Chapter 3 - The Woman Who Disappeared
Dante moved first.
He placed himself between Penelope and the kitchen.
"Stay here."
"No."
He looked back.
"That wasn't a suggestion."
"And this isn't your building."
Another knock.
"Penelope."
The voice was female.
Weak.
Penelope pushed past him.
Dante caught her elbow—not roughly, but firmly enough to stop her.
"If that's Julia, we don't know who's with her."
"If it's Julia, she's terrified."
"Which is exactly why you don't rush toward a locked door."
Penelope hated that he was right.
Dante motioned to Marco, who appeared from the hallway with another man.
They approached the kitchen exit from opposite sides.
Marco checked the camera feed on his phone.
"One woman. Alone."
"Visible hands?"
"Yes."
Dante nodded.
"Open it."
Marco unlocked the door.
A woman collapsed inside.
Penelope recognized her from online photographs.
Julia Mercer.
Once, she had been striking.
Tonight, she looked exhausted.
Her coat was damp.
Her hair was cut shorter than the pictures.
There was a bruise near her temple.
Penelope dropped beside her.
"Julia."
Julia grabbed her wrist.
"You have to destroy the folder."
"Why?"
"Because that's not the only copy."
Dante crouched across from her.
Julia saw him.
Her entire body stiffened.
"No."
"Julia—"
"No!"
She scrambled backward.
Penelope looked between them.
"You know him."
Julia laughed bitterly.
"Everyone knows him."
Dante stayed still.
"You called Penelope."
"Because she needed warning."
"You told her to ask about Caroline."
Julia's eyes filled.
"Yes."
Dante's jaw tightened.
"Then tell her."
Julia looked at Penelope.
"Caroline found out what Richard was doing."
"What exactly was he doing?"
"Building debts."
Penelope frowned.
"How?"
"Small things at first. He'd volunteer to help with accounting. Introduce lenders. Suggest investments. Convince us to sign guarantees."
"Us?"
"There were five women."
Dante and Penelope exchanged a look.
"Not six?" Dante asked.
Julia's face changed.
"You found the schedule."
"Yes."
"The sixth wasn't like us."
"Who was she?"
Julia shook her head.
"I don't know her real name."
"Then what did Richard call her?"
"Elena."
Dante went completely still.
Penelope noticed.
"You know that name."
He didn't answer.
Julia saw it too.
"Oh God."
"What?" Penelope demanded.
Julia stared at Dante.
"That's why you're here."
Dante stood.
"Marco, sweep the alley."
Julia grabbed Penelope's hand tighter.
"Don't let him leave."
Penelope stood too.
"Dante."
He stopped.
"Who is Elena?"
His back remained toward her.
"Someone from my family."
"Your sister?"
Slowly, he turned.
"My younger sister."
Penelope forgot to breathe.
Julia began crying again.
"Richard dated her?"
"No," Dante said.
"Then what?"
"She worked for one of our foundations."
"And?"
"She died."
Silence.
Penelope looked at Julia.
Julia whispered, "Richard knew her."
Dante's eyes darkened.
"How?"
Julia wiped her face.
"Caroline had pictures."
"Of what?"
"Richard meeting Elena."
"When?"
"Two weeks before she died."
Dante's composure cracked.
Only slightly.
But Penelope saw it.
"Where are the pictures?"
"Caroline kept them."
"Where?"
"I don't know."
Dante moved closer.
Julia recoiled.
Penelope stepped between them.
"Stop."
His eyes met hers.
"She's scared."
"So am I."
The admission stunned her.
Dante Moretti did not look like a man who admitted fear.
He ran one hand through his silver hair.
"My sister died in what police called an accidental overdose."
Penelope's voice softened.
"I'm sorry."
"She didn't use drugs."
Julia nodded frantically.
"Caroline believed that."
Dante looked at her.
"Why didn't she come to me?"
"She tried."
"When?"
"Three days before she disappeared."
His face emptied.
"Who did she speak to?"
"I don't know."
"Think."
"I don't know!"
Julia's voice broke.
Penelope crouched beside her again.
"You're safe here."
Julia laughed through tears.
"No one is safe if Holloway knows they have evidence."
"Richard isn't some criminal mastermind."
"You don't understand."
"Then help me."
Julia stared at her.
"Richard is the salesman."
Penelope felt cold.
"The salesman for who?"
Julia's gaze moved toward Dante.
"For someone bigger."
Dante said nothing.
"Who?"
Julia whispered, "I never learned his name."
A sound came from the alley.
Marco returned.
"Boss."
Dante looked at him.
"We found this."
He held up a small magnetic device.
A tracker.
It was smeared with grime.
