Chapter 2: The Man Behind the Number
Chapter 2: The Man Behind the Number
Sophia kept the phone pressed against her ear.
For several seconds, Vincent Moretti didn't speak.
When he finally did, his voice was frighteningly calm.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Can you lock the door from your side?"
"There isn't a lock."
"I understand."
A brief pause.
Then he said four words.
"I'm sending medical personnel."
Not security.
Not lawyers.
Medical personnel.
Sophia heard another voice on his end of the call.
"Helicopter. Now."
She frowned.
"Dad..."
"I failed to protect your mother years ago," Vincent said quietly.
"I won't fail my daughter."
Outside the storage room, footsteps echoed.
Alexander.
He rattled the doorknob.
"Sophia?"
Silence.
"I know you're calling someone."
He laughed nervously.
"Who exactly is coming?"
Sophia smiled despite the pain.
"You'll find out."
Twenty-two minutes later, the private elevator opened.
Not to police officers.
To paramedics accompanied by two detectives carrying a court-authorized emergency access order obtained after Vincent's legal team contacted authorities and reported an assault in progress.
The housekeeper burst into tears.
"She's downstairs!"
The storage room door was forced open.
The first paramedic immediately knelt beside Sophia.
"Possible femur fracture."
"Blood pressure dropping."
Detectives photographed everything.
The blood on the marble.
The drag marks.
The broken stair railing.
Alexander tried to explain.
"It was an accident."
May you like
One detective looked at the surveillance cameras mounted throughout the penthouse.
"We'll let the footage speak."
