Chapter 4 - THE SISTER WHO NEVER DIEDVincent called Torino Tower.
No one answered.
He called Marco’s second-in-command.
Nothing.
The live image remained on every screen. Sophie sat unaware of the laser dot traveling across her face.
Then Elena’s eyes opened.
She saw the red light and pulled Sophie to the floor.
The hospital window shattered.
A bullet struck the bed where Sophie had been sitting.
The broadcast ended.
Vincent and Marco raced from Union Station.
Claire followed them.
“If Isabella controls the Crown, she controls half your security network,” Claire warned.
“She won’t control it for long.”
“You cannot fight her like a rival crime family. She knows your habits, your businesses, and every official you’ve purchased.”
Vincent loaded a pistol in the back of the SUV.
“She doesn’t know me.”
“She’s your sister.”
“She knew the boy I was. That boy no longer exists.”
When they reached Torino Tower, bodies covered the underground garage.
Most were attackers, but three of Vincent’s guards had been killed.
The medical wing had been evacuated. Elena and Sophie had escaped through a service elevator with Dr. Romano.
Marco located them inside a reinforced conference room.
Sophie ran to Vincent.
He lifted her into his arms without hesitation.
“You came back.”
“I promised.”
Elena stood weakly behind her. Bandages wrapped her head and ribs.
When she saw Vincent, anger replaced relief.
“Put my daughter down.”
Sophie clung tighter to him.
“Mommy, he saved us.”
Elena’s eyes filled with fear.
“He’s a Torino.”
“So was Gabriel,” Vincent said.
Elena flinched at the name.
Vincent set Sophie gently on the floor and asked Dr. Romano to take her outside.
Once the child was gone, Elena slapped Vincent across the face.
Every guard in the room froze.
Vincent did not move.
“That was for Gabriel,” Elena said.
“Tell me what happened to him.”
“You happened.”
“I believed he was dead.”
“He stayed dead because he knew what you would become.”
Vincent placed Gabriel’s letters on the table.
“He trusted Dominic.”
“He trusted the wrong people.”
Elena explained that Gabriel had spent years gathering evidence against the Black Crown. Last winter, he learned that the organization was searching for Sophie because of a trust created by their father, Salvatore Torino.
The trust contained ownership of legitimate corporations, political records, and offshore accounts worth billions.
Control passed to the youngest living descendant of Salvatore’s bloodline.
Sophie.
“Why does Isabella need her alive?” Vincent asked.
“The trust requires a retinal scan and blood verification when Sophie turns eight.”
“When is her birthday?”
“Three days from now.”
Vincent understood.
The Crown could not access the fortune without Sophie, but after activation, they could force her to transfer control.
“Gabriel refused to surrender her,” Elena continued. “They kidnapped him.”
“Did you see his body?”
Her voice broke.
“They sent me a video.”
“A video can be manufactured.”
“I heard him scream.”
“That is not proof of death.”
Hope frightened Elena more than grief.
Vincent ordered his men to relocate everyone to a lakeside estate outside the city. The property had belonged to his mother and was unknown to most of his organization.
Before leaving, he confronted Dominic.
“You knew Isabella survived.”
Dominic’s face hardened.
“I suspected.”
“You lied again.”
“Your father told me she drowned. Years later, I saw evidence that a girl matching her age had been taken by the Crown. I could never prove it was Isabella.”
“Gabriel’s letter said the traitor was beside me.”
“That could describe anyone.”
Vincent stepped closer.
“It describes you perfectly.”
Dominic removed his pistol and placed it on the table.
“If you believe I betrayed your brother, kill me.”
Vincent picked up the weapon.
For several seconds, neither man moved.
Then Sophie entered.
“Uncle Vincent?”
The word struck the room like thunder.
She held a drawing of three figures: herself, Elena, and Vincent.
“You’re my uncle, right?”
Vincent lowered the gun.
“Yes.”
“Then you shouldn’t shoot your friend.”
Dominic looked away, hiding emotion.
Vincent handed the weapon to Marco.
At the lakeside estate, Sophie finally slept beside Elena.
Vincent stood alone on the balcony when Claire approached.
“You never asked how Gabriel died,” she said.
“Elena believes he was tortured.”
“He was. But he survived.”
Vincent turned.
Claire handed him a memory card.
“This arrived two weeks ago.”
The footage showed Gabriel chained inside a stone room. He was thinner, his face bruised, but unmistakably alive.
He stared into the camera.
“Vincent, Isabella will use Sophie’s birthday to open the Torino vault. Do not let her take my daughter.”
A door opened behind him.
A woman entered.
Her silver hair was cut to her shoulders. Her eyes were the same cold gray as Vincent’s.
Isabella.
She leaned toward Gabriel and smiled.
“Tell your brother where the vault is.”
Gabriel spat in her face.
Isabella wiped her cheek and nodded toward someone outside the frame.
A child’s cry echoed through the room.
Gabriel panicked.
“No! She has nothing to do with this!”
The video ended.
Vincent looked at Claire.
“What child?”
Claire’s expression filled with dread.
“Gabriel has another daughter.”
A gunshot cracked across the estate.
Claire’s chest burst with blood.
She collapsed into Vincent’s arms.
Across the lake, a boat disappeared into the darkness.
Vincent pressed his hand against Claire’s wound.
May you like
She forced out one final sentence.
“The second girl…is already inside your house.”
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