Chapter 12 - THE GIRL WHO REMEMBEREDWe were trapped underground.
Matteo was outside.
Or so we thought.
Luca tried the vault door.
Locked.
Daniel checked the hinges.
“Solid steel.”
Anthony started pacing.
“My father is out there.”
I looked at him.
“You knew something was wrong.”
He shook his head.
“I knew he was dangerous.”
“You knew he was alive?”
“No.”
“Why did Vanessa call you?”
“She said the Morettis were threatening her.”
“And you believed her?”
Anthony looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
Bruno suddenly barked.
He ran to the opposite wall.
Luca followed.
There was another panel.
“Back up.”
Daniel forced it open.
A narrow tunnel appeared.
I stared.
“Your mother built an escape route.”
Luca nodded.
We crawled through.
The tunnel opened behind the library.
Security alarms were still screaming.
Matteo's men were searching the mansion.
But Vanessa wasn't with them.
“Where is Vanessa?” Luca asked.
No one knew.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message.
COME TO THE CHAPEL. ALONE.
I showed Luca.
“No.”
“It could be Bruno.”
“It could be a trap.”
“We already know it's a trap.”
He looked at me.
“But we don't know what she wants.”
We went anyway.
The chapel was empty.
Candles burned around the altar.
Vanessa stood beside the window.
She looked exhausted.
“You remembered,” she said.
“Yes.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Then you remember your mother.”
I froze.
“My mother?”
Vanessa nodded.
“Your father didn't die.”
“What?”
“She disappeared.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
“Then why did you tell me she was dead?”
“Because everyone was told she was dead.”
“Who told you?”
Vanessa looked toward the door.
“Matteo.”
I stepped closer.
“You helped him.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Because he threatened my family.”
“You tried to kill Bruno.”
“I never wanted Bruno dead.”
I stared.
“The euthanasia.”
“Was a threat. I needed the collar.”
“Then why schedule it?”
“Because someone else was forcing me.”
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“Your mother.”
I went cold.
“What?”
Vanessa opened her phone.
She played a voice message.
An older woman's voice.
My mother.
“Emma must never know where the ledger is.”
I couldn't breathe.
“That's her voice.”
Vanessa nodded.
“She contacted me six months ago.”
“My mother is alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Vanessa took a small envelope from her coat.
Inside was a photograph.
A woman standing in a foreign city.
Older.
Gray hair.
Alive.
My mother.
I started crying.
Luca stood beside me.
Vanessa whispered,
“She has been hiding because Matteo has spent twelve years trying to find her.”
“Why?”
“Because she has the final page of the ledger.”
I looked at Luca.
The entire story shifted.
The ledger wasn't the end.
There was another page.
Vanessa reached into her pocket.
A small folded sheet appeared.
“The final page tells you who ordered your father's murder.”
I reached for it.
Vanessa pulled it back.
“Not here.”
“Then where?”
“The wedding.”
“The wedding is tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Why wait?”
“Because Matteo wants Luca married before the truth comes out.”
Luca stepped forward.
“Why?”
Vanessa looked directly at him.
“Because your marriage contract transfers control of the family trust.”
Luca's expression changed.
“You already knew.”
“Yes.”
“And you were going to marry me for the trust.”
Vanessa nodded.
“But I changed my mind.”
Before I could ask why, a gunshot shattered the chapel window.
Vanessa screamed.
She fell.
Luca caught her.
Blood spread across her dress.
I stared at the broken window.
A silhouette stood on the rooftop across the courtyard.
Then the figure turned.
My mother's face appeared in the glass.
May you like
And she mouthed three words.
RUN FROM MATTEO.
