Chapter 12: Union Station
The note remained clenched in Vincent Moretti's fist as his convoy raced back through downtown Chicago.
Emma.
Lucy.
Noah.
Ava.
Gone.
The silence inside the lead SUV was unbearable.
Marco finally spoke.
"They didn't kill the guards."
"No."
"They wanted witnesses."
Vincent stared through the rain-covered windshield.
"They wanted me to know exactly who took them."
Back at Bellarosa Manor, Daniel reviewed every security recording.
One by one, the screens replayed the attack.
At exactly 11:17 a.m., every exterior camera went black.
Thirty seconds later, backup cameras activated.
Masked men entered through the front gate.
Not one shot was fired.
Not one guard was killed.
Instead, every guard collapsed after being struck by tranquilizer darts.
Professional.
Precise.
Fast.
Daniel frowned.
"Look at this."
He enlarged one frame.
A woman in a white nurse's uniform walked calmly beside the kidnappers.
Maria gasped.
"That's impossible."
Vincent leaned closer.
The woman gently lifted Ava into her arms.
Ava didn't scream.
She didn't struggle.
She looked...
Confortable.
Marco whispered,
"They trusted her."
Emma's room revealed another clue.
Her bed had been neatly made.
Nothing was broken.
Only one item remained on the pillow.
Lucy's copy of Peter Pan.
Vincent slowly opened it.
Inside rested another drawing.
This time the picture showed a train.
Five children stood beside it.
Buddy barked from the platform.
Above the train Emma had written one sentence.
We'll keep believing.
Vincent carefully folded the drawing into his coat.
"They left us a message."
Midnight approached.
Union Station looked almost deserted.
Only a handful of travelers crossed the enormous hall beneath the vaulted ceiling.
Vincent entered alone.
Exactly as instructed.
Marco and twenty armed men watched from nearby rooftops.
Daniel monitored surveillance cameras.
Every entrance was covered.
Still...
Vincent felt as though someone was already watching him.
A train announcement echoed through the station.
"Track Seventeen now boarding."
Vincent stopped walking.
Track.
Seventeen.
Again.
He descended the long staircase toward the empty platform.
One passenger train waited in complete silence.
No passengers.
No conductor.
Only darkness inside the cars.
The doors slid open by themselves.
A voice came through the station speakers.
"Welcome, Mr. Moretti."
Not Richard.
Not Robert.
Someone older.
Calmer.
"I've been looking forward to meeting you."
Vincent remained where he stood.
"I know who you are."
The voice chuckled softly.
"No."
"You know what they called me."
"But names change."
"Power doesn't."
The train lights flickered on.
Every seat was empty.
Except one.
A small stuffed rabbit rested beside the window.
Mia's rabbit.
Vincent slowly stepped aboard.
The doors closed behind him.
Without warning...
The train began moving.
Daniel shouted through Vincent's earpiece.
"The train isn't scheduled!"
"I know."
"We're trying to stop it."
Marco's SUV raced alongside the tracks outside.
But the train accelerated.
Within seconds it disappeared into an abandoned maintenance tunnel beneath the city.
GPS signals vanished.
Radio communications crackled.
Then died.
Vincent was alone.
The train finally stopped inside a forgotten underground platform.
Ancient brick walls surrounded the station.
No signs.
No maps.
Only one illuminated doorway.
Above it hung a brass plaque.
The Chairman's Room
Vincent stepped onto the platform.
His footsteps echoed through the empty chamber.
The doorway slowly opened.
Inside stood a massive library.
Shelves stretched from floor to ceiling.
Thousands of leather-bound books.
Oil paintings.
A roaring fireplace.
An old man sat in a leather chair with his back turned.
White hair.
Perfect posture.
One hand rested upon an elegant black cane.
Without turning around, he spoke.
"Vincent Moretti."
"I expected you sooner."
Vincent kept his pistol lowered.
"Where are the children?"
The old man smiled.
"Safe."
"You've used that word before."
"And I mean it."
He finally turned.
His face looked ordinary.
Kind, even.
The sort of elderly gentleman who might volunteer at a hospital fundraiser.
That frightened Vincent more than any scarred criminal ever had.
"You've been hunting me."
The Chairman smiled.
"I've been studying you."
"You murdered Richard."
"No."
"I retired him."
Vincent's eyes narrowed.
"You ordered it."
"I accepted the necessity."
The Chairman rose slowly.
"You think this is about money."
"It isn't."
"You think this is about trafficking."
"It never was."
He walked toward one enormous wall map.
Colored pins marked cities across America.
Chicago.
New York.
Boston.
Dallas.
Los Angeles.
"We build influence."
"We shape leaders."
"We create stability."
Vincent stared at him in disbelief.
"You kidnap children."
"We rescue potential."
Vincent almost laughed.
"That's how you justify it?"
"I don't justify anything."
"I simply succeed."
The Chairman opened a drawer.
He removed an old photograph.
Vincent's heartbeat slowed.
It showed Vincent himself.
Age twelve.
Standing outside a youth boxing gym.
"What is this?"
"You."
"I know that."
"Why do you have it?"
The Chairman smiled.
"Because we considered selecting you."
Silence.
Marco's voice crackled faintly through the damaged earpiece.
"Boss..."
Vincent ignored it.
"You watched me."
"For years."
"You were intelligent."
"Loyal."
"Fearless."
"But then..."
The Chairman looked almost disappointed.
"You met your father."
Vincent frowned.
"My father?"
"He taught you love."
The old man placed the photograph back into the drawer.
"That made you unsuitable."
"You became predictable."
Vincent remembered Richard's words.
I used your conscience.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Richard had known.
The Chairman never feared violent men.
He feared compassionate ones.
"Where are Emma and the others?"
The Chairman smiled.
"They're waiting."
"For what?"
"For your decision."
A hidden door opened behind the fireplace.
Five frightened children stepped into the room.
Emma.
Lucy.
Noah.
Ava.
Mia.
Buddy immediately ran toward Vincent, barking wildly.
The children looked unharmed.
Emma smiled through tears.
"I knew you'd come."
Two dozen armed guards emerged from the shadows.
The Chairman remained perfectly calm.
"You have two choices."
He placed a pistol on the table.
"Kill me."
"Or save them."
Vincent frowned.
"What game is this?"
"If you shoot me..."
"My men kill every child."
"If you lower your weapon..."
"I let them leave."
Marco finally restored radio contact.
"Boss!"
"We're inside the tunnels!"
"We're two minutes away!"
The Chairman smiled.
"You don't have two minutes."
He pushed the pistol closer.
"So tell me, Vincent..."
"Are you the monster Chicago fears..."
"...or the father those children already believe you are?"
The room fell silent.
Vincent slowly looked at Emma.
She shook her head almost imperceptibly.
Not in fear.
In trust.
She believed he would find another way.
May you like
And for the first time in his life...
Vincent Moretti realized that trust was more powerful than fear.
