Chapter 6 - The Woman Who Was Never Supposed to Know
Elena found the first letter in a box of Jorge's belongings.
It was tucked between an old pay stub and a photograph of Lily on her third birthday.
The envelope had been opened and resealed.
Inside was a copy of a workplace complaint.
Jorge had written it twelve days before the accident.
He described repeated problems with the crane chain.
He identified missing maintenance inspections.
And he requested that the equipment be removed from service until repairs were completed.
At the bottom, he wrote:
I am reporting this because someone will be killed if we keep pretending the equipment is safe.
Elena sat on the floor and began crying.
For eighteen months, she'd believed Jorge died without warning.
Now she knew he'd tried to prevent the accident.
---
She brought the letter to Patricia.
The attorney examined it carefully.
“Did you know he filed this?”
Elena shook her head.
“He told me there were problems at work. I thought he meant arguments with his supervisor.”
Patricia nodded.
“This may be important. We'll preserve it and seek verification through the employer's records.”
Elena looked down.
“I wish he'd told me.”
Patricia's expression softened.
“Perhaps he didn't want you to worry.”
Elena closed her eyes.
That sounded like Jorge.
He had always tried to carry the difficult things himself.
Sometimes love made people protective.
Sometimes it made them silent.
And sometimes silence left the people they loved unprepared for what came next.
---
Meanwhile, Dante discovered that Victor had been contacting several senior members of the organization privately.
The canceled meeting had angered important associates.
Victor was telling them Dante had become paranoid.
That he was allowing outsiders to interfere with family affairs.
That a housekeeper and her daughter had somehow gained influence over him.
Dante heard the reports without reacting.
For years, Victor had managed disagreement by turning people against whoever questioned him.
Now he was doing it again.
---
One afternoon, Marco Bellini approached Dante in the library.
“Boss.”
Dante looked up.
“What is it?”
“Victor's people have been asking about the little girl.”
Dante's expression hardened.
“What questions?”
“Where she goes to school. Whether her mother still works here. Who takes her home.”
Dante stood.
“Did you answer?”
“No.”
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Then Dante asked, “Why didn't you tell me what Lily saw at Falcone's shop?”
Marco looked down.
“I thought Victor was checking the tailor's work.”
“And when she told you about the device?”
“I assumed she meant an insect.”
Dante studied him.
“Do you still believe that?”
Marco shook his head.
“No.”
Dante took a breath.
“Then we need to stop assuming familiar people are harmless.”
---
That evening, Elena received a letter from the preschool.
A man claiming to represent a family security service had requested information about Lily's pickup arrangements.
The school refused.
It contacted Elena.
She immediately informed Patricia.
The attorney helped her document the incident and review practical safety options.
Elena chose to keep Lily home temporarily while the situation was assessed.
When Lily asked why she wasn't going to preschool, Elena told her they were taking a short break.
Lily frowned.
“Because of the bad man?”
Elena froze.
“What bad man?”
“The one with the watch.”
Elena knelt.
“Sweetheart, nobody gets to hurt you because you told the truth.”
Lily touched her mother's cheek.
“Promise?”
Elena's eyes filled.
“I promise I'll do everything I can to keep you safe.”
---
The next morning, Dante received an unexpected visitor.
A woman in her late forties stood outside the mansion wearing a dark green coat.
Her name was Isabel Romano.
Victor's younger sister.
Dante remembered her from childhood.
She had moved to Connecticut years earlier and rarely visited.
When she entered the study, she looked at him with sadness.
“You look like your father.”
Dante stood.
“Isabel.”
She didn't smile.
“I heard Victor is preparing to turn the families against you.”
Dante remained still.
“Why are you telling me?”
She reached into her handbag.
Then placed an old photograph on the desk.
It showed Dante's father, Lorenzo Moretti, standing beside Victor at a dock.
Behind them was a container crane.
Isabel pointed toward a third figure.
A younger man holding a maintenance clipboard.
“That's my husband,” she said.
Dante frowned.
“I thought he died in a car accident.”
Isabel's expression broke.
“That's what Victor told everyone.”
The room became silent.
May you like
Then she whispered, “Your father wasn't the first man who died after questioning Victor's shipping operations.”
And Dante realized Jorge Castellanos might have been only the latest victim in a much older pattern.
