Chapter 8 - THE LETTER HIDDEN IN THE FRAME
I returned to my apartment in Fishtown.
Meera met me at the door.
She hugged me so tightly I could barely breathe.
"Anna."
I closed my eyes.
"I'm okay."
She pulled back.
"You look terrible."
I laughed weakly.
"Thanks."
She led me inside.
We sat on the floor beside my suitcase.
I took out the photograph of my mother and Luca.
The wooden frame was worn.
One corner was cracked.
I turned it over.
Removed the backing.
And found the letter.
I'd hidden it there years ago.
My hands trembled as I unfolded it.
The paper was yellowed.
The ink faded.
But the words were still readable.
If anything happens to me, it was not an accident.
My breath caught.
Meera leaned closer.
I continued reading.
My mother had written that she discovered financial records connecting several members of the Spedaro organization to a series of illegal medical supply transactions.
The records had been hidden inside a hospital procurement system.
My mother had copied them.
Then someone found out.
At the bottom of the letter was a name.
Rafael Spedaro.
I stared.
Meera whispered:
"Anna."
I looked up.
"Rafael was a teenager fifteen years ago."
She frowned.
"What?"
I swallowed.
"He couldn't have been running the operation."
We looked at each other.
Then I realized.
The name wasn't a signature.
It was a warning.
May you like
Someone had used Rafael's identity.
And the real person responsible might still be inside the Spedaro family.
