Chapter 12 - The Woman Elena TrustedEmma sat down.
Vittorio remained standing.
“Explain.”
She looked at Lucy first.
Then at Sofia.
Then at him.
“Elena knew Marco wanted Lucy.”
“I know.”
“She also knew Bianca was working with him.”
“I know.”
“She was afraid you would react before she could secure the evidence.”
Vittorio frowned.
“Why would she need to protect Lucy from me?”
“Because Marco had a plan.”
“What plan?”
“He wanted to provoke you.”
“Into what?”
“Violence.”
Vittorio said nothing.
Emma continued.
“Marco knew your temper. He knew how much you loved Elena. He knew what would happen if you believed someone had betrayed you.”
Vittorio's face hardened.
“So he wanted me angry.”
“Yes.”
“To make me do something?”
“To make you kill someone.”
Silence.
“Who?”
“Ferraro.”
Vittorio stared.
Emma nodded.
“If you killed Ferraro, every piece of evidence would disappear. Marco would blame you for everything. Bianca would testify against you. Lucy would be taken away.”
Vittorio looked toward Lucy.
“That was the plan?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't Elena tell me?”
“She tried.”
Emma took out another envelope.
“She wrote this for you.”
Vittorio opened it.
Elena's letter was short.
I know you will want revenge.
Please don't let them choose your actions for you.
Protect Lucy first.
Then expose them.
Vittorio closed his eyes.
All this time, he had thought Emma was simply the housekeeper.
Instead, she had been Elena's hidden protection.
Then Lucy spoke.
“Daddy?”
He looked up.
“Who saved me?”
Emma smiled sadly.
“Your mother.”
Lucy shook her head.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Lucy pointed at Emma.
“Mommy said the woman who saved me would lie.”
Emma's face changed.
Vittorio stood immediately.
“What did you say?”
Lucy looked frightened.
“She told me there was one thing I must never tell.”
“What?”
Lucy whispered:
“Emma knew about the basement before Mommy died.”
Vittorio turned to Emma.
“Did you?”
Emma didn't answer.
“Emma.”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I helped build it.”
Vittorio's blood ran cold.
“The hidden room?”
“Yes.”
“What was it for?”
Emma stared at the floor.
“Elena built it to record conversations without being seen.”
“So the cameras were hers?”
“Some were.”
Vittorio remembered the footage.
“What about the medication?”
Emma looked at him.
“That wasn't Elena's.”
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
Everyone froze.
Emma rushed to explain.
“I never gave it to Lucy.”
“Then why was it there?”
“To compare.”
“To compare what?”
Emma opened another file.
It contained medical analysis.
“The medication Bianca gave Lucy was a sedative.”
Vittorio stared.
“How did you get this?”
“I had it tested six months ago.”
“You knew?”
“I suspected.”
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because Bianca was already monitoring you.”
Vittorio looked down.
“You thought I was being drugged too.”
Emma nodded.
“There was one problem.”
“What?”
“The drug was not strong enough to incapacitate you.”
“Then what was it doing?”
Emma hesitated.
“It was making you appear unreliable.”
Vittorio's stomach turned.
The headaches.
The exhaustion.
The memory gaps.
The missed appointments.
He had been manipulated into doubting himself.
And while he doubted himself, Bianca built a case against him.
But then Detective Hale entered.
“We have a problem.”
Vittorio looked up.
“What?”
“Marco's attorney just arrived.”
“And?”
“He says we have the wrong man.”
Vittorio frowned.
“What?”
The detective handed him a document.
Marco had an alibi for Elena's hospital death.
Signed.
Witnessed.
Verified.
Vittorio looked at Emma.
She went pale.
“That's impossible.”
Detective Hale nodded.
“That's what I thought.”
He turned the document over.
“There is another signature.”
May you like
Vittorio recognized it instantly.
His own.
