Chapter 6 - THE FIRST LOVE WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Sophia Bellini appeared at my apartment on a rainy Thursday afternoon.
She was standing outside the building when I returned from Leo's pediatric appointment.
I stopped.
My hand tightened around my son's.
"Go upstairs with Grandma," I told him.
Leo looked at Sophia.
"Who's that lady?"
"Someone Mommy needs to speak with."
My mother ushered him inside.
Sophia waited until the elevator doors closed.
Then she smiled.
"You've changed."
I studied her.
"So have you."
She wore a beige trench coat and expensive heels.
Her hair was perfectly styled.
But something about her seemed different.
Nervous.
Fragile.
Almost desperate.
"I need to speak to you," she said.
"Then speak."
"Not here."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
She glanced over her shoulder.
"Anna, please."
I crossed my arms.
"What do you want?"
Her mouth tightened.
"I didn't know you were alive."
"That's interesting, because you told me I should have stayed dead."
She looked away.
"I was shocked."
"People say many things when they're shocked. Most don't wish someone had died."
Her face hardened.
"You think Vincent is innocent?"
"No."
The answer surprised her.
"I know he abandoned me."
Sophia swallowed.
"But you think I made him do it."
"I think you grabbed his arm while his pregnant wife was trapped inside a burning airplane."
Her eyes flashed.
"I was injured."
"So was I."
"I couldn't walk!"
"I was carrying his child."
For a moment, the mask slipped.
Something ugly crossed her face.
Then she whispered, "You took him from me."
I stared.
"Vincent chose to marry me."
"He was supposed to marry me."
"That was his decision."
Sophia laughed bitterly.
"You don't understand how our families work."
"Then explain."
She stepped closer.
"Vincent's father promised mine that our marriage would unite the families. When Vincent chose you, he humiliated my father."
I felt a chill.
"That doesn't explain the plane."
Her expression changed.
I saw it immediately.
Fear.
Not anger.
Fear.
"What happened on that plane, Sophia?"
"Nothing."
"Then why did you go near the emergency equipment cabinet?"
She went pale.
"What?"
"I remember your bracelet catching on the door."
Sophia stared at me.
The rain grew heavier.
"You shouldn't remember that."
My blood turned cold.
"Why?"
She stepped backward.
"I have to go."
I caught her wrist.
"Did you cause the emergency?"
She jerked free.
"No!"
"Then what were you doing?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
For a moment, I thought she might tell me everything.
Then a black sedan appeared at the curb.
Sophia looked toward it and froze.
Her expression became terrified.
"Anna," she whispered, "don't trust anyone with the Moretti name."
Before I could respond, she hurried into the car.
It disappeared into traffic.
I stood on the sidewalk, soaked by rain.
Then I noticed something lying near my feet.
A folded card.
Sophia must have dropped it.
Inside was a hotel room number.
And three handwritten words.
ASK ABOUT CLARA.
I immediately called Natalie.
She told me not to go to the hotel alone.
We arranged for an investigator to verify the information.
By evening, we learned that the room had been booked under an assumed name.
The guest had checked out that morning.
But the hotel had preserved a message addressed to me.
It contained a photograph.
A woman sitting in a wheelchair beside a hospital window.
Her hair was shorter.
Her face was thinner.
But I recognized her instantly.
Clara Hayes.
The flight attendant who had saved my life.
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On the back, someone had written:
SHE REMEMBERS EVERYTHING.
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