Chapter 6 - THE MOTHER WHO CARRIED TWO SECRETS
“My mother wrote that?”
I reached for the statement.
Luca handed it to me.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My mother had spent years writing grocery lists and birthday cards in the same neat, sloping letters.
But this wasn't a birthday card.
It was a warning.
Luca must not be told until Sophie reveals the signal.
Beneath that sentence was another.
The first person who offers him the truth may be the person controlling the lie.
I read it three times.
Then I looked at Marco.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He lowered his eyes.
“Your mother asked me not to.”
My stomach twisted.
“You know my mother?”
“Yes.”
“How long?”
“Three years.”
Luca's voice cut through the room.
“Explain yourself.”
Marco stood very still.
“I was working for Mrs. Moretti before she disappeared.”
“You worked for me.”
“Yes, sir. But Elena suspected someone had compromised the security team. She asked me to help her investigate quietly.”
“And you agreed?”
“I did.”
Luca stared at him.
“You let me bury an empty coffin.”
Marco flinched.
I looked between them.
“An empty coffin?”
Luca's face hardened.
“Elena's remains were supposedly lost at sea. We held a memorial with what the authorities gave us.”
My heart sank.
For three years, he had believed he'd said goodbye.
Marco spoke quietly.
“Your wife believed telling you would put Sophie in danger.”
Luca slammed his hand against the desk.
“Everyone keeps saying that!”
Sophie appeared in the doorway.
She'd followed Antonio down the hall.
“Daddy?”
Luca immediately stepped back.
His anger vanished.
“Sweetheart, go with Antonio.”
She looked frightened.
“Are you mad at Mommy?”
Luca closed his eyes.
“No.”
“Then stop shouting.”
Her words seemed to reach a place no adult could.
He crossed the room and knelt.
“You're right. I'm sorry.”
Sophie hugged him.
I watched his hand tremble against her back.
When Antonio took her upstairs, Luca turned toward me.
“We need to speak to your mother tonight.”
I nodded.
But fear had already settled deep inside me.
My mother had kept secrets.
Important ones.
Secrets that might explain why she'd spent three years suffering.
And why she'd urged me to accept a job in this house.
An hour later, Luca and I arrived at my aunt's modest home in Evanston.
Marco remained outside with two guards.
Luca had insisted on a quiet visit.
No convoy.
No dramatic entrance.
Just a frightened daughter and a man desperate for answers.
My aunt opened the door.
She looked surprised to see Luca.
Then her gaze fell on the rosary in my hand.
Her face changed.
“Oh, Emily.”
“Where's Mom?”
“In the living room.”
Margaret Carter sat beneath a knitted blanket near the fireplace.
At fifty-eight, she looked older than her years.
Her hands were thin.
Her hair had grown back unevenly after months of treatment.
But when she saw the rosary, she sat upright.
“Where did you get that?”
I knelt beside her.
“Mom, I need you to tell me the truth.”
Her eyes moved toward Luca.
He stepped closer.
“Margaret.”
She looked at him for a long moment.
Then tears filled her eyes.
“You look so much like your father.”
Luca seemed startled.
“You knew my father?”
“I treated him once. A long time ago.”
“Margaret, Elena is alive.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“I know.”
The words hit me like a blow.
“You knew?”
She reached for my hand.
“Emily, please.”
“Mom, I've been taking care of Sophie for eleven months. She cries for her mother every Sunday.”
“I know, sweetheart.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
I pulled my hand away.
For years, I'd watched my mother endure hospital stays, medication, and pain.
I'd worked double shifts.
Skipped birthdays.
Sold my car.
And all that time, she'd been carrying a secret powerful enough to change a child's life.
“What happened?” I whispered.
She stared toward the fireplace.
“Three years ago, I was working at a private medical clinic outside Chicago. One night, a woman arrived unconscious.”
“Elena?” Luca asked.
My mother nodded.
“She had bruises, severe dehydration, and a head injury. Two men brought her in.”
“Who?”
“I never learned their names.”
“What did they want?”
“They told the doctor to keep her sedated until she could be transferred.”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“And you?”
“I recognized her. She'd helped raise money for our clinic.”
My mother swallowed.
“When the men left, she woke up for a few minutes. She grabbed my wrist and asked about Sophie.”
Luca closed his eyes.
“She thought someone had taken her daughter?”
“She didn't know where Sophie was. She was terrified.”
“What did you do?”
“I called someone I trusted.”
“Who?”
“Marco.”
Luca stared.
My mother continued.
“He helped me move Elena to a safer facility. But the people who'd brought her in found out.”
I looked at her thin hands.
“What did they do to you?”
She hesitated.
Then she pulled back her sleeve.
A faded scar crossed her forearm.
“They attacked me outside the clinic. I was hospitalized with serious injuries. Later, complications developed. I never recovered completely.”
My eyes filled.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because they knew your name.”
My breath stopped.
“Mine?”
She nodded.
“They left a photograph of you on my hospital bed.”
Luca turned toward the window.
His expression had gone cold.
Margaret continued.
“I made a bargain with Marco. We'd protect Elena and Sophie quietly. When the right moment came, we'd tell Luca everything.”
“Why send me into his house?”
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Because you were the only person I knew who would love Sophie without wanting anything from her.”
I began crying.
My mother squeezed my hand.
“I didn't know Elena was still being held. I thought she was receiving protected medical care.”
Luca stepped forward.
“Then who kept her from coming home?”
Margaret looked ashamed.
“That's the part I couldn't prove.”
She reached toward a small wooden box beside her chair.
Inside was an old hospital identification badge.
A photograph had been attached to it.
The picture showed a man standing beside Elena's wheelchair.
His face was partially hidden.
But the name printed beneath it was clear.
DR. THOMAS BELLINI.
Luca frowned.
“Richard's younger brother?”
My mother nodded.
“He oversaw her treatment.”
“Why would he keep her there?”
“Because Elena had evidence against someone powerful.”
“Richard?”
Margaret shook her head.
“No. Someone much closer to you.”
Luca went still.
“Who?”
My mother reached beneath the blanket and removed a small velvet pouch.
Inside was a silver cufflink.
It bore the Moretti family crest.
Luca recognized it instantly.
“That belonged to my father.”
Margaret shook her head.
“Your father had a matching pair. He gave one to each of his sons.”
I stared at Luca.
He had never mentioned a brother.
His face drained of color.
“My brother died fifteen years ago.”
Margaret's voice broke.
“No, Luca.”
May you like
She placed the cufflink in his palm.
“YOUR BROTHER HAS BEEN USING ANOTHER NAME. AND HE'S THE MAN WHO ORDERED ELENA TAKEN.”
