PART 6 – The Choice of the Moment
Blood roared in my ears. The video feed on Lorenzo’s phone showed Elena’s mother smiling unsuspectingly while an unknown man stood right behind her chair waiting for a phone call. "You monster," Elena hissed as tears streamed down her cheeks. She made an attempt to lunge for the phone, but I stopped her by grabbing her arm. "No, Elena, don't!" I cried, though my own voice shook with helplessness.
Lorenzo held out his hand, palm facing upward. His eyes were cold as ice. "The flash drive, Emma. And the dossier. Now." My brain was racing at full speed. If I gave him what he wanted, Elena’s mother and we would be safe for now, but I would likely never uncover the truth about my father. On the other hand, if I refused, violence would strike immediately.
With trembling fingers, I reached into my pants pocket. I pulled out the USB drive and slowly placed it on the coffee table. Then I took the papers out of my bag and placed them alongside it. Lorenzo smiled triumphantly. He leaned forward, picked up the items, and tucked them into his inner pocket. "Wise choice," he said in a tone as if he had just closed a tough business deal.
"Believe me, Emma, this is better for everyone. Your father played a dangerous game. And those who play with fire get burned." He turned around and walked toward the door with calm steps. Just before stepping outside, he paused for a moment. "Oh, and if you have plans to drive to San Michele tomorrow... forget it. Those roads are closed to curious girls from now on." The door clicked shut.
We were left behind in a suffocating silence. Elena sank sobbing to her floorboards. I knelt beside her and wrapped my arms around her, but I couldn't cry. My eyes were dry and fixed firmly on the empty spot on the coffee table. "What... what are we going to do now?" Elena sobbed. "He has everything." "Not everything," I replied with an ice-cold calm I barely recognized in myself.
Elena looked at me questioningly. I reached out and pulled my father's original handwritten note from my palm. It was crumpled, but the text was still completely legible. "He thought it was about the digital files," I whispered. "But he forgot that my father was smarter than that. This note doesn't have a password, but it does have the real location where my father used to hide his belongings when the Moretti family got too close." Elena wiped away her tears. "Where then?" "Not in San Michele," I said, looking at the coordinates scribbled at the bottom of the paper. "But in an old abandoned chapel just outside the village, where no one ever looks."
