Chapter 13 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE THE FIRST STAR
Isabella Russo had spent her entire life being told she was destined for greatness.
Her father owned hotels.
Her mother hosted charity galas.
Her family name opened doors that remained closed to ordinary people.
But none of that had ever been enough.
She wanted power.
Not influence borrowed from her father.
Not money inherited through marriage.
Power that belonged entirely to her.
Nine years earlier, Marcus Vale promised her that power.
All she had to do was help him control the Moretti empire.
At first, she believed it would be simple.
Luca Moretti was young.
Reckless.
Too curious for his own good.
Marcus assured her that frightening him would be enough.
She arranged a meeting.
Provided the location.
Helped conceal the financial records.
Then Luca died.
Isabella told herself she hadn't known Marcus intended to kill him.
But she had known enough to understand the danger.
And afterward, she chose silence.
For nine years.
Now the past had returned.
And it was destroying everything she had planned.
Dante received Isabella's message at 6:14 p.m.
A photograph appeared on his phone.
It showed the original gold star sticker Sophie had placed on his jacket.
The one he kept in his desk drawer.
Beneath it were four words.
YOU MISSED ONE THING.
Dante stared.
He immediately checked the drawer.
The first gold star was missing.
Someone had entered his office.
Someone had searched his belongings.
He called Henry.
“Who had access to the library today?”
Henry hesitated.
“Only household staff, sir.”
“Anyone new?”
“A temporary cleaner.”
Dante's expression hardened.
“Who hired her?”
Henry checked the records.
Then went pale.
“The agency says they never sent anyone.”
Dante closed his eyes.
Isabella had found a way inside.
Again.
He called Rachel.
Within minutes, investigators were reviewing the estate's security footage.
The temporary cleaner had entered the library at 2:03 p.m.
She wore a mask and cap.
Her face remained hidden.
But her movements were familiar.
Dante recognized the way she carried herself.
Isabella.
She had searched the desk.
Removed the gold star.
Then left.
Rachel frowned.
“Why steal a sticker?”
Dante stared at the screen.
“I don't know.”
Anna stood beside him.
Then she remembered something.
“The first star.”
Dante looked at her.
“What?”
“Sophie said it was special.”
He frowned.
“She said all the stars were special.”
Anna shook her head.
“No. The first one was different.”
She looked toward the staircase.
“Sophie!”
The little girl appeared moments later, carrying her stuffed rabbit.
Dante crouched.
“Princess, can I ask you something?”
She nodded.
“Do you remember the first gold star you gave me?”
Sophie smiled.
“Yes.”
“Was it different from the others?”
She thought carefully.
“Daddy's star.”
Anna went still.
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
Sophie looked at her.
“The one from Daddy's box.”
Dante felt his pulse quicken.
He remembered the first night.
Sophie had pressed a small gold sticker onto his jacket.
One corner was bent.
He had assumed it was ordinary.
But now he remembered something else.
The sticker had felt unusually thick.
He looked at Anna.
“Daniel's box.”
She nodded.
They retrieved it.
Inside were the remaining stickers.
Dante examined them.
Most were thin paper.
But one empty space in the packaging showed where a thicker star had been removed.
Rachel leaned closer.
“Could it contain something?”
Dante looked at her.
“A storage chip?”
“Possibly.”
Anna covered her mouth.
“Daniel hid evidence inside a sticker?”
Rachel nodded.
“It's possible. We'd need to examine it.”
Dante stared at the empty space.
The first star.
The one Sophie had given him at 3:03 in the morning.
The one he had almost removed.
The one he kept for months.
And now Isabella had stolen it.
The search for Isabella expanded across Massachusetts.
Investigators tracked her financial activity.
Her known associates.
Her family properties.
By midnight, they identified a possible location.
A private marina outside Gloucester.
Isabella had arranged transportation aboard a yacht registered to one of her father's companies.
But before the vessel departed, federal agents arrived.
Isabella was detained.
The gold star was recovered from a small jewelry case in her handbag.
Forensic specialists examined it.
Inside the thick backing was a tiny memory chip.
The chip contained encrypted files.
Rachel arranged for specialists to examine them.
The process took hours.
Dante waited at the estate with Anna.
Sophie slept upstairs.
At 4:37 a.m., Rachel called.
“We got it.”
Dante stood.
“What?”
“The files.”
He gripped the phone.
“What do they show?”
Rachel took a breath.
“Original communications between Marcus, Isabella, and several financial officers.”
Dante closed his eyes.
“And Luca?”
A pause.
“There's a recording.”
His heart stopped.
“Of what?”
Rachel's voice softened.
“Your brother's final message.”
Dante sat down.
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered, “Play it.”
Rachel hesitated.
“Dante, I think you should hear this in person.”
He looked toward Anna.
She took his hand.
Dante swallowed.
“All right.”
The following morning, Rachel arrived with the recovered recording.
Dante sat in the library.
Anna beside him.
Henry near the door.
Rachel pressed play.
Static crackled.
Then Luca's voice filled the room.
“Dante?”
Dante closed his eyes.
His brother.
Seventeen years old.
Alive in a recording made nine years earlier.
Luca continued.
“If you're hearing this, then something went wrong.”
A pause.
“I know you're going to blame yourself.”
Dante's breath caught.
“But don't.”
Tears gathered in his eyes.
Luca laughed softly.
“You always think everything is your responsibility.”
Dante covered his mouth.
“I know Dad taught you that.”
Another pause.
“But you were my brother, Dante. Not my bodyguard. Not my father. Not my keeper.”
Dante began crying.
Anna held his hand.
Luca continued.
“I made my own choices.”
His voice trembled.
“And I don't regret trying to help those kids.”
Dante looked toward the photograph on his desk.
The boy with the crooked smile.
The boy who loved astronomy.
The boy who left stars as clues.
Luca's final words filled the room.
“If I don't make it home, promise me something.”
A long pause.
“Don't spend your life chasing the people who hurt me.”
Dante closed his eyes.
“Spend it protecting the people you still have.”
The recording ended.
Silence filled the library.
Dante bowed his head.
For nine years, he had lived inside the moment of Luca's death.
Now his brother had given him permission to leave it.
Anna wrapped her arms around him.
May you like
He held her.
And for the first time, Dante Moretti allowed himself to grieve without turning grief into anger.
