Chapter 6 - THE EYES BEHIND THE WINDOW
“Someone took that picture less than twenty minutes ago.”
Agent Reyes studied my phone while two federal officers checked the apartment.
I stood beside Sophie's bedroom door, barely able to breathe.
My daughter was asleep.
Bruno lay next to her bed, his enormous body positioned between her and the window.
I wanted to wake her, wrap her in a blanket, and run until nobody knew our names.
Instead, I forced myself to remain still.
“Can they get inside?” I whispered.
Reyes looked toward the hallway.
“We're checking every possible entrance.”
“Someone already knows we're here.”
“Yes.”
“Then this place isn't safe.”
She didn't argue.
“We're moving you.”
I appreciated that more than she could have imagined.
No empty promises.
No assurances that everything would be fine.
Just a woman acknowledging the danger and taking action.
One of the officers returned carrying a small electronic device.
“We found a camera inside the bedroom's smoke detector housing.”
My stomach turned.
The photograph hadn't been taken through the window.
Someone had been watching Sophie from inside the room.
“Who installed it?”
“We're checking the building's maintenance records.”
I looked at Reyes.
“You said this place was protected.”
“It was supposed to be.”
The honesty in her voice frightened me.
But she continued.
“And whoever compromised it made a serious mistake.”
“What mistake?”
“They showed us how they were watching you.”
An hour later, investigators established that a private maintenance company had serviced the apartment before our arrival.
The company was a subcontractor of a security firm.
And that firm belonged to a holding company connected to Victor Cross.
I stared at Reyes.
“So the man stealing money from homeless families also owns a company that's supposed to keep people safe?”
“Through several layers of ownership, yes.”
The irony was unbearable.
Victor had built a business out of selling protection while secretly creating the very danger people needed protection from.
We left through a secured exit before midnight.
Sophie woke while I was carrying her.
“Mommy?”
“I'm here, sweetheart.”
“Are we moving again?”
I nodded.
“Just for tonight.”
She looked toward Bruno, who was walking beside us on his leash.
“Is somebody following us?”
I hesitated.
Then I remembered the promise I'd made to stop dismissing her fears.
“Someone found out where we were staying. The officers are helping us find a safer place.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Did I do something wrong?”
I stopped walking.
“No.”
“Because I told Mr. Moretti about the bad man?”
I crouched in front of her.
“Sophie, listen to me. You did exactly what you were supposed to do. You told a grown-up when someone scared you.”
She studied my face.
“Even though bad things happened?”
“Even then. The bad things are happening because adults made bad choices. Not because you asked for help.”
She threw her arms around my neck.
I held her as tightly as I could.
For the first time, I understood that protecting her meant more than keeping dangerous people away.
It meant making sure she didn't grow up believing she caused the danger.
We arrived at another temporary apartment shortly afterward.
This time, access was controlled directly by the federal protective team.
Reyes stayed long enough to verify the arrangements herself.
Before leaving, she looked at me.
“Try to get some sleep.”
I almost laughed.
She gave me a small, tired smile.
“I know. But try.”
The following morning, Gabriel arrived with an investigator.
He looked much older in daylight.
The scar on his cheek stretched toward his ear, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.
Reyes had arranged for him to review Sophie's description of the man outside the window.
My daughter wasn't required to speak to him.
Instead, she'd already drawn a picture of what she remembered, with a child-interview specialist helping her describe the details in her own words.
A tall man.
A dark coat.
A black ring.
And one stiff leg.
Gabriel studied the drawing.
His expression changed.
“That's Luca.”
Reyes folded her arms.
“You're certain?”
“Luca Moretti shattered his left knee in a car accident eight years ago. He walks normally most of the time, but when he's tired, he favors that leg.”
I remembered Sophie's words.
He ran funny.
A five-year-old had noticed something trained security guards apparently hadn't.
“Did Luca kill Michael?” I asked.
Gabriel didn't answer immediately.
He looked toward the door, making sure Sophie was out of earshot.
“I watched Luca follow Michael toward the bakery's side entrance. I heard a shot. When I reached the alley, Michael was on the ground.”
My throat tightened.
“Did you see Luca shoot him?”
“No. I saw him leaving. He was carrying a pistol.”
“Why didn't you help Michael?”
“I tried.”
Gabriel's voice broke.
“Michael was still breathing when I reached him.”
The room seemed to lose all its air.
I gripped the edge of the table.
“He was alive?”
Gabriel nodded.
“For a few moments.”
“What did he say?”
Gabriel's eyes filled.
“He asked me to tell you he loved you.”
I pressed my hand over my mouth.
Three years.
Three years of wondering whether Michael had been frightened.
Whether he'd suffered.
Whether he'd thought of us.
Now I knew he'd thought of his family.
Even at the end.
Gabriel reached into his pocket and removed a worn silver key chain.
A tiny metal star hung from it.
“Michael gave me this.”
I recognized it instantly.
I'd bought it for him during our first Christmas together.
He carried it on his keys for years.
Gabriel placed it on the table.
“He told me to give it to Sophie when she was old enough to understand.”
My hands shook as I picked it up.
“Why are you giving it to me now?”
“Because I don't know how much time we have left.”
I looked at him.
“What aren't you telling me?”
Before he could answer, Reyes's phone rang.
She stepped into the hallway.
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Victor doesn't just want the stolen money. He wants the original records Michael made. The memory card contains copies, but there are gaps.”
“Where are the originals?”
“I think Teresa knows.”
My heart sank.
Another secret.
Another piece of my husband's life hidden by someone who claimed to love him.
A few minutes later, Reyes returned.
“Teresa Moretti has requested to speak with you.”
I stared at her.
“About what?”
“She says she remembers something important about the bakery.”
I almost refused.
But then I looked down at Michael's little silver star.
He'd spent his final moments trying to send me a message.
I owed him the courage to hear the rest.
“Put her on the phone.”
Reyes activated the secure call.
Teresa's voice trembled.
“Elena?”
“I'm here.”
“There's something I should have told the police three years ago.”
I closed my eyes.
“Then tell me now.”
She began crying.
“When I arrived at the bakery, I saw Luca coming out of the alley.”
I stopped breathing.
“He had blood on his sleeve.”
I gripped the phone.
“Teresa…”
May you like
Her next words came through barely louder than a whisper.
“And he was holding the gun.”
