Chapter 8 - The Woman Behind the Glass
The photograph showed my mother standing in front of a train station.
She looked older.
But alive.
On the back was an address.
North Shore Psychiatric Residence.
I had never heard of it.
Neither had Lucia.
We arrived before dawn.
The building stood behind iron gates overlooking the ocean.
An administrator met us.
“I’m here for Eleanor Castellano.”
The woman looked confused.
“Family?”
“My son.”
She froze.
Then looked at Lucia.
“You’re Lucia.”
My sister stepped forward.
“Yes.”
The woman’s expression changed.
“Then you should speak to her.”
We were taken down a long corridor.
Room 214.
My mother sat beside a window.
Gray hair.
Thin shoulders.
Eyes that looked older than the sea outside.
She stared at me.
I expected recognition.
Instead she whispered:
“You’re late.”
I stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
She smiled.
“I knew you’d come.”
Lucia started crying.
My mother reached for her.
“My little girl.”
We sat beside her.
For several minutes no one spoke.
Then my mother said the name that mattered.
“Maria.”
“You know Maria?”
“She saved you.”
“From what?”
“Your father.”
I stiffened.
“My father killed Antonio Carter?”
My mother looked at me.
“No.”
She shook her head.
“Your father saved Antonio.”
My mind spun.
“Then why did Antonio disappear?”
“Because Kolov wanted him dead.”
“Why?”
“Because Antonio had evidence.”
“What evidence?”
My mother looked toward the door.
“The ledger.”
I froze.
“The ledger from the warehouse?”
She nodded.
“Your father stole it from Kolov.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He didn’t trust anyone.”
“Not even me?”
She smiled sadly.
“Especially not you.”
“Why?”
“Because you were young.”
She lowered her voice.
“On January 17, 2006, Antonio brought the ledger to your father. Maria was with him. Kolov’s men followed them.”
“And?”
“Your father helped them escape.”
“Where did Antonio go?”
“Into hiding.”
“And Maria?”
My mother closed her eyes.
“She stayed.”
“Why?”
“To protect Emma.”
I felt the answer before she said it.
“Maria knew Emma was mine?”
“Yes.”
“Did my father know?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he never tell me?”
My mother began to cry.
“Because he was protecting you from the same people who killed Antonio.”
I looked at Lucia.
“What happened to Maria?”
“She made a deal.”
“With Kolov?”
“Yes.”
“What deal?”
My mother whispered:
“She promised to disappear.”
“Why?”
“To keep Emma alive.”
The pieces began connecting.
The housekeeper.
The crest.
The attack.
The missing brother.
The ledger.
Maria’s disappearance.
Kolov had been waiting twenty years.
Not for revenge.
For the ledger.
And now I had it.
My mother suddenly grabbed my hand.
“Dominic.”
“Yes?”
“There is one thing you must never do.”
“What?”
“Trust the person who brings you the evidence.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
She looked toward Lucia.
Then her face changed.
Fear.
“Because he has already betrayed you.”
I turned.
Lucia was gone.
The door stood open.
May you like
Her phone lay on the floor.
And from the corridor came the sound of footsteps running away.
