Chapter 7 - The Empty Bedroom)
Vittorio did not remember leaving Ridgehaven.
He remembered Elena saying Lucy's name.
He remembered running.
He remembered Emma beside him in the car.
Everything else became noise.
At the mansion, security footage showed Lucy leaving her bedroom at 1:12 p.m.
She was holding her stuffed rabbit.
No one was dragging her.
No one was threatening her.
She walked willingly down the hallway.
A woman in a housekeeper uniform waited near the service stairs.
From behind, she resembled Emma.
Lucy took her hand.
They disappeared into a blind section of the corridor.
Three minutes later a catering van left through the service gate.
The driver had valid temporary credentials.
Those credentials had been created two weeks earlier for the wedding.
Bianca had planned an escape route before Emma ever found the envelope.
Emma stared at the footage.
"She dressed like me."
Vittorio said nothing.
His face frightened everyone in the room.
Police traced the catering van.
It was found abandoned near an industrial park.
No Lucy.
No Bianca.
No Daniel.
Then Daniel's vehicle was discovered on another road.
Bloodless signs of a struggle.
His phone smashed.
Nora worked through Bianca's financial network.
Accounts were closing.
Money had moved overseas.
A private aircraft reservation appeared under a false name.
Departure in three hours.
Vittorio headed for the airport.
Police teams moved with him.
But Emma remained at the mansion.
Something bothered her.
Bianca had spent years on this plan.
She would expect authorities to watch airports.
She would expect Vittorio to think internationally.
Why take Lucy?
Leverage.
But leverage only mattered if Bianca needed Vittorio to do something.
Emma returned to Elena's old room.
The wall safe was still open.
Documents remained scattered.
She found the trust papers.
Then she understood.
Lucy herself was not the target.
Her biometric identity was.
Certain Romano trust modifications required either Vittorio or Lucy physically present before a private trust officer.
Bianca needed a signature.
But a four year old could not execute complex documents.
Unless someone had already arranged substituted guardianship.
Emma searched the files.
There it was.
A petition prepared but never filed.
Emergency guardianship of Lucy Romano.
Proposed guardian.
Bianca Moretti Romano.
Supporting claim.
Vittorio Romano mentally unfit following discovery of spouse survival.
Emma felt sick.
Bianca planned to use Elena's return to portray Vittorio as unstable.
If she could obtain temporary control of Lucy, she could access the child's trust interests.
Emma called Vittorio.
"She's not going to the airport."
"How do you know?"
"She needs a trust officer."
Nora heard through speakerphone.
"There are only three firms authorized for Romano family certifications."
They checked all three.
Two were closed.
The third had an emergency appointment scheduled under a sealed family account.
Location.
A private law office downtown.
Vittorio turned the car around.
Police arrived first.
The office was empty.
But the appointment had been moved.
A receptionist had received instructions from someone claiming to be Daniel Cross.
New location.
The old Romano Meridian archive building near the river.
Vittorio knew it.
The company had abandoned it years ago.
He drove faster.
At the archive building, one door stood open.
Inside, lights burned on the third floor.
Vittorio entered with police.
They found Daniel tied to a chair in a conference room.
Alive.
Bruised.
Furious.
"She has Lucy."
"Where?"
"Upstairs."
Vittorio moved.
Daniel shouted.
"Wait. Marcus is with her."
Vittorio stopped.
"Marcus is in custody."
"Not anymore."
Nora checked her phone.
Marcus had been released pending additional charges that morning.
His attorney had arranged bail.
Vittorio's expression became deadly.
Police moved ahead.
On the top floor, they found Bianca.
Lucy sat beside her at a long conference table.
Marcus stood near the window.
A frightened trust officer had documents spread before him.
Bianca held no weapon.
She did not need one.
Lucy was beside her.
Bianca smiled when Vittorio entered.
"There you are."
Lucy jumped up.
"Daddy."
Bianca grabbed her wrist.
Vittorio stopped.
"Let her go."
"We need to talk."
"There is nothing to discuss."
"Oh, there is."
Marcus held up a folder.
"Sign control of the Elena trust shares to an independent administrator."
Vittorio almost laughed.
"You kidnapped my daughter for paperwork?"
Bianca's eyes hardened.
"For survival."
Lucy began crying.
Vittorio looked at her.
"Baby, look at Daddy."
She did.
"You're safe."
Bianca tightened her grip.
Lucy winced.
Every officer in the room stiffened.
Vittorio's voice became almost gentle.
"Bianca."
"What?"
"If you hurt her, no deal in the world will save you."
Bianca stared at him.
For the first time, her confidence cracked.
Then a voice came from the doorway behind Vittorio.
Weak.
Unsteady.
But unmistakable.
"Let go of my daughter."
May you like
Everyone turned.
Elena stood there.
