CHAPTER 8: THE MASTER BEHIND THE SHADOWS
CHAPTER 8: THE MASTER BEHIND THE SHADOWS
Three hours later...
Dominic's private command center had been established inside an abandoned conference room.
Maps covered the walls.
Security footage played across six monitors.
Phones rang nonstop.
Every known Moretti associate had been contacted.
No ransom demand had arrived.
No message.
Nothing.
Marcus stared at the evidence board.
"It doesn't fit."
Claire stood beside him.
"What doesn't?"
"The poison."
"The kidnapping."
"The murder."
"They're all connected..."
"...but not financially."
Dominic entered carrying an old leather folder.
"My father kept records."
He placed it on the table.
"There was one enemy he never defeated."
Marcus opened the folder.
Inside were newspaper clippings dating back twenty-eight years.
One headline caught everyone's attention.
FEDERAL RAID LEAVES TWELVE DEAD IN SECRET LAB.
Another clipping showed a much younger Leonardo Moretti—Dominic's father—walking away from a burning pharmaceutical warehouse.
Marcus flipped another page.
A name appeared repeatedly.
Dr. Elias Voss.
A brilliant biochemical researcher.
Former military toxicologist.
Officially dead for twenty-six years.
Claire stared at the photograph.
Something about the face seemed familiar.
Then she remembered.
"The textbook."
Marcus looked at her.
"What?"
"The toxic reaction."
"The case study I read."
She grabbed the folder.
At the bottom of one article was a citation.
Research contributed by Dr. Elias Voss.
Claire's pulse quickened.
"The poisoning..."
"...was based on his work."
Marcus frowned.
"But Voss died decades ago."
Dominic slowly shook his head.
"My father never believed that."
Before anyone could speak, one of Dominic's intelligence officers burst into the room.
"We traced the hospital call."
Everyone stood.
"Where?"
"It bounced through seven countries."
"But the final relay..."
He swallowed.
"...came from inside Chicago."
"Specific location?"
The officer handed Marcus a printed map.
An abandoned pharmaceutical research facility on the west side.
Dominic recognized it instantly.
"The Voss Laboratory."
Marcus grabbed his weapon.
"We move now."
Less than thirty minutes later...
A convoy of black SUVs surrounded the abandoned complex.
Rain poured from the night sky.
Broken windows stared down like empty eyes.
The building had supposedly been abandoned for decades.
But warm lights glowed behind the basement windows.
Someone was inside.
SWAT officers prepared to breach.
Dominic ignored them and walked toward the entrance.
Marcus caught his arm.
"If this is a trap—"
"It is."
Dominic answered calmly.
"But my sister's inside."
Claire unexpectedly stepped forward.
"I'm coming."
Dominic stared at her.
"No."
"They poisoned Leonardo."
She met his eyes.
"If they're using neonatal toxins..."
"...I'm the only person here who already recognized them."
Marcus sighed.
"I hate admitting it."
"...but she's right."
The steel doors exploded inward.
Armed officers flooded the building.
The first floor was empty.
The second floor was abandoned.
Dust covered broken equipment.
Then...
A faint lullaby echoed through the underground corridors.
Claire stopped walking.
"Do you hear that?"
Everyone froze.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Weak.
Singing.
Sophia.
They followed the sound deeper beneath the laboratory.
Until they reached a massive reinforced steel door.
It slowly unlocked from the inside.
With a loud metallic groan...
The door opened.
Sophia Moretti stood there.
Alive.
Barefoot.
Holding her newborn son Leonardo tightly against her chest.
Claire blinked.
"Leonardo?"
He had been in the hospital nursery.
How—
Before anyone could react...
A slow clap echoed through the darkness.
An elderly man stepped forward from the shadows.
White hair.
Immaculate suit.
Calm gray eyes behind thin glasses.
He smiled as if greeting old friends.
"Good evening, Dominic."
Dominic's face hardened instantly.
"You."
The old man inclined his head.
"I believe we've waited twenty-eight years for this reunion."
Claire stared at him.
Her blood ran cold.
The face matched the faded newspaper photograph perfectly.
Dr. Elias Voss.
The man who was supposed to have died nearly three decades earlier.
May you like
And judging by the satisfied smile on his face...
Everything that had happened—from the poisoned medical equipment to the kidnappings—had only been the opening move of a far larger game.
