Chapter 18 - The Wrong Man at the Warehouse
The name on the lease wasn't enough to tell us whether Thomas was alive, coerced, or impersonated.
I knew better than to convert paperwork into a miracle.
Still, I sat in the conference room for an hour staring at his signature.
It looked like the writing on the letter Eleanor had shown me.
At eleven forty-five, authorities moved into position around the waterfront site.
I remained at the command post with Rachel and Sofia's advocate while Matteo gave agents details about loading entrances and hidden stairways.
The negotiation call came through shortly before midnight.
Dominic demanded proof that the storage devices had not been copied.
The lead negotiator refused to offer impossible assurances and focused on Eleanor's welfare.
Then Dominic said, "Ask Emily whether she wants to meet her father."
My chest constricted.
The negotiator glanced at me without muting the line.
"We can discuss that after we confirm everyone is safe," she said.
Dominic laughed.
"Your investigator still thinks rules will save her."
Before he could continue, a man in the background shouted that the rear loading door was open.
The call disconnected.
For several minutes we heard only radio traffic and the low hum of the command room.
Then the lead agent reported that Eleanor had been found in an office, frightened but unharmed.
Dominic was not with her.
Instead, the team discovered an older man in a locked interior room.
He had a gray beard, a thin frame, and eyes that looked strangely familiar.
A medic assessed him before anyone asked questions.
He identified himself as Daniel Reeves.
Rachel gripped my arm so hard it hurt.
We waited for confirmation.
Fingerprints and other identification details supported his claim.
Daniel had survived.
He had been kept hidden through a shifting network of false identities and illegal confinement after trying to expose the trafficking route.
His condition required immediate hospital care.
I didn't run into his room and demand the missing years.
I stood outside while Rachel visited her brother first.
When I finally entered, Daniel managed a weak smile.
"Still asking the worst questions, Carter?"
I cried then.
Not loudly.
Not for an audience.
I held his hand and allowed myself to feel the weight of seven stolen years.
Later he told investigators that Dominic had kept him alive because he knew where the final financial records were stored.
The records were tied to Thomas Carter's alias.
"Was Thomas alive?" I asked.
Daniel's face changed.
"He was when I last saw him."
"When?"
"Three weeks ago."
My world narrowed to those words.
Meanwhile, the lease turned out to be the key to Dominic's escape route.
He had used the building to stage a diversion while moving toward a smaller shipping terminal controlled by Anthony.
Federal agents tracked the terminal accounts and vehicles.
Then Matteo received one more message from his cousin.
It said: UNCLE DOMINIC WAS NEVER THE ONE IN CHARGE.
The message included a photograph taken that night.
It showed Enzo Vescari, very old but unmistakable, seated at the head of a table.
May you like
And standing beside him was Matteo's father.
