Chapter 7 - THE SISTER WHO LEFT A TRAIL
Lily had always been good at disappearing.
As a child, she hid beneath tables during family parties.
As a teenager, she sneaked out through her bedroom window.
As an adult, she vanished into cities and relationships without telling anyone where she was going.
But this disappearance was different.
She had left clues.
The photograph.
The envelope.
The visit to Boston.
The bracelet.
And the name Victor Sloane.
Daniel called from Boston.
“I found Rachel Monroe.”
My heart jumped.
“Where?”
“Providence.”
“Did you speak to her?”
“Not directly. I hired a licensed investigator to locate her.”
I sat down.
“What did you find?”
“She used a false name when she worked for us.”
I closed my eyes.
“Of course.”
“Her real name is Rachel Sloane.”
My stomach dropped.
“Sloane?”
“Yes.”
“Victor's daughter?”
“Apparently.”
I stared at the wall.
Everything was connected.
I met Rachel two days later.
She agreed to speak with me in the presence of an attorney.
She was twenty-nine.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
A nervous habit of twisting her bracelet.
The same silver bracelet with the black stone.
I looked at it.
“Where did you get that?”
Rachel glanced down.
“Lily gave it to me.”
“Why?”
“She said if anyone asked about it, I should tell them she was safe.”
My heart tightened.
“Is she?”
Rachel's eyes filled.
“I don't know.”
I leaned forward.
“Please.”
Rachel swallowed.
“Your sister found my father.”
I stared.
“Victor?”
She nodded.
“He's alive.”
My pulse raced.
“Where?”
“I don't know anymore.”
I studied her.
“Why did Lily contact him?”
Rachel hesitated.
“Because she discovered your father's death wasn't natural.”
I felt cold.
Rachel continued.
“She found old financial records. Payments. Medical documents. Names.”
“Whose names?”
Rachel looked at me.
Then whispered, “Adrian Moretti's father.”
I sat back.
Adrian's father, Carlo Moretti, had died five years earlier.
He had been a feared man.
A ruthless businessman.
A father Adrian both loved and feared.
If Carlo had been involved in my father's death, the truth would destroy everything Adrian believed about his family.
I looked at Rachel.
“Where is the envelope Lily left at my office?”
Rachel reached into her bag.
Then placed a small flash drive on the table.
“I took it because someone was following her.”
“Who?”
Rachel swallowed.
“I don't know.”
I stared at the drive.
“What is on it?”
“Everything Lily found.”
That evening, Elena Vargas, the attorney Rachel had recommended, helped arrange a secure review of the files.
There were bank records.
Emails.
Medical reports.
And a recording.
A man's voice spoke.
I recognized it immediately.
Carlo Moretti.
The Carter accountant knows too much.
Another voice answered.
Victor Sloane.
Then let him testify.
Carlo laughed.
You know I can't allow that.
The recording ended.
I stared at the screen.
My father hadn't simply died.
May you like
Someone had decided he was a problem.
And Lily had risked her life to prove it.
