Chapter 6 - THE LAST PERSON HE SUSPECTED
Dante returned to the mansion before sunrise.
He had not slept.
Voss's statement had unsettled him. His father had trusted very few people. Most were dead, retired, or too old to have arranged something so elaborate.
One name kept returning.
His father's younger brother, Salvatore.
Salvatore Moretti had died in a boating accident when Dante was fifteen. The family had held a private funeral. His body had never been recovered, but the official report had listed him as presumed dead.
Dante had not thought about him in years.
He called Marco.
“Find every record connected to Salvatore.”
Marco was silent.
“You think he's alive?”
“I think someone wants me to believe he is.”
Later that morning, Elena brought Lily to the mansion for a meeting with the child specialist. The appointment took place in the library, with Elena present.
The specialist, Dr. Rachel Kim, used picture cards, simple puzzles, and memory games. Lily enjoyed the activities and treated the session like play.
Afterward, Dr. Kim spoke privately with Elena.
“Your daughter appears to have an unusually strong visual memory,” she explained. “She notices small changes and recalls details accurately. That doesn't mean she should be expected to solve adult problems. It means she may benefit from enrichment activities and a school environment that supports her curiosity.”
Elena looked relieved.
“So she's all right?”
“She's a bright little girl. The most important thing is that she feels safe.”
Dante, waiting near the doorway, heard the final sentence.
He nodded.
“That is what matters.”
Lily emerged holding a sticker.
“Mr. Dante, I got a star.”
“That's an excellent star.”
She studied his face.
“Are you worried?”
Dante crouched.
“Why do you ask?”
“Your eyebrows are doing this.”
She pulled her own eyebrows together.
Dante laughed quietly.
“Maybe I am.”
“Mommy says when people are worried, they should talk.”
“Your mother is wise.”
Lily thought about that.
“You can talk to me. I know how to listen.”
Dante felt something tighten in his chest.
“Thank you, Lily.”
At noon, Marco called with an update.
Salvatore's old passport had been used six months earlier at a private airport in New Jersey. The photograph was poor, but the age and facial structure matched.
There was more.
A payment had been made to the company that owned the blue sedan.
The authorization came from an account belonging to Victor.
Dante stared at the screen.
“Victor was working with him.”
“Looks that way.”
Dante closed his eyes.
His uncle had been presumed dead for twenty years. Victor had been his father's trusted lieutenant. Together, they had arranged surveillance on Dante and tried to draw him into a meeting where his private conversations could be used against him.
“What do they want?” Marco asked.
“Control.”
“Of the organization?”
“Of everything my father left.”
Dante looked toward Lily, who was showing Elena her sticker.
He realized the device had not been meant only to record a meeting.
It had been a test. Someone wanted to know whether Dante could still be manipulated through routine, loyalty, and the habits his father had taught him.
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Now they knew a four-year-old had noticed the first move.
And that made her a target.
