Chapter 17 - The Man Behind the Cameras
Calvin had worked for the Ducas fifteen years.
He knew every gate code, every blind spot, every bedroom alarm.
Of course he had put the envelope beside my coffee.
Of course he had entered my room.
Trust had been his master key.
He called Lorenzo from Bianca's phone.
"Bring the vault drives outside."
Lorenzo's voice stayed calm. "Let her go."
"You first."
Bianca stared through the windshield, furious rather than frightened.
I liked her more every day.
Natalie was twenty minutes away.
Calvin gave us five.
"We stall," Marco said.
"How?" I asked.
Then I looked at the bakery kitchen.
And smiled.
Lorenzo saw it. "No."
"You don't even know my idea."
"That smile means property damage."
"Rude. Accurate, but rude."
I carried one empty hard-drive case outside while Lorenzo stayed visible in the doorway.
"Where are the drives?" Calvin shouted.
"Inside. I wanted to make sure Bianca was alive."
"You've seen her. Go back."
I took another step.
He raised the gun.
That was when Marco triggered the bakery's emergency fire suppression system.
Water blasted from the awning nozzles.
Calvin flinched.
Bianca slammed her elbow into his face and threw open the passenger door.
I ran toward her.
Calvin fired once into the pavement.
Lorenzo moved faster than a man with a wounded arm should have been able to move. He tackled Calvin against the hood.
Marco kicked the gun away.
I pulled Bianca behind a brick planter.
"You okay?"
"I hate this family," she gasped.
"I'm technically still in the trial period."
Police arrived two minutes later.
Calvin cracked during questioning before sunset.
He admitted Vittorio had paid him for years. He had deleted footage, planted evidence, copied keys, and fed gossip to tabloids.
Then he gave Natalie one last piece.
"Vittorio has a judge," he said. "And two city officials. If you take this to ordinary court, evidence disappears."
Natalie looked at me. "Your father's vault may be the only complete record."
The next morning, every major Chicago news station ran the same breaking story.
Anonymous sources claimed Lorenzo Duca had kidnapped six former fiancées, assaulted employees, and murdered my father.
Vittorio had launched his final weapon.
May you like
Public opinion.
And by noon, a judge ordered Lorenzo detained.
