Chapter 4: The Price of a Father's Love
“Your daughter is a very brave little girl.””
Victor's words continued echoing in Lucas's head long after the call ended.
He stood in the middle of his study, holding the dead phone.
Anna was crying.
Marco was issuing orders.
And somewhere in New York, a six-year-old girl was sitting in the hands of a man who had already tried to murder her father.
Lucas slowly lowered the phone.
“Marco.””
“Yes, boss?””
“Shut down every road leading out of Manhattan. Get our people watching the bridges, tunnels, train stations, and private airports.””
Marco nodded.
“Already working on it.””
“Find every property Victor has ever used. Apartments, warehouses, safe houses. I want addresses, security footage, telephone records. Everything.””
“Understood.””
Lucas turned toward Anna.
“Tell me what Victor wants.””
Anna wiped her cheeks.
“I don't know.””
“Don't lie to me.””
“I'm not!””
Her voice cracked.
Lucas stepped closer.
“Then explain why he knew about Lily before I did.””
Anna looked at the floor.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she walked toward the window.
“Three weeks ago, I found a letter outside my apartment.””
Lucas waited.
“It didn't have a return address. Inside was a photograph of you standing outside a restaurant. On the back, someone had written Lily's name.””
Anna's hands trembled.
“I thought it was a threat. I thought someone had discovered who her father was.””
“Why didn't you call me?””
Anna turned sharply.
“Because the last time I trusted your world, I lost everything!””
Lucas didn't respond.
Anna continued.
“A few days later, Victor approached me outside the laundromat. He knew my name. He knew where Lily went to school. He knew which apartment we lived in.””
“What did he want?””
“He wanted information about you.””
“What information?””
“Your habits. Your schedule. The names of people you trusted. He asked whether you still carried your inhaler everywhere.””
Lucas's expression changed.
“Did you answer?””
“I told him nothing.””
“But you gave him an envelope.””
Anna shook her head.
“He said he would leave us alone if I handed over one photograph. An old photograph of you and me.””
Lucas looked at Marco.
The lieutenant's suspicion had been justified.
But now the pieces were falling into place.
Victor hadn't simply wanted to kill him.
He had been watching his past.
And Anna had been caught in the middle.
“Why would he need a photograph?”” Lucas asked.
Anna swallowed.
“Because he wanted to know whether you still cared about me.””
Lucas stared at her.
“Why?””
“Because he said the only way to destroy a man like you was to find the one person you couldn't afford to lose.””
Lucas looked toward the door.
His daughter was that person.
He had known her for less than a day.
Yet the thought of her crying for him somewhere in the city made his chest feel like it was being crushed.
“Marco,” he said.
“Yes?””
“Get the medical team ready. Wherever we find her, I want a doctor waiting.””
Marco nodded.
Then his phone vibrated.
He checked the screen.
“Boss, we found something.””
“What?””
“A traffic camera picked up Victor's vehicle near an abandoned textile factory in Long Island City. The car was registered under a false name.””
Lucas grabbed his coat.
“Let's go.””
Anna immediately stood.
“I'm coming.””
“No.””
“Lucas, that's my daughter!””
“And that's exactly why you are staying here.””
Anna stepped directly in front of him.
“You don't get to decide that anymore.””
Lucas looked down at her.
For a moment, he saw the same stubborn woman who had once argued with him over something as ridiculous as which restaurant served the best coffee.
But this wasn't fifteen years ago.
“Anna, listen to me. If Victor sees you, he may use you to get to Lily.””
“He already has her!””
“And I'm going to bring her back.””
Anna's eyes filled again.
“You promised me once that you would protect us.””
Lucas froze.
The words landed between them like a gunshot.
He remembered that promise.
A summer evening.
A small apartment.
Anna laughing while he held her hands.
He had promised her a future.
Then he had disappeared into a world that eventually swallowed them both.
“I know,” he said quietly.
Anna looked away.
“You didn't keep it.””
Lucas had no answer.
He reached into his pocket and removed the little drawing Lily had given him.
He looked at the crooked blue house.
Then he placed it on the desk.
“I'm going to keep this promise.””
The abandoned textile factory stood beside a railway line.
Its broken windows reflected the headlights of Lucas's SUVs as they arrived.
Rain had begun falling.
Marco stepped out first, followed by four armed men.
Lucas opened his door.
“Boss, stay behind us.””
Lucas gave him a look.
“Do I look like I'm staying behind anyone?””
Marco sighed.
“No, boss.””
They moved toward the building.
Inside, the air smelled of rust, wet concrete, and old machinery.
A single light burned in the far corner.
Lucas raised his hand.
Everyone stopped.
A child's voice came from somewhere upstairs.
“Mommy?””
Lucas's heart lurched.
“Lily!””
A door slammed.
Then silence.
He ran toward the staircase.
Marco followed.
At the top, they found a small room with a mattress, a bottle of water, and a pink children's backpack.
But Lily wasn't there.
Lucas picked up the backpack.
A small turquoise inhaler lay inside.
His daughter's inhaler.
He turned it over.
There was a piece of paper attached with tape.
Three words had been written in black ink.
*COME ALONE, FATHER.*
Marco looked at him.
“It's a trap.””
Lucas folded the paper.
“I know.””
“Then we shouldn't—”
“She's my daughter.””
“Boss, we don't even know if she's still in the building.””
Lucas stared into the dark corridor.
Then he heard a familiar sound.
Three small knocks.
Coming from behind the wall.
He approached an old storage cabinet.
“Lily?””
Three more knocks.
Marco pulled the cabinet open.
Behind it was a narrow maintenance door.
A small hand appeared through the gap.
Lucas dropped to one knee.
“Sweetheart?””
A frightened voice answered.
“Mr. Moretti?””
Lucas closed his eyes.
“It's Daddy, Lily.””
There was a long silence.
Then the door opened.
But what stepped out wasn't Lily.
It was a young man wearing a dark jacket.
He held a phone in one hand.
And in the other, he held a photograph of Lucas standing beside a newborn baby.
“Victor sends his regards,” the man said.
Lucas's expression turned murderous.
“Where is my daughter?””
The man smiled.
“That's what we're going to discuss.””
Then the phone in his hand rang.
He answered it and turned the screen toward Lucas.
Victor appeared.
Behind him was a little girl wearing a pink sweater.
Lily.
She was crying.
Lucas felt the entire world narrow to that one image.
“Daddy?””
His daughter reached toward the screen.
Lucas stepped forward.
“I'm here, sweetheart.””
Victor smiled.
“Now that is a beautiful sound.””
Lucas's voice became ice.
“Tell me what you want.””
Victor leaned closer to the camera.
“Your empire, Lucas.””
May you like
Then he paused.
“And the truth about what happened fifteen years ago.””
