Chapter 4 - THE BLUE ENVELOPE
Z
I returned to the Falcone mansion under Elena's supervision.
The house had changed overnight.
Men who had bowed when Gabriel entered now spoke openly about dividing his properties.
A portrait had already been removed from the entrance hall.
Someone had taken the flowers from his mother's memorial table.
It was as though the family had been waiting for him to disappear.
I walked past the servants' corridor with my head lowered.
Nobody noticed.
That had always been my greatest advantage.
Gabriel's office smelled of leather, cedarwood, and the expensive coffee he never finished.
Elena stood guard while I approached the desk.
The bottom drawer was locked.
I knew where Gabriel kept the spare key.
He had once asked me to retrieve a misplaced watch from the same drawer.
I opened it.
Inside lay a blue envelope, a photograph of a little girl, and a folded hospital bracelet.
The girl's name was written beneath the photograph.
SOPHIA FALCONE.
I stared.
Gabriel had never mentioned a daughter.
I knew his wife had died years earlier, but everyone said they'd had no children.
Elena noticed my expression.
"What?"
I showed her the photograph.
She went still.
"Where did you find that?"
"In his drawer."
Elena took a slow breath.
"That's Gabriel's niece."
"His niece?"
"His younger brother's daughter."
I looked at the child again.
"Where is she?"
Elena's face darkened.
"Missing."
The blue envelope contained copies of financial records.
Payments from Falcone-controlled companies to an organization called Ashcroft Development.
Transfers authorized by Carmine.
And a series of unusually large withdrawals made shortly after Gabriel's brother died.
I found another document.
A custody agreement.
Sophia Falcone had been placed under the temporary guardianship of a woman named Teresa Vale.
The agreement bore Carmine's signature as witness.
I looked at Elena.
"Why would Carmine be involved in custody?"
She stared at the document.
"Because Gabriel's brother trusted him."
"Did Gabriel know?"
"Not about this."
I turned the final page.
A handwritten note had been clipped to the agreement.
IF SOPHIA IS FOUND, EVERYTHING CHANGES.
A sound came from the hallway.
Elena motioned for silence.
We heard footsteps.
Then a man's voice.
"Check the office."
Carmine.
Elena pulled me toward the adjoining archive room.
We slipped inside just as the office door opened.
Through the narrow gap, I saw Carmine approach Gabriel's desk.
He opened the bottom drawer.
Looked inside.
Then swore.
"The envelope's gone."
Another man spoke.
"Who took it?"
Carmine's answer made my blood turn cold.
"The maid."
May you like
He paused.
Then said, "Find Matilda Higgins."
