Chapter 4 - The Locked StudyBy morning, the penthouse had become a fortress.
Every employee was questioned. Every camera was reviewed. The security team found no record of the intruder entering through the main elevator, service elevator, or stairwell.
That left only one possibility.
Someone already inside had helped her.
Natasha sat beside the twins while Dr. Allen monitored their breathing. They had been moved to the guest suite, where the windows were sealed and the doors guarded.
Simon had not slept.
Neither had she.
At seven in the morning, he entered carrying two cups of coffee.
Natasha accepted one.
“You don’t look like someone who drinks coffee,” she said.
“I don’t.”
“Then why did you bring it?”
“I didn’t know what else to do.”
That was the most honest thing he had said.
She took a sip. It was too bitter.
“Your uncle,” she said. “Where is he?”
“On his way.”
“Are you going to let him walk into this house?”
“He’s family.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
Natasha glanced toward the sleeping twins.
“You trust him?”
Simon’s mouth tightened.
“I trusted him once.”
Before she could ask what happened, the door opened.
Vincent Gambino entered with a silver cane and a smile that never reached his eyes.
He was in his late sixties, elegantly dressed, with white hair and a narrow face. He looked less like a criminal and more like a wealthy senator who had never been denied anything.
His gaze moved immediately to Natasha.
“And who is this?”
“My sons’ caregiver,” Simon said.
Vincent smiled.
“The waitress.”
Natasha did not react.
Vincent walked toward the babies.
Dr. Allen stepped in front of him.
“They need rest.”
Vincent stopped.
His eyes sharpened.
“I am their great-uncle.”
“And I am their physician.”
“Temporarily.”
Simon moved between them.
“What do you know about Elena’s ring?”
Vincent’s face remained calm.
“Which ring?”
“The signet.”
“Many people wear rings.”
“Not that one.”
Vincent studied Simon for a long moment.
Then he looked at Natasha.
“She has been filling your head with fantasies.”
Natasha felt Simon’s anger rise.
“She found the intruder.”
“Or she was the intruder.”
The room fell silent.
Vincent’s accusation was so direct that even Natasha needed a moment to process it.
Simon turned toward him.
“Leave.”
“Simon—”
“Leave.”
Vincent’s smile vanished.
“You have always been emotional where your children are concerned. That makes you vulnerable.”
Simon stepped closer.
“You had something to do with Elena’s death?”
Vincent’s eyes hardened.
“Your wife was unstable.”
“Answer me.”
“She was addicted.”
“Answer me.”
Vincent leaned on his cane.
“Your wife was going to destroy this family.”
Natasha looked between them.
“How?”
Vincent’s gaze moved to her.
“By telling him the truth.”
“What truth?” Natasha asked.
Vincent smiled again.
“You should ask your employer what happened to his father.”
Simon’s face went cold.
“Get out.”
Vincent turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he looked at the twins.
“Blood always reveals itself eventually.”
When he was gone, Natasha faced Simon.
“What happened to your father?”
“That’s none of your concern.”
“It became my concern when your uncle accused me of murder.”
Simon stared at her.
His breathing was controlled, but his hands were clenched.
“My father died in prison.”
“For what?”
“Murder.”
“Was he guilty?”
Simon’s eyes shifted toward the window.
“No.”
Natasha waited.
“He took the blame for crimes committed by Vincent,” Simon said. “Vincent promised to protect our family. Instead, he took control of everything.”
“And Elena found out?”
“She found financial records. Payments. Medical shipments. Names of people who disappeared after entering Vincent’s clinics.”
Natasha remembered the case found in the service elevator.
“Was Elena investigating him?”
“She was trying to expose him.”
“Then her overdose may have been staged.”
Simon looked at her.
“That’s what I think.”
The door opened again.
A guard entered carrying a sealed evidence bag.
“We found this in the locked study.”
Simon’s eyes narrowed.
“What is it?”
The guard handed it to him.
Inside was a small voice recorder.
Natasha recognized the red indicator light.
“It’s recording.”
Simon pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then Elena’s voice emerged.
Soft. Frightened. Close to tears.
“Simon, if you hear this, it means I failed to get out.”
Simon went completely still.
Elena continued.
“Vincent is using the clinics to move drugs. He has been giving them to vulnerable patients and creating false overdose records. I found the files. I found the payments.”
A sound came from the recording, like a door opening.
Elena breathed sharply.
“They know I took copies.”
Simon’s face had lost all color.
“Protect the boys,” Elena whispered. “Do not trust the doctors. Do not trust the police. And whatever happens, do not let Vincent separate the twins.”
The recording ended.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Simon looked toward the babies.
Natasha understood before he spoke.
May you like
Someone was not trying to kill the twins.
Someone was trying to take them.
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