Chapter 4 - THE BLUE TICKET
The blinking red light of the listening device cast an eerie glow over the dark fabric of the baby's coat.
Gabriel Corsi stared at the small plastic disc in his bodyguard’s hand. The color drained from his face, quickly replaced by a terrifying, silent rage.
Someone hadn't just breached his security. Someone had used his infant son as a tracking beacon.
“Who had access to his coat today?” Gabriel asked, his voice deathly quiet.
“Only family, boss,” Marco replied, crushing the listening device beneath the heel of his heavy leather shoe. “Your sister, Carmela, bought the coat for him yesterday. The nanny dressed him this morning.”
Gabriel’s jaw locked. Carmela. His own blood.
“We are compromised,” Gabriel said. He turned to me, his dark eyes fierce and uncompromising. “Elina. You are coming with me.”
“What? No!” I backed away, my heart pounding wildly. “I don’t know you! I just found out I had a sister five minutes ago. I’m not getting involved in a mafia war!”
“They were listening,” Gabriel stepped closer, his imposing frame blocking the exit. “Whoever planted that bug just heard Carlo confess that Sofia had a twin. You look exactly like her, Elina. Whoever killed my wife will not let you live. You are the only loose end.”
I looked down at Leo. The baby was looking up at me with large, trusting brown eyes—my sister’s eyes. He gripped my apron tighter, refusing to let go.
I had lost my mother. I had lost a sister I never even got to meet. I couldn't let this innocent child lose anyone else.
“Okay,” I whispered, tears blurring my vision. “Okay. I’ll come.”
Gabriel nodded once. “Marco, get the car to the back alley. We are going to the safehouse.”
I turned to the employee coat rack to grab my jacket. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely pull it off the hanger. I quickly shoved my hands into the deep pockets of my work apron to steady them.
My fingers brushed against a stiff piece of paper.
I frowned. I hadn't put anything in my apron.
I pulled it out and stared at it under the dim emergency lights of the hallway.
It was a blue train ticket.
The destination was a remote town in upstate New York. It was dated for midnight tonight.
And stapled to the back of the ticket was a small, white card with a typed message:
LEAVE THE BABY AND GET ON THE TRAIN. OR YOU WILL DIE EXACTLY LIKE YOUR SISTER.
I gasped, dropping the ticket onto the floor.
Gabriel was instantly at my side. He picked up the ticket, reading the note. His eyes darkened with absolute fury.
“Someone in this restaurant put this in your pocket,” Gabriel snarled, spinning around to face the kitchen.
But Carlo was gone.
The back door of the kitchen was swinging wide open, the cold night wind howling into the restaurant.
“Boss, we have to move,” Marco shouted from the alley, pulling the heavy steel door open. A black, armored SUV was idling outside.
Gabriel wrapped a heavy, protective arm around my shoulders, shielding both me and Leo as we rushed into the freezing alleyway.
We climbed into the back seat of the SUV. The doors locked with a heavy, metallic thud.
As Marco hit the gas and the car tore through the dark streets of the city, Gabriel turned on the overhead reading light in the back seat.
He was staring intently at the blue train ticket in his hands.
“Elina,” Gabriel said softly, his voice trembling slightly. “Look at this.”
I leaned closer, holding Leo tightly.
“Look at the serial number printed at the bottom of the ticket,” Gabriel pointed.
It was a string of twelve numbers.
“I don't understand,” I whispered.
“This ticket wasn't bought today,” Gabriel explained, looking at me with a profound, terrifying realization. “I own the transport company that issues these tickets. I know the serial coding. This ticket was purchased ten months ago.”
My blood ran cold.
May you like
“Ten months ago?” I repeated.
“Yes,” Gabriel said. “This ticket wasn't bought for you, Elina. It was bought for Sofia. Someone tried to force your sister to run away on the exact night she was murdered.”