"Under her car?" Dante asked.
Marco shook his head.
"Under Ms. Hayes's."
Penelope's stomach dropped.
"My car is in the garage."
"Not that one."
Marco looked toward the front.
"The delivery van."
Penelope stared.
Bellavere's delivery van traveled through the city every morning.
Suppliers.
Caterers.
Her staff.
Anyone could track it.
"When was it installed?"
"Recent."
Julia covered her mouth.
"They followed me."
Dante turned to Marco.
"Move her somewhere secure."
"No," Julia said.
"You can't stay here."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
Dante looked genuinely frustrated.
Penelope intervened.
"She comes with me."
"You're not going home."
"Fine."
"My hotel."
"Fine."
Julia stared at her.
"You trust him?"
Penelope looked at Dante.
"No."
His brow lifted.
"But I trust Richard less."
That seemed enough.
They left through the kitchen.
Dante's convoy waited in the alley.
Penelope hated every second of it.
The black SUVs.
The men checking rooftops.
The discreet earpieces.
She had spent her adult life building something ordinary and legitimate.
Now she was climbing into a vehicle owned by a rumored crime boss at three in the morning.
Dante sat opposite her.
Julia sat beside Penelope.
No one spoke for several blocks.
Finally Penelope said, "Tell me about Elena."
Dante looked out the window.
"She was twenty-seven."
"What was she like?"
"Too curious."
Julia smiled faintly.
"Caroline said she was funny."
Dante's expression softened.
"She was."
"What did she do at the foundation?"
"Audited grants."
Penelope understood immediately.
"Money."
"Yes."
"She found something."
"I believe so."
"And Richard knew."
"Apparently."
"Why didn't you investigate him?"
"I did."
"And?"
"Nothing connected him to her death."
Julia spoke quietly.
"Because Caroline had the connection."
Dante looked at her.
"And now Caroline is missing."
Julia nodded.
The SUV turned beneath a hotel awning.
Blackstone Tower rose above them.
Dante's people moved with military efficiency.
They entered through a private elevator.
Penelope hated how safe it felt.
The penthouse was enormous but surprisingly understated.
Dark wood.
Stone.
Warm lamps.
No gold statues.
No ridiculous throne.
That almost disappointed her.
Julia was shown to a guest suite with a female security officer.
Before the door closed, she grabbed Penelope's arm.
"Don't sleep."
Penelope frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Richard always moves when people think they finally have time."
Then Julia disappeared into the room.
Penelope turned.
Dante stood several feet away.
"Comforting."
"She's traumatized."
"She's right."
"You agree?"
"Yes."
He walked toward a desk.
Penelope followed.
"How long have you been investigating Richard?"
"Three weeks."
"Since I broke up with him?"
Dante stopped.
"No."
"Then since when?"
"Since someone transferred money from one of my sister's old foundation accounts."
"To Richard?"
"To North Crest."
Penelope felt a chill.
"How much?"
"Two point four million."
She stared.
The exact value listed beside Bellavere.
"That's the number."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You're telling me my restaurant is valued at exactly the amount stolen from your sister's foundation?"
"Transferred."
"Stolen?"
Dante looked at her.
"Probably."
Penelope sank into a chair.
All at once, Richard's insult felt like the least important thing that had happened tonight.
Dante placed a glass of water in front of her.
She drank.
Then noticed a framed photograph on the desk.
Dante with a younger woman.
Silver-haired like him.
Laughing.
Elena.
Penelope looked up.
"She was beautiful."
"Yes."
"You loved her."
"Yes."
Past tense sharpened every word.
Penelope returned the photograph carefully.
"I'm sorry."
Dante looked away.
"Don't be. Help me find out what happened."
She almost asked why her.
Then stopped.
Bellavere.
The debt.
The exact number.
She was already inside it.
"What do we do first?"
Dante looked at her.
"We find Caroline."
"After eleven months?"
"Yes."
"How?"
"Julia."
"She says she doesn't know where Caroline is."
"She may know something she doesn't realize matters."
Penelope stood.
"Then tomorrow—"
A scream came from the guest wing.
They ran.
Dante reached Julia's door first.
It was locked.
"Julia!"
No answer.
Marco arrived.
He kicked the door open.
The room was empty.
The window was sealed.
The bathroom was empty.
Julia's coat lay on the bed.
Her shoes were beside it.
Penelope stared.
"Where did she go?"
Marco crossed to the closet.
Inside, a service panel stood open.
Dante's expression became deadly.
A phone lay on the carpet beneath it.
Julia's phone.
The screen was lit.
May you like
One text had been typed but never sent.
HE'S INSIDE THE HOTEL.
