Chapter 7 - THE BOY WHO NEVER RAN AWAY
The first confirmed lead came from a retired nurse.
Her name was Margaret Ellis.
She had worked at St. Ambrose for thirty-four years.
When investigators approached her through lawful channels, she initially refused to speak.
Then she saw Nico's photograph.
Her face crumpled.
“I remember him.”
Dante sat forward.
“Where?”
Margaret swallowed.
“In the emergency department. Eleven years ago.”
She described a teenage boy brought in late at night.
Bruised.
Confused.
Terrified.
He kept asking for his brother.
Dante closed his eyes.
Margaret continued.
“The adults with him said he'd been injured during a family dispute.”
“Who were they?”
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
“Teresa Morello.”
Dante stared.
Margaret looked down.
“There was a man with her. I didn't know his name.”
Dante swallowed.
“What happened to Nico?”
Margaret's eyes filled.
“He was transferred.”
“Where?”
She shook her head.
“The paperwork was changed.”
Dante leaned forward.
“Did Gabriel know?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Not then.”
Dante stared.
She continued.
“But he came back years later asking questions.”
Dante closed his eyes.
Gabriel had never stopped searching.
He had simply stopped telling Dante what he found.
Margaret reached into her bag.
She removed an old photograph.
It showed Nico sitting in a hospital wheelchair.
He looked frightened.
And beside him stood a man in a white coat.
May you like
Dante recognized the face immediately.
Dr. Leonard Price.
