THE WAITRESS WHO STOPPED A MILLIONAIRE FROM SLAPPING AN OLD LADY

“In a place where you will have time to reflect on your behavior.”
Victoria placed herself between them.
“Father, please.”
He ignored it.
Olivia looked out over the balcony.
Then to the small emergency button located under his desk.
His grandfather approached.
“Olivia.”
She pressed the button.
An alarm sounds throughout the mansion.
Jonathan stopped short.
Victoria let out a cry.
Olivia started to run.
She walked through the adjoining dressing room and down the back stairs.
A guard tried to stop him near the kitchen.
She stooped down and passed under his arm.
Then she went out into the garden through a back door.
The cold rain whipped his face.
She ran to the old greenhouse.
Her heart was pounding.
Behind her, the guards were shouting.
Olivia reached the greenhouse and closed the door.

She pulled out a prepaid phone she’d secretly bought a few weeks before.
Her hands were shaking when she opened a message.
Someone had contacted her the following day.lle in the evening.
The message contained a photograph of a hospital bracelet.
BABY CARTER B.
Below it was a phone number.
Olivia called.
A woman answered.
“Hello?”
Olivia had trouble speaking.
“My name is Olivia Sterling.”
The woman remained silent.
Then she whispered,
“I know who you are.”
Olivia began to cry.
“Please help me.”
The response was immediate.
“Where are you?”
Olivia looked through the glass.
The security guards were approaching.
“In my grandfather’s greenhouse.”
The woman inhaled suddenly.
“Listen to me carefully.”
Olivia clutched the phone.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Catherine Hale.”
Olivia heard someone talking in the background.

Then Catherine continued.
“I’m going to get you out of here.”

CHAPTER 6: THE WOMAN VINCENT HAD NEVER FORGOTTEN
Vincent Moretti hadn’t slept for thirty hours.
He was in the security office beneath his mansion, reviewing the hospital’s surveillance recordings.
The video showed two men pushing Daniel Carter’s bed down a service hallway.
Lily walked by their side.
She seemed scared, but couldn’t resist.
Vincent frowned.
“Stop the video.”
Julian paused the recording.
Vincent examined the faces of the two men.
“Can we identify them?”
Julian nodded.
“They are both licensed employees of a private medical transport company.”
“Who hired them?”
Julian hesitated.
“The Catherine Hale Foundation.”
Vincent held his breath.
For several seconds, he stared at the screen.
“Catherine?”
Julian nodded.
This name awakened memories that Vincent had tried to bury for nineteen years.

At twenty-four, he was engaged to Catherine Hale.
She was brilliant, determined, and totally indifferent to her fortune.
She was studying biomedical engineering and volunteering at children’s hospitals.
One day, she had told him that being rich didn’t mean much if you didn’t have the courage to confront those who abused their power.
Vincent loved her more than anything.
Then she had disappeared.
Three weeks before their wedding, Catherine had left a letter.
SOME TRUTHS ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN LOVE.
Vincent had been looking for her.
He had hired detectives.
Contacted their friends.
Traveled around Europe following rumors.
Nothing had worked.
Finally, he had convinced himself that she had simply chosen another life.
And now, his foundation seemed to have taken Daniel Carter and Lily with him.
Vincent took his phone.

Before he could even dial a number, an unknown call appeared.
He picked up.
“Moretti.”
For several seconds, he heard only parasites.
Then a woman spoke.
“Vincent.”
He closed his eyes.
“Catherine.”
His voice trembled.
“You shouldn’t have taken Emma home.”
Vincent clutched the phone.
“Where are you?”
“It’s not important.”
“Daniel Carter is with you?”
“Yes.”
“What about Lily?”
“She’s safe.”
Vincent expired.
“Why did you take them?”
“Because someone else was coming to pick them up.”
“Who?”
“Jonathan Sterling.”
Vincent frowned.
“Then call the police.”
Catherine laughed bitterly.
“Some people who protect Jonathan wear a police badge.”
Vincent stared at the wall.
“Catherine… “
Yes? “
You disappeared for nineteen years.
She didn’t answer.
“You let me believe that you no longer loved me.”
His breathing changed.
“I never stopped loving you.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
“So why?”
“Because your father wanted me dead.”
These words struck him hard.
Vincent drew back.
“What?”
Catherine continued.
“I discovered Bluebird before Grace Carter.”
Vincent’s heart quickened.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t tell you yet.”
“Catherine… His
voice became urgent.
“Listen to me carefully.”
A noise rings out on the other end of the line.
Footsteps.
A door that opened.
Someone shouted his name.
Catherine lowered her voice.
“Your mother is not telling you the whole truth.”
Vincent looked towards the stairs.
“What does this mean?”
“She was involved in the creation of the program.”
His expression hardens.
“No.”
“Vincent, please.”
“My mother would never… “
People can do terrible things and still think they’re protecting someone. Vincent
remained silent.
Then Catherine whispered,
“And there is another person you must find.”
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
Vincent froze.
“My brother died when I was seven years old.”
Catherine’s voice softened.
“No, Vincent.”
He held his breath.
“Adrian is alive.”
Communication was cut off.
Vincent remained motionless.
Then he turned to Julian.
“Find Catherine Hale.”
Julian nodded.
“And find out everything you can about the death of Adrian Moretti.”
The head of security hesitated.
“Your brother?”
Vincent stared at the now black screen.
“Yes.”
His voice became cold.
“Because apparently my family has been burying people for decades who never died.”
CHAPTER 7: UNDERGROUND
FACILITIES The old Moretti factory stood behind a rusty fence in Gary, Indiana.
Its broken windows looked out onto abandoned loading docks.
Weeds grew through the cracked concrete.
A worn sign prevented intruders from entering.
Emma was observing the building from the seat of Vincent’s SUV.
She had seen photographs of this factory all her life.
Daniel sometimes spoke of the machines he had designed there.
But he never mentioned what happened after the fire.
Emma now understood why.
Vincent was sitting next to her.
Julian was driving.
Two security vehicles were following them.
They had come because Emma had discovered hidden plans on her father’s memory card.
These plans showed a lower level below the factory.
The official documents did not mention any basement.
However, the engineering plans revealed a whole underground wing.
Medical rooms.
Storage rooms.
An operating theatre.
And a restricted archive room called BLUEBIRD.
Emma looked at Vincent.
“Do you think they locked my mother up here?”
He nodded slowly.
“It’s possible.”
They entered through a side door.
Inside, the factory smelled of rust, dust, and wet concrete.