Chapter 10 - The Blue SailboatThe study was hidden behind a bookshelf in the penthouse.
Simon unlocked it with a biometric scanner.
Natasha entered first.
The room smelled of old paper and cedar. Every wall was covered with books, framed photographs, and paintings collected by three generations of Gambino men.
The blue sailboat hung above the fireplace.
It showed a small vessel struggling against a violent sea.
Natasha studied the frame.
“Did Elena paint this?”
“No. My mother bought it.”
“Why did she keep it here?”
“She said it reminded her that storms end.”
Natasha ran her fingers along the frame.
Nothing.
Simon checked the back.
Also nothing.
“Maybe it’s behind the canvas,” Natasha said.
He lifted it from the wall.
A thin envelope had been taped behind it.
Simon removed it carefully.
Inside were three photographs, a key, and a handwritten note.
The note contained only one sentence:
The twins are the key to the house.
Simon frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Natasha examined the photographs.
The first showed Elena standing outside a clinic.
The second showed Vincent meeting a judge.
The third showed a newborn nursery.
She turned it over.
On the back was a date.
The day the twins were born.
“Where were the twins born?”
“St. Raphael’s.”
“Who owned it?”
“My family.”
“Who had access to the nursery?”
“Doctors. Nurses. Security.”
“Vincent?”
“He was there.”
Natasha held up the photograph.
“Then the key may not open a door. It may open a record.”
Simon took the small key.
It was engraved with the number 214.
“Medical file locker,” Natasha said.
“How do you know?”
“Hospital storage systems.”
Simon looked at her with new respect.
“St. Raphael’s has been closed for years.”
“Closed to the public doesn’t mean empty.”
A noise sounded in the hallway.
Simon reached for his gun.
The study doors locked automatically.
Someone had activated the security system from outside.
A voice came through the intercom.
“Simon.”
Vincent.
“Open the door.”
Simon did not answer.
Vincent laughed softly.
“You have Elena’s evidence.”
“How did you know?”
“Because she hid it where she knew you would eventually look.”
Natasha moved toward the concealed exit.
Simon shook his head.
Vincent continued.
“Give me the key, and I will allow the twins to leave the city.”
“You’re lying.”
“Of course.”
Gunfire struck the study door.
The reinforced wood held.
For now.
Simon looked at Natasha.
“There is a tunnel beneath the fireplace.”
“You have a tunnel?”
“Family tradition.”
He moved the painting aside.
A hidden panel opened.
Before they entered, Natasha saw something else in the photograph.
The newborn twins lay in separate bassinets.
A nurse stood between them.
On her wrist was the snake-and-dagger ring.
“Simon.”
He looked back.
“The ring.”
He stepped closer.
The nurse’s face was partially hidden by a mask.
But her eyes were visible.
Natasha recognized them.
Claire Morgan.
Simon stared at the photograph.
“Claire worked at St. Raphael’s.”
“She knew Elena before the twins were born.”
The study door cracked.
Vincent shouted.
“Last chance, Simon!”
Simon grabbed the envelope.
“Move.”
They entered the tunnel as the door exploded behind them.
The passage was narrow, dark, and damp. Natasha followed Simon through the stone corridor while alarms screamed above them.
Behind them, footsteps entered the tunnel.
Vincent had found another way in.
They ran.
The tunnel opened into an abandoned parking garage beneath the building.
Simon pulled Natasha behind a concrete pillar.
A guard appeared in the passage.
Simon fired.
The man fell.
Another stepped through.
Natasha picked up a loose metal pipe and struck his wrist.
His gun dropped.
Simon tackled him.
Within seconds, the passage was silent.
Natasha bent over, breathing hard.
Simon looked at her.
“You hit him with a pipe.”
“He was chasing us.”
“You’re adapting.”
“I’m angry.”
“That too.”
A phone rang inside the fallen guard’s pocket.
Simon answered.
Vincent’s voice came through.
“You still don’t understand, do you?”
Simon held the phone close.
“Explain.”
“The babies were never the target.”
Natasha felt Simon’s hand tighten.
Vincent continued.
“The evidence is.”
Then he hung up.
Simon looked toward the city above them.
Natasha understood.
Vincent didn’t need to take the twins forever.
He only needed to use them to force Simon into surrender.
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But if Simon surrendered, the evidence disappeared.
And with it, forty-seven dead patients would disappear again.
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