Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO KNEW ABOUT THE FIREThe next clue came from an unexpected source.
Dr. Moretti.
Nicole's physician.
For years, Moretti had insisted Nicole was emotionally unstable.
He had recommended isolation.
Restricted movement.
And limited contact with visitors.
Dante had trusted him.
Now, after discovering the conditions in which Nicole had been kept, Dante requested an independent medical review.
The new specialists found no justification for many of the restrictions imposed on the boy.
Nicole needed rehabilitation, accessible communication, trauma-informed care, and consistent support.
Not confinement.
Moretti was questioned.
At first, he denied wrongdoing.
Then investigators uncovered payments from Sorello-controlled accounts.
His story changed.
He admitted that Bianca had pressured him to exaggerate Nicole's behavioral difficulties.
He claimed Vittorio had threatened to ruin his career if he refused.
Dante listened to the report without speaking.
Then asked one question.
"Did he know Nicole was being locked in the boiler room?"
The investigator nodded.
"Yes."
Dante closed his eyes.
That evening, I found Nicole in the library.
He was drawing.
His sketches were extraordinary.
Buildings.
Faces.
Small details most people would never notice.
I sat beside him.
"That's beautiful."
He smiled shyly.
Then turned the page.
He had drawn a warehouse.
Flames climbed the walls.
A man stood near a doorway.
And behind him was another figure.
A woman.
I leaned closer.
"Nicole, who is she?"
He began signing.
I watched carefully.
Then froze.
He signed:
The woman with the white gloves.
I showed Dante the drawing.
His face changed.
"White gloves?"
Nicole nodded.
Dante stared at the picture.
Then whispered, "My father's assistant wore white gloves at the warehouse because of a skin condition."
I looked at him.
"Who was she?"
Dante swallowed.
"Margaret Vale."
Margaret had disappeared after the fire.
Everyone assumed she had died.
But no body had ever been identified.
Dante turned toward Marcus, his security chief.
"Find Margaret Vale."
Three days later, they found her.
Alive.
Living under another name in Pennsylvania.
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And when she learned Nicole was still alive, she began crying.
Because she had spent seven years believing both Falcone boys had died in the warehouse fire.
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