Chapter 5 - THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED
Z
Elena and I left through the archive's rear service passage.
My hands shook so badly that I dropped the envelope twice.
Outside, rain struck the stone courtyard.
Elena opened the passenger door of her car.
"Get in."
I obeyed.
As we drove away, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
It showed a little girl standing beside a red bicycle.
Underneath was a message.
STOP LOOKING FOR SOPHIA.
I showed Elena.
Her expression tightened.
"Don't respond."
"Who is she?"
Elena stared at the road.
"Gabriel's brother, Michael, died four years ago. Officially, it was a boating accident."
"And Sophia?"
"His daughter disappeared six months later."
"Why?"
"Her mother had died giving birth. After Michael's death, a distant relative petitioned for custody. Gabriel was told the child had been placed abroad for her safety."
I looked at the photograph.
"Did he believe that?"
"For a while."
"What changed?"
"He received a letter."
"From Sophia?"
Elena nodded.
"A child's drawing. It showed a house with a red roof and a man standing beside a black car."
"What did it mean?"
"Gabriel believed someone was keeping her hidden."
At the hospital, Gabriel was awake when we arrived.
I showed him the photograph.
His face changed.
"Sophia."
His voice broke on the name.
I had never seen him look so vulnerable.
"She's alive," I whispered.
He closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he looked at Elena.
"Carmine?"
She nodded.
"He's looking for the envelope."
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
"Of course."
I placed the records beside his bed.
"Why didn't you tell anyone about her?"
He looked toward the window.
"Because the last time I trusted someone with her location, she disappeared."
He reached for the photograph.
His fingers trembled.
"My brother asked me to protect her."
I sat beside him.
"You can still do that."
Gabriel looked at me.
"You don't understand the people involved."
"Then explain."
He studied me.
For the first time, he seemed to realize that I wasn't going to disappear simply because the conversation became difficult.
He took a breath.
"Carmine didn't just steal from me."
I waited.
"He sold information about my family to people who wanted us destroyed."
"And Sophia?"
Gabriel's eyes filled.
"I think he used her to keep me obedient."
The silence was unbearable.
Then I asked, "What do we do?"
Gabriel looked toward Elena.
"Find a lawyer who doesn't work for Carmine. Give the evidence to the authorities."
Elena nodded.
I reached for Gabriel's hand.
He looked at me.
"Matilda, you don't have to stay involved."
I squeezed his fingers.
"I know."
"Then why are you?"
I thought about the freezing steel table.
The white sheet.
The man who had defended me when everyone else laughed.
"Because someone has to remember that you're a person."
May you like
Gabriel looked away.
But not before I saw the tears.
