Page 291 of Ricardo

His eyebrow quirks, and he looks almost amused.

“And how do you know it's Harrison who did this?” Roberto asks. “Just because they used to be involved?”

“There were white roses in the entrance hall, placed where she would see them when she walked in.”

Roberto stays silent.

“White roses meant Harrison,” I continue. “He used to buy them for her after he would hurt her.”

Vito's expression loses all amusement.

Roberto’s jaw tightens once, almost imperceptibly. “Did he now?” he says softly.

I keep going.

“Dante saw something was wrong before Julia did. He put her behind the kitchen counter. The men opened fire. One shot hit him in the abdomen.”

Adrian, silent until now, speaks up. “They came to kill her?”

“I don’t think so, no,” I say. “We believe they came to take her.”

His eyes grow cold. “Equipment?”

“Julia did not see enough to know,” I say. “Police have the apartment. Our people are working around that.”

Mario looks toward Matteo.

Matteo answers. “We have exterior building footage, partial lobby access, and the service corridor from the neighboring property. Her building system is officially locked down, but we have one maintenance feed they missed.”

Adrian’s attention fixes on him with cool approval. “Send it to me.”

Matteo looks to Mario.

Mario nods.

Matteo takes out his phone.

Adrian continues. “If they came to take her, they had transport. Second vehicle, nearby driver, route out. They would not park directly at the building unless they were amateurs.”

“They were not amateurs,” I say.

“No,” Adrian agrees. “Then there may be more outside the apartment than inside it.”

Something in his tone tells me he is already building the route in his head. Entrance. Exit. Timing. Containment. Failure point.

Dante was the failure point.

My son became the wall they did not expect.

Pride and terror move through me together, impossible to separate.

Roberto turns a page in the file. “Has Harrison contacted Julia since the attack?”

“No.”

“Her parents?”

“Unknown.”