Chapter 11: The Man Beneath the Tower
We entered Harbor Tower Seven shortly before midnight.
The abandoned building groaned in the wind. Exposed steel beams rose above us like the ribs of a dead animal.
Marco led us through an elevator shaft into the tunnels below.
Daniel stayed close to me.
Alessandro walked ahead with his weapon drawn.
At the end of the tunnel was a steel room guarded by two armed men.
Marco used his old security code to open the door.
Antonio Moretti sat chained to a hospital bed.
He was thinner than the man in the photograph, but Alessandro recognized him immediately.
“Father.”
Antonio opened his eyes.
For the first time since I had known Alessandro, every wall inside him collapsed.
He crossed the room and knelt beside the bed.
Antonio touched his son’s face.
“You became the man I hoped you would become.”
Alessandro’s eyes filled, but he did not look away.
Daniel unlocked the chains.
Antonio explained that Vittorio had arranged the church shooting to seize control of the Moretti empire.
My mother, Evelyn, had saved Antonio’s life and helped him escape.
Years later, when she prepared to testify, Vittorio ordered her death.
Daniel discovered the truth while investigating the Harbor project.
“Why did you not expose him sooner?” Alessandro asked.
“Because every institution that could prosecute him was already being paid.”
Antonio looked at me.
“Your husband chose to help me even after I warned him what it might cost.”
I turned toward Daniel.
“It cost him his family.”
Daniel lowered his eyes.
Before we could leave, alarms sounded through the tunnel.
Vittorio’s voice came over the speakers.
“I knew Marco would eventually betray me.”
Explosives had been placed throughout the building.
The demolition timer showed twelve minutes.
Steel doors sealed every exit.
Antonio pointed toward an old drainage tunnel shown on the building plans.
We carried him through rising water as explosions shook dust from the ceiling.
At the final gate, the mechanism jammed.
Someone had to remain behind and hold the emergency lever.
Marco stepped forward.
“No,” Alessandro said.
“I helped Vittorio build this prison,” Marco replied. “Let me open it.”
He pulled the lever.
The gate rose.
We crossed beneath it one by one.
Marco remained on the other side.
As the tower collapsed, the tunnel filled with fire and dust.
The gate slammed shut.
Alessandro shouted Marco’s name.
There was no answer.
Then Antonio grabbed my arm.
“Vittorio’s plan is not only about the empire.”
“What else does he want?”
“Vanessa’s child.”
Antonio looked at Alessandro.
May you like
“The baby is not Matteo’s.”
Before he could explain, he lost consciousness.
