Chapter 6 - THE SECRET ALESSIA NEVER TOLD HIM
Alessia stared at Dante.
"What did he say?"
Dante watched her.
"He told me to ask about your sister."
Her expression changed.
She looked toward the window.
Dante felt cold.
"Alessia."
She swallowed.
"I was going to tell you."
"Tell me what?"
Her eyes filled.
"I had a sister."
Dante stared.
"Had?"
"Her name was Sofia."
"Where is she?"
Alessia shook her head.
"I don't know."
The car continued through the snow.
Alessia took a slow breath.
"Sofia was born when I was six."
Dante listened.
"She was beautiful. Tiny. Always smiling."
Her voice trembled.
"When she was three, she disappeared."
Dante felt sick.
"What happened?"
"My father was working at the Moretti estate."
"That night?"
Alessia nodded.
"He came home crying."
She looked down.
"He told my mother that Sofia had been taken."
Dante stared.
"By whom?"
Alessia swallowed.
"He never said."
Dante looked toward the road.
His sister Elena had been taken.
Alessia's sister Sofia had been taken.
And both disappearances were connected to the Moretti household.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
Alessia looked at him.
"Because I was afraid you'd think I came here for revenge."
Dante said nothing.
She continued.
"I came because I wanted answers."
"About your father?"
"About both of them."
Dante closed his eyes.
He understood now.
Alessia hadn't entered the mansion looking for a job.
She'd entered looking for the truth.
And he'd nearly allowed Bellini to throw her out.
"Do you hate me?" he asked.
Alessia looked surprised.
"No."
"Why not?"
She swallowed.
"Because you didn't know."
Dante looked away.
"That doesn't make it right."
"No," she said softly.
"But it means you can choose what happens next."
They reached the nursing home before dawn.
Margaret Ellis was eighty-six.
She sat in a wheelchair beside a window.
When Dante introduced himself, her face changed.
"Moretti?"
He nodded.
"Yes."
She looked toward Alessia.
Then whispered:
"You're too late."
Dante felt cold.
"For what?"
Margaret's eyes filled.
"The children."
Dante knelt beside her.
"Please."
She looked at him.
"Your father was a monster."
He swallowed.
"I know."
Margaret shook her head.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"You don't."
She reached beneath her blanket and removed a small envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
Two little girls.
One with dark curls.
One with light brown hair.
Both smiling.
Dante recognized Elena.
Alessia recognized Sofia.
They were standing together.
Margaret whispered:
"They were sent to the same family."
Dante stared.
"Where?"
Margaret closed her eyes.
"California."
Alessia began crying.
Margaret continued.
"The girls were raised as sisters."
Dante felt his chest tighten.
"Are they alive?"
Margaret nodded.
"Last I heard."
She looked toward Dante.
"Your father told everyone Elena died."
Then toward Alessia.
"And Sofia's family was threatened into silence."
Dante swallowed.
"What's their names now?"
Margaret hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Elena became Emily."
"And Sofia?"
Margaret looked at Alessia.
"Sarah."
Dante stood.
His heart pounded.
Two sisters.
Taken from different families.
Raised together.
And somewhere in California, they might still be alive.
Then Margaret grabbed his wrist.
"One more thing."
Dante leaned closer.
"What?"
Her eyes filled.
"Bellini wasn't working alone."
"Who helped him?"
Margaret whispered a name.
Dante froze.
May you like
Because the name belonged to someone he had trusted all his life.
His uncle, Gabriel Moretti.
