Chapter 4 - THE DAUGHTER WHO ASKED TOO MANY QUESTIONS
Bella Moretti had inherited her father's eyes.
Dark.
Observant.
And difficult to deceive.
She had also inherited something Adrian had lost years earlier.
Trust.
At breakfast the next morning, Bella sat across from him.
"Papa?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Did you talk to Sarah?"
Adrian lowered his newspaper.
"Yes."
Bella smiled.
"Did she remember me?"
"She did."
"Did you show her your scar?"
He hesitated.
"Yes."
Bella considered.
"Was she surprised?"
"Very."
Bella nodded.
"Maybe she was scared."
Adrian looked up.
"Why do you say that?"
"Because she looked scared when I saw hers."
Adrian stared.
Bella continued eating.
Then added:
"People don't always say when they're scared."
Something tightened in his chest.
His daughter was five.
And she had already learned to notice what adults tried to hide.
Adrian's wife, Lucia, had died when Bella was two.
A sudden illness.
Three months of hospitals.
Doctors.
And hope that slowly became something neither of them could recognize.
After her death, Adrian had raised Bella with help from family and staff.
He loved her fiercely.
But his world remained dangerous.
He had spent years building walls around her.
Now he wondered whether those walls had taught her to recognize fear too early.
That afternoon, Adrian summoned his security chief.
"Find out who Sarah Mitchell is."
The chief nodded.
"Discreetly?"
"Very."
Within forty-eight hours, the results arrived.
Sarah Mitchell had no documented history before arriving in New York three years earlier.
Her employment records were inconsistent.
Her identification appeared valid but difficult to trace.
And there were no photographs of her childhood.
Adrian stared at the report.
"She's hiding."
The chief nodded.
"Looks that way."
"From whom?"
"We don't know."
Adrian looked toward the window.
Then said:
"Find Victor Salerno."
The chief frowned.
"Sir?"
"Where is he?"
"At the Brooklyn office."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Tell him I want a complete report on Harbor Meridian Holdings."
The chief went still.
"That company closed years ago."
May you like
Adrian looked up.
"Then he should have no trouble explaining it."
