"We don't need to investigate them all." I grip the armrests of my wheelchair. "We need to find the one with the biggest need. The one who can't afford to let those ledgers exist. Someone desperate enough to kidnap a pregnant woman from an orphanage in broad daylight."
Liam clears his throat. "He's right. This wasn't a random grab. They knew where she'd be, when she'd be there, and they had an exit strategy planned. This took resources. Planning. Money."
"And a specific motivation," I add. "Someone in those ledgers has something to lose. Something big enough that they're willing to start a war with us to get it back."
Pietro runs a hand through his hair. He looks exhausted.
"Even if Vittoria can narrow it down," he says slowly, "what then? We still don't know where they're holding her."
"One problem at a time." I meet his eyes. "First, we figure out who. Then we figure out where. Then we get her back."
"And the ledgers?"
"We find a way to keep them." My voice hardens. "I'm not handing over thirty years of leverage because some bastard thinks he can threaten my family. We've faced worse. We've faced war. We'll do it again."
Nico crosses his arms. "You're talking about going up against an unknown enemy with unknown resources while your wife is their hostage. That's not strategy. That's suicide."
"No." I wheel toward him until we're face to face. "Suicide is giving them exactly what they want and hoping they keep their word. You think they'll let her go once they have the ledgers? You think they'll just walk away and leave us alone?"
Nico doesn't answer.
"They won't," I continue. "Because we'll still be a threat. We'll still know they exist. We'll still be able to come after them. The only way this ends cleanly for them is if we're all dead."
The truth of it settles over the room like a shroud.
"So we fight," Valentino says quietly. "Smart and quick."
I nod. "Smart and quick."
Pietro pulls out his phone. "I'll call Vittoria. She's on vacation, but she can access our systems remotely."
"Tell her I need everything she can find in two hours," I say. "Every name in those ledgers that connects to organized crime. Every transaction that looks like a payoff or a bribe. Every secret that someone might kill to protect."
Pietro nods and steps away to make the call.
Nico still hasn't moved. He's watching me with that calculating expression I know too well.
"You really think we can pull this off?" he asks. "Find them, rescue her, and keep the ledgers?"
"I think we don't have a choice."
"There's always a choice, Bruno."
"Not this time." I hold his gaze. "She's carrying my child. She's my wife. And I will burn this entire city to the ground before I let anyone take her from me."
"Then we'd better get started," he says.
Liam moves to the computer, pulling up the digital archives where we store copies of the Morelli records. Valentino positionshimself by the door, already on his phone coordinating with our people on the ground.
And I sit in my wheelchair, staring at that red dot on the map.
Forty-seven minutes ago, my wife was there.
Now she could be anywhere.
But I will find her.
I will find whoever took her.