Chapter 15 - THIRTY-ONE PEOPLE, THIRTY-ONE REASONSAt 9:06 p.m., I was standing in a federal operations room with Samuel beside me.
Rebecca Shaw was on the telephone.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations and other law enforcement units were coordinating a response.
I was there for one reason.
My company controlled access to the property where people were believed to be held.
Investigators needed accurate facility records.
I supplied them.
Gate information.
Warehouse maps.
Employee rosters.
The names of contractors who managed the loading areas.
For once, the knowledge I'd accumulated running my empire was being used to dismantle part of it.
A federal agent named Malik Hayes studied one of the maps.
"Are these current?"
"As of last week."
"Any concealed storage areas?"
I hesitated.
Then pointed toward a section near the east warehouse.
"There's an older refrigerated building that doesn't appear on the standard tenant diagrams."
"Why not?"
"It was taken out of commercial service years ago."
"Could someone still use it?"
"Yes."
Hayes marked the location.
"Thank you."
I looked at him.
He wasn't impressed by my name.
He wasn't intimidated by my reputation.
He treated me as someone who might possess useful information.
It was strangely humbling.
And I appreciated it.
Hannah called while investigators were working.
"How are things?"
"Moving."
"Can you tell me anything?"
"Not much yet."
A pause.
"You're staying with the authorities?"
"Yes."
"Good."
I could hear Emma laughing in the background.
"What's she doing?"
"Teaching Rosa how to play a game on the tablet."
I smiled.
"Rosa hates tablets."
"Apparently she's losing."
I heard Rosa shout something about unfair rules.
Hannah laughed softly.
For a moment, the nightmare faded.
Then she said, "Vincent?"
"Yes?"
"Whatever happens tonight, remember you don't have to fix everything by yourself."
I looked through the glass at the agents working.
"I'm starting to understand that."
"Good."
I hesitated.
"Hannah?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for staying."
She was silent for a moment.
Then she said:
"Thank you for making it possible to stay."
We disconnected.
At 10:11 p.m., an investigator approached Shaw.
His expression told me something important had happened.
She turned toward me.
"Law enforcement has secured the primary buildings."
I stood.
"Did they find anyone?"
"Yes."
My heart hammered.
"How many?"
"Several people are being moved to safety. Medical and victim-support personnel are responding."
"Leo?"
"We don't have confirmation yet."
I sat again.
Waiting had become the hardest part of my life.
I could order business decisions in seconds.
I could move money across continents.
But I couldn't force an answer to arrive.
At 10:34, Shaw returned.
Her face had changed.
"Vincent."
I stood.
"Tell me."
"Thirty-one people have been located alive in connection with the operation."
I closed my eyes.
Alive.
Thirty-one people.
Thirty-one mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, friends.
Thirty-one lives that had been treated as entries on a shipping schedule.
Shaw continued.
"Several suspects are in custody. We have also identified additional witnesses who may help us locate others."
"Leo?"
She nodded.
"Leo Castillo is among those recovered."
For a moment, I couldn't move.
Then I sat down heavily.
My hands were shaking.
I thought about Mara's photograph.
Her brother beside his bicycle.
His ridiculous grin.
And I imagined her hearing the words she had waited so long to hear.
He's alive.
He's coming home.
Shaw sat opposite me.
"Mr. Moretti, I know this doesn't erase your company's role."
"I know."
"But your cooperation helped."
I looked at her.
"Then let me keep helping."
The next morning, Mara was reunited with Leo.
I wasn't present for their first embrace.
That moment belonged to them.
But later, with their permission and their attorney present, I met them at a protected facility.
Leo was thin and exhausted.
There was a small bruise on his cheek.
He sat close to his sister.
Mara hadn't stopped holding his hand.
When I entered, Leo looked up.
"You're Mr. Moretti."
"Yes."
He stared at me.
"I know who you are."
I sat across from him.
"I imagine you do."
His expression hardened.
"Your company moved us."
I nodded.
"Yes."
"Your name was on papers."
"Yes."
He swallowed.
"People kept saying nobody would believe us because the Morettis owned everything."
I couldn't look away.
"I'm sorry."
Leo laughed bitterly.
"That doesn't change what happened."
"No."
I took a breath.
"It doesn't."
He studied me.
"Then why are you here?"
"To tell you I won't ask you to forgive me. But I'm going to do everything I legally can to help make sure what happened to you doesn't happen again."
Leo glanced at Mara.
She squeezed his hand.
Then he asked:
"Did you see the video?"
I nodded.
"Your message."
He looked down.
"I heard one of the men talking about the twins. He had a picture of your daughter."
My stomach tightened.
"They were planning something at your house," Leo continued. "I found out her name was Emma."
"How?"
"One of the men kept repeating it."
He rubbed his hands together.
"I knew there was a camera near the loading area. I wrote the words with a marker they used on shipping labels."
"Why risk that?"
Leo looked at me.
"Because I thought maybe somebody would see it."
I stared at him.
He had been frightened.
Trapped.
Barely sixteen.
And he'd risked punishment to warn a little girl he'd never met.
My voice broke.
"You may have helped save her life."
His eyes filled.
"I just didn't want another kid to disappear."
I reached across the table.
Then stopped.
I had no right to assume he wanted my hand.
Leo considered me for a moment.
Then he reached out.
We shook hands.
It was a small gesture.
It meant more to me than the signatures on every contract I'd ever negotiated.
Later, I received another update.
Dominic had disappeared.
Investigators believed he'd received warning of the operation and fled before the facilities were secured.
Evelyn Cross was also unavailable for questioning.
Her attorneys claimed she was out of the country.
I wasn't surprised.
People who profited from suffering rarely volunteered to explain themselves.
But I believed we were finally winning.
For the first time, we had living witnesses.
Documents.
Financial records.
And people willing to testify.
I should have known better than to believe the danger had passed.
That afternoon, Hannah accompanied Mara to a meeting with a victim-support attorney.
Rosa stayed with the twins.
The appointment was supposed to take place in a protected office.
But Mara became frightened after spotting someone she believed had worked with the people holding Leo.
Hannah called me.
"Vincent, we're leaving."
"Where are you?"
"Near the office. We're going back inside."
I heard traffic.
Then a car door slammed.
Hannah's voice changed.
"Mara, keep walking."
I stood.
"Hannah?"
"Vincent, listen carefully."
Another noise.
A man's shout.
Hannah spoke quickly.
"Call Shaw. Tell her Mara needs protection at the south entrance."
"What about you?"
"Don't come here."
My heart began pounding.
"Hannah!"
A struggle sounded through the phone.
Then her voice, strained but controlled.
"Tell Emma and Noah—"
The connection broke.
I called back.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Twenty minutes later, federal agents found Mara unharmed inside the building.
Hannah was gone.
Her phone lay shattered beside the curb.
And beside it was a small silver hair clip.
The one she wore every day.
At 4:17 p.m., I received a video.
Hannah sat in a chair inside an unfamiliar room.
Her hands were restrained.
Blood darkened one sleeve.
She looked directly at the camera.
A woman's voice spoke from behind her.
"Hello, Vincent."
I knew that voice.
Evelyn Cross.
"You've taken thirty-one of my investments away from me."
A pause.
"Now I've taken something from you."
Evelyn stepped into view.
She rested a hand on Hannah's shoulder.
"Bring me the original evidence Claire left behind."
May you like
Her smile was almost gentle.
"Or the next time your children see their nanny, they'll be attending another funeral."
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