Chapter 7 - THE WOMAN WHO CAME LOOKING FOR ANSWERS
Kalin didn't shout.
He didn't reach for a weapon.
He simply sat down.
“Tell me everything.”
Rebecca hesitated.
Then began.
She explained her work.
Elena's disappearance.
The compromised operation.
The officers who died.
The years she'd spent searching for answers.
And the threats that had forced her into hiding.
Kalin listened.
When she finished, he asked:
“Why come here?”
Rebecca looked down.
“Because Bella's death appeared connected to Elena's disappearance.”
Kalin's jaw tightened.
“And you thought I was responsible?”
Rebecca met his eyes.
“I didn't know.”
Silence.
Then Kalin said:
“You could have told me.”
Rebecca laughed bitterly.
“Would you have believed me?”
He didn't answer.
Because they both knew the truth.
***
Kalin studied the photograph.
Bella and Elena.
Smiling.
Alive.
He remembered the day it had been taken.
A family picnic.
Sophia had been four.
Bella had made lemonade.
Elena had brought flowers.
Everything had seemed ordinary.
Then, within a year, both women were gone.
Kalin closed his eyes.
“I thought I knew what happened.”
Rebecca looked at him.
“So did I.”
***
They agreed to cooperate with an independent investigation.
Rebecca provided the information she could lawfully share.
Kalin arranged for attorneys to review the family's records.
They contacted the appropriate authorities.
For the first time, both were searching for the truth together.
***
But Matteo Caruso had already learned Rebecca's identity.
He sat in a dark office overlooking the Chicago River.
Dario stood across from him.
“She knows about Elena,” Dario said.
Matteo's expression hardened.
“And Sophia?”
“She remembers something.”
Matteo leaned back.
“Then we have a problem.”
Dario swallowed.
“What do you want me to do?”
Matteo looked toward the window.
May you like
Then said:
“Finish what should have been finished three years ago.”
