Chapter 6 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
The photograph arrived without a return address.
Inside was an image of Alessia standing beside an unfamiliar man outside a café in Palermo.
On the back were four words.
SHE KNEW THE TRUTH.
Dante stared at it for several minutes.
Marco examined the envelope.
"No fingerprints we can rely on."
"Find out who he is," Dante said.
Clare stood nearby.
"Do you recognize him?"
"No."
"Could he have been a friend?"
"Alessia had many friends."
Dante looked at the photograph again.
"But she never mentioned him."
The following morning, Marco identified the man.
Dr. Matteo Rinaldi.
A pediatric researcher who had worked with several European hearing clinics.
Clare frowned.
"Why would Alessia know him?"
Dante shook his head.
"I don't know."
Then Marco revealed something else.
Matteo had disappeared from public life shortly after Alessia's death.
His professional accounts had been closed.
His last known address was in Sicily.
Dante immediately wanted to travel there.
Clare objected.
"You can't chase every anonymous photograph."
"Someone sent it for a reason."
"Maybe to manipulate you."
Dante looked at her.
"You think it's a trap?"
"I think whoever sent it wants you to react."
He considered that.
Then he nodded.
"You're right."
Clare blinked.
"Did you just agree with me?"
"Don't sound so surprised."
She smiled.
But the mystery deepened that evening.
While reviewing Alessia's belongings, Dante found a small notebook tucked inside an old handbag.
Most pages contained ordinary reminders.
Appointments.
Shopping lists.
Notes about Leonardo's birth.
Then Clare noticed a page with three names.
Matteo Rinaldi.
Victor Santoro.
Elena Russo.
Beside them was a handwritten phrase:
THE FOUNDATION IS NOT WHAT THEY SAY IT IS.
Dante went still.
May you like
Victor Santoro was his closest business partner.
And Elena Russo was the physician who had first evaluated Leonardo's hearing.
