Chapter 10 - THE PHONE CALL SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO MAKE
At 9:16 p.m., Gabriel Rossi's phone rang from an unidentified number.
He almost ignored it.
For days, he'd received calls from reporters, opportunists, and people claiming to have information about Isabelle.
Most were useless.
Some were cruel.
But something made him answer.
“Hello?”
There was silence.
Then a woman's voice.
“Gabriel?”
He stopped breathing.
“Isabelle?”
A shaky inhale.
“Gabriel.”
He rose so quickly his chair struck the wall.
“Baby, where are you?”
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Then he heard her crying.
Not loudly.
Just the small, broken sound of someone who'd been trying desperately to stay strong.
“I'm alive.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“I know, sweetheart. I know.”
“I don't have long.”
“Tell me where you are.”
“Willow Court.”
He grabbed a pen.
“Where?”
“Meridian has offices there. I don't know the address.”
“Okay. Okay, listen to me.”
He forced his voice to remain calm.
“Are you hurt?”
“Not badly.”
“Can you get out?”
“No.”
He swallowed.
“I'm going to help you.”
Isabelle's voice shook.
“Gabriel, it's Sal.”
His eyes closed.
“I know.”
“He's behind everything.”
“I know.”
A brief silence.
Then Isabelle whispered, “He knows about my father.”
Gabriel's chest tightened.
“We found Martin's letters.”
“He hid the records in the painting.”
“I know.”
“Gabriel, whatever happens, don't sign the Meridian agreement.”
“I won't.”
Her breathing became rapid.
Footsteps sounded in the background.
Then Isabelle said something that nearly broke him.
“I was supposed to marry you today.”
Gabriel stared toward the window.
Rain moved across the glass.
“I know, sweetheart.”
“I had my vows written.”
His throat tightened.
“Keep them.”
“Gabriel—”
“Keep them, Isabelle. We're not finished.”
She began crying.
Then whispered, “I love you.”
He closed his eyes.
“I love you more.”
A door slammed.
A man's voice shouted.
The call ended.
Gabriel stood motionless.
His phone remained pressed to his ear.
For a moment, he couldn't move.
Then he called Mara.
“It's Isabelle.”
The detective answered immediately.
“What happened?”
“She called me.”
“From what number?”
“Unknown. I'll give you the call details.”
“Did she say where she was?”
“Willow Court. Meridian offices.”
Mara paused.
“Stay where you are. We're checking the location.”
Gabriel stared at the disconnected screen.
His hands were shaking.
He had heard Isabelle's voice.
She was alive.
She was frightened.
And somewhere in the city, she was being held by a man Gabriel had once called brother.
At Willow Court, Isabelle sat on the floor with her back against the wall.
Voss stood near the door, looking terrified.
He had given her his phone.
For forty-eight seconds.
Then a guard had returned unexpectedly.
Voss had managed to hide the call before the man entered, but he knew the risk.
Isabelle looked at him.
“Thank you.”
He shook his head.
“Don't thank me.”
“You helped.”
“I've still done terrible things.”
She studied him.
“Then stop doing them.”
Voss looked away.
His hands trembled.
“I don't know how to get out.”
Isabelle took a breath.
“Tell the truth.”
He laughed bitterly.
“You think it's that easy?”
“No.”
She looked directly at him.
“I think it's the only choice you have left.”
Voss sat on the edge of a chair.
For the first time, he spoke without pretending to be in control.
“Sal hired me six months ago.”
Isabelle waited.
“He wanted an art valuation that would support a large financing arrangement.”
“Meridian?”
Voss nodded.
“The painting was supposed to function as collateral.”
“And the original provenance?”
“Complicated everything.”
She leaned forward.
“Because it linked the artwork to his shipping records.”
“Yes.”
“Did you know about my father?”
Voss hesitated.
“Not at first.”
Isabelle's stomach tightened.
“And now?”
He looked down.
“I found correspondence in Sal's old files.”
Her heart began pounding.
“What correspondence?”
“A payment record. Dated shortly before your father's death.”
Isabelle felt sick.
“Payment for what?”
Voss shook his head.
“I don't know the complete circumstances.”
She stared at him.
“But you suspect.”
He nodded.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
For twelve years, she'd tried to accept that her father's death was an accident.
Now a criminal conspiracy was reaching backward into the most painful moment of her life.
She took a shaky breath.
“Give the records to the police.”
Voss looked frightened.
“Sal will kill me.”
Isabelle held his gaze.
“He's already threatening you because you know too much.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
Then Voss reached into his jacket.
He withdrew a small electronic storage device.
“I made a copy.”
Isabelle stared.
“Why?”
“Because I was afraid he'd decide I was disposable.”
She looked at the device.
It wasn't redemption.
But it might be evidence.
At 10:02 p.m., police identified a corporate office suite at Willow Court leased through Meridian affiliates.
Investigators began coordinating the necessary legal authorization and tactical response.
Gabriel wanted to go.
Mara refused.
“You could compromise the operation.”
Gabriel stared.
“She's my fiancée.”
“I know.”
“You don't understand what it's like waiting.”
The detective held his gaze.
“I understand that if your presence causes the captors to panic, Isabelle could be hurt.”
Gabriel looked away.
For several seconds, he struggled against the urge to argue.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
Mara's expression softened slightly.
“We'll update you as soon as we can.”
The building was searched later that night.
But Isabelle wasn't there.
The office contained signs of recent occupancy.
A warm coffee cup.
Discarded food containers.
A chair pulled away from the conference table.
And a conservation lamp beside an empty padded easel.
The painting was gone.
Voss was gone.
Isabelle was gone.
Again.
Gabriel received the news at 11:47.
He sat down slowly.
For a moment, the room seemed to spin.
Dante stood beside him.
“Boss.”
Gabriel stared at the floor.
“I heard her voice.”
“I know.”
“She was right there.”
Dante looked down.
“We'll keep looking.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“I know.”
But for the first time, he wondered whether knowing she was alive might hurt more than not knowing.
Because now he could imagine her waiting for him.
The following morning, an anonymous package arrived at Mara's office.
Inside was the storage device Voss had shown Isabelle.
There was also a handwritten note.
The transaction is scheduled for Friday night. Check the freight terminal once operated by Northpoint.
Mara stared at the note.
The handwriting didn't match Isabelle's.
It appeared to belong to Voss.
She opened the forensic processing request.
Then called Gabriel.
“We have something.”
He stood.
“What?”
“Documents that may connect Sal Moreno to the old shipping transactions.”
Gabriel felt his pulse quicken.
“And Isabelle?”
“Not yet.”
A pause.
“But the sender knew where the records were.”
That afternoon, Gabriel received another message.
This one came from Sal.
We need to meet.
Gabriel stared.
Then replied.
Tomorrow. My office.
Sal answered almost instantly.
Alone.
Gabriel looked at the screen.
For years, he'd trusted Sal Moreno with his life.
Now the man was asking for a private meeting while Isabelle remained missing.
Gabriel forwarded the message to Mara and Michael.
May you like
Then typed:
We'll talk.
