Chapter 6 - the traitor's signature
The sound of the glass breaking echoed through the vast grand room.
Catherine stood frozen, her hands trembling, her eyes wide as she looked at Alessandro in absolute, agonizing disbelief.
"He... he vanished?" Catherine whispered, her voice cracking with fresh heartbreak. "Four years ago? And you didn't tell me?"
Alessandro didn't flinch. He stepped closer, stepping over the shattered glass, his broad hands reaching out to gently take her arms, holding her steady.
"I didn't tell you because I spent the last four years hunting down every single man who touched that facility," Alessandro explained, his deep voice thick with raw, dark intensity. "I searched six states. I tore down three rival syndicates looking for him. But David... David had escaped before Vance's men even entered his room."
Catherine looked up at him, tears spilling down her rosy cheeks. "He escaped? Where is he?"
"I don't know," Alessandro confessed low. "David wiped his own tracks. He went off the grid completely. But three weeks ago... before I was attacked... I received an encrypted package at my office in Baltimore."
Alessandro released her arms, walking over to a heavy mahogany desk near the bay window. He unlocked a small steel drawer with a brass key from his pocket, pulling out a sealed, black leather envelope.
He walked back and handed it to Catherine.
Catherine took the leather envelope with trembling fingers. She unzipped the top seal, pulling out a folded piece of heavy parchment and a small silver micro-drive.
She unfolded the parchment. Written across the middle in bold, familiar handwriting was a short message:
Alessandro,
The Architect is inside your council. Look to the man who carries the silver signet ring. Keep Catherine and the boy safe. The key is in the bear.
— D.W.
Catherine’s breath caught in her throat. She read the last sentence again, her eyes darting frantically from the parchment over to the leather footstool where Logan was playing with Captain Bear.
"The key is in the bear..." Catherine murmured, her hands shaking.
May you like
Alessandro stepped up beside her, his dark eyes locking onto the small stuffed teddy bear resting on the footstool.
"Your husband didn't just leave a message, Catherine," Alessandro said, his sharp mind connecting the pieces instantly. "He gave that teddy bear to you three days after Logan was born."
