Chapter 3 - The Midnight Transfer
Matteo Rizzo was my oldest friend. He was my underboss.
For six agonizing years, Matteo had sat in my living room, pouring me whiskey while I wept over my missing wife. He was the one who managed the private investigators. He was the one who held my shoulder and repeatedly, gently told me that Alina and Sophia were probably gone forever and that I needed to move on.
He had known. He had orchestrated the entire thing.
The profound, apocalyptic betrayal hit me with the kinetic force of a freight train. Every instinct inside my body sharpened into a cold, lethal, and demonic rage.
Then, Sister Helen turned to the final page of the intake file.
“There’s something else, Mr. Vitelli,” she stammered, tears of sheer panic rolling down her cheeks.
It was a brand-new transfer form, completely expedited and stamped three days ago. Again, Matteo’s signature was at the bottom.
“Sophia is scheduled to leave St. Margaret’s,” Sister Helen confessed. “Tonight.”
I stared at the destination line on the paperwork. It was completely blank.
“Where are they taking her?” I asked, my voice dropping into a terrifying, vibrating whisper.
Sister Helen shook her head. “I don't know. He just said he was coming to collect the merchandise at eight o'clock.”
I looked at the clock on the wall. It was 7:45 PM.
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I looked down at Sophia, who was leaning her tired head against my arm, finally feeling safe after six years of abandonment. Then I understood the horrifying reality. Matteo wasn’t just hiding my daughter anymore. He was moving her to permanently erase her before my real estate acquisition brought me to this building.
👉 Matteo thought he was arriving to collect a helpless orphan, but he was about to walk into an execution chamber.
