Chapter 4: The Voice From The Past
The recording played for six seconds before Rico Moretti forgot how to breathe.
Not because of the threat.
Not because of the warning.
Because of the voice.
A voice he had buried.
A voice he had spent six months convincing himself he would never hear again.
“Rico.””
The single word echoed through the empty restaurant.
Dante looked at him.
Clara watched his face change.
She had seen anger.
She had seen exhaustion.
She had seen fear.
But this was different.
This was disbelief.
“No,” Rico whispered.
The figure on the screen remained hidden in darkness. Only the outline of a person appeared beneath the old security camera footage.
Then the voice came again.
“You always were terrible at protecting the people you loved.””
Rico stepped closer to the screen.
“Turn it off.””
Nobody moved.
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
Dante immediately reached for the controls.
“Wait.””
Rico stopped him.
Everyone looked at him.
The voice continued.
“You thought Elena’s death was the end.””
A pause.
“You thought taking your son away from danger meant you won.””
Clara felt Leo’s fingers tighten around hers.
The little boy looked toward the screen.
He didn’t understand the words.
But he understood his father’s reaction.
“Daddy?””
Rico immediately turned.
The cold expression disappeared.
“I’m here.””
Leo stared at him.
“Who talking?””
Rico opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because the answer was impossible.
Because the person behind that voice was someone who had once sat at his dinner table.
Someone who had held Leo when he was a baby.
Someone Elena had trusted.
Someone Rico had trusted.
“Dante,” Rico said.
“Yes?””
“Take Leo upstairs.””
The boy immediately shook his head.
“No.””
Rico crouched.
“Buddy.””
“No.””
Leo held tighter to Clara.
The movement was small.
But it stopped Rico completely.
His son was choosing her again.
And instead of feeling jealous, he felt something worse.
Relief.
“Clara,” Rico said.
She looked at him.
“Can you take him?””
She nodded.
Slowly, she moved closer.
“Leo.””
The boy looked at her.
“Want to help me find a place where we can hide from this scary screen?””
A tiny nod.
He released her hand.
Only after he grabbed her sleeve.
Rico watched.
Then he looked back at the screen.
The figure spoke again.
“Still trying to play father?””
Rico’s expression hardened.
The fear disappeared.
The man everyone knew returned.
“You have ten seconds to tell me where you are.””
The figure laughed softly.
A familiar laugh.
That was the worst part.
“You haven’t changed.””
“Ten.””
“You still think everyone has a weakness you can threaten.””
“Nine.””
“You still don’t understand the difference between control and protection.””
“Eight.””
The screen flickered.
Then the figure leaned closer.
“I learned from Elena.””
Rico froze.
The countdown stopped.
“What did you say?””
The voice became softer.
“She knew.””
Clara looked back.
Rico’s face had gone completely still.
“She knew what?””
The figure didn’t answer.
Instead, the screen went black.
Dante immediately began typing on his tablet.
“Signal is gone.””
Rico stared at the empty screen.
“She knew.””
Dante looked up.
“Sir?””
Rico ignored him.
“Elena knew something.””
Clara returned with Leo beside her.
She had seen the fear in Rico disappear.
Now she saw something else.
Pain.
“What did he mean?””
Rico looked at her.
For a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer.
Then he said:
“My wife wasn’t supposed to die that night.””
The words felt heavier than the threat.
Clara slowly sat down.
“What are you saying?””
Rico looked toward the window.
Outside, Brooklyn moved like nothing had happened.
Cars passed.
People walked.
Lights turned on in apartments.
The world continued.
Even when someone’s world ended.
“Everyone believed the shooting was meant for me.””
Dante nodded.
“That’s what the investigators believed.””
Rico’s voice lowered.
“They were wrong.””
Clara frowned.
“Why?””
“Because Elena was carrying something.””
The restaurant became silent.
“What?””
Rico didn’t answer immediately.
Because admitting it meant accepting something he had avoided.
That Elena had known danger was coming.
And she hadn’t told him.
“She left me a message.””
Dante looked surprised.
“When?””
“The night before she died.””
“Why didn’t you tell me?””
Rico’s eyes hardened.
“Because I never received it.””
That stopped Dante.
“What?””
Rico reached into his jacket and pulled out his phone.
He opened an old folder.
There was a saved voicemail.
A voicemail he had played hundreds of times.
Elena’s voice.
Her laughter.
Her breathing.
But he had always focused on the same thing.
Her saying she loved him.
He had never listened beyond that.
His thumb hovered.
Then he pressed play.
The restaurant filled with Elena’s voice.
“Rico, if you’re listening to this, something happened.””
Clara watched his face.
Elena’s voice shook.
“I need you to trust me. I need you not to react before you know everything.””
A pause.
“I found out who has been moving money through the company accounts.””
Dante’s expression changed.
Rico went still.
Elena continued.
“And it isn’t one of our enemies.””
A long silence.
Then:
“It’s someone sitting at your table.””
The message ended.
Nobody spoke.
Leo shifted beside Clara.
“Daddy?””
Rico didn’t hear him.
Because his entire world had narrowed to one sentence.
Someone sitting at your table.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Dante looked at him.
“Sir…”
Rico finally moved.
“Find every person who had access to Elena’s accounts.””
Dante nodded.
“Everyone?””
Rico looked toward the black screen.
“No.””
His voice became cold.
“Start with family.””
A sound came from the entrance.
Everyone turned.
The restaurant doors slowly opened.
A man stepped inside.
No security stopped him.
No one searched him.
Because everyone knew him.
Because he had been part of the Moretti family for fifteen years.
He looked at Rico.
Then at Leo.
Then at Clara.
And smiled.
“Rico.””
Rico’s hand moved toward his jacket.
The man raised his hands.
“Relax.””
Nobody relaxed.
Because the man standing there was the last person anyone expected.
Rico stared at him.
“How are you alive?””
The man smiled.
“Because Elena saved me.””
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A pause.
“And because she knew you would come after the wrong person.””
