”
For once, he did not answer with what other people had done to him.
“I built something I couldn’t control as well as I thought.”
“That’s still not an answer.”
“I know.”
Across the room, Elena watched him struggle.
He continued.
“I let people hurt other people because asking questions might have cost me money or loyalty. Tonight, some of those people decided I was in the way.”
Sophie was quiet.
Then she asked, “And the woman on the news?”
“She saved my life.”
“Did you take her anywhere against her will?”
“No.”
“Put her on.”
Elena accepted the phone.
“My name is Elena Marquez.”
“I’m Sophie.”
“I know.”
“Are you safe with my father?”
Elena glanced at Vincent.
“I’m safe with the lawyer sitting beside him.”
Sophie let out a small breath.
“Good answer.”
Something shifted in Vincent’s chest.
His daughter’s distrust was reasonable.
That hurt more than if it had been unfair.
By dawn, Miriam had arranged a voluntary meeting with investigators at a secure office.
Elena would give her statement.
Vincent would have separate counsel before answering questions about criminal matters.
The boundaries were clear.
He was no longer directing the room.
As they prepared to leave, Rosa pressed a paper bag into Elena’s hands.
“Sandwiches.”
“Aunt Rosa—”
“People make stupid decisions hungry.”
She turned to Vincent.
“You especially.”
He accepted the rebuke.
Outside, the sky was turning pale above the rooftops.
For the first time since leaving the mansion, he noticed the city waking around him.
Delivery trucks.
A bus stopping at the corner.
A nurse walking toward her car.
Thousands of lives moving without any interest in his reputation.
At the secure office, Elena sat beneath fluorescent lights and told her story from the beginning.
When she described Matteo’s final phone call, Vincent looked down at his hands.
They had signed the warehouse settlement.
They had shaken Rinaldi’s hand afterward.
They had never opened a single letter Elena sent.
By late morning, the investigator returned with news.
Pietro, Vincent’s longtime guard, had been found injured in a locked outbuilding on the estate.
He was alive.
He had identified Marcus and two armed men.
May you like
And before losing consciousness, he had heard Rinaldi give an order.
“Find the maid’s son before she finds a lawyer.”
