Chapter 12 - THE MOTHER WHO KNEW TOO MUCH
Margaret Hayes was alive.
I stared at the photograph until my eyes hurt.
For three years, I'd believed she'd died after a long illness.
I'd visited her grave.
Left flowers.
Cried beside the headstone.
Now I was discovering she had been photographed beside Anthony Bellini.
The man suspected of helping steal my brother.
"Why?" I whispered.
Roman stood beside me.
He didn't answer.
Because there was no explanation that could make this feel normal.
Detective Bennett reviewed the evidence.
The photograph appeared genuine.
But they needed to verify when and where it had been taken.
Then she found something else.
A medical transfer record.
Margaret had been admitted under an assumed name to a private facility outside Philadelphia.
Her condition was listed as stable.
I gripped the table.
"She's alive?"
"It appears so."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
For a moment, hope overwhelmed every other feeling.
Then anger followed.
Why hadn't she contacted me?
Why had she let me grieve?
Why had she allowed Owen and me to believe our family was gone?
When investigators located Margaret, she agreed to speak.
We met in a secure medical conference room.
She looked older.
Thinner.
But unmistakably herself.
"Harper."
Her voice broke.
I stood frozen.
She reached toward me.
"My girl."
I began crying.
"Mom?"
She nodded.
"I'm here."
I wanted to hug her.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to demand answers.
Instead, I whispered:
"Why?"
Her face crumpled.
"Because Anthony threatened Owen."
I stared.
She continued.
"He told me if I contacted you, he'd make sure your brother disappeared again."
My stomach tightened.
"So you faked your death?"
Margaret shook her head.
"The people protecting me arranged a confidential relocation after a credible threat. But false records were created, and I wasn't allowed to contact you."
I began crying harder.
"You let me bury you."
"I know."
Her voice broke.
"I'm so sorry."
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then I stepped forward and hugged her.
Not because everything was forgiven.
But because she was alive.
And after losing so much, I couldn't walk away without holding her once.
Later, Margaret explained that she'd spent years collecting evidence against Anthony and the adoption network.
She'd kept copies of financial records.
Medical files.
Transfer orders.
And correspondence involving Vittorio Moretti.
Roman listened quietly.
Then Margaret turned toward him.
"There's something you need to know about your father."
His expression tightened.
"What?"
"He wasn't the only one controlling the operation."
Roman frowned.
"Who else?"
Margaret hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Your uncle, Salvatore Moretti."
Roman went completely still.
Salvatore.
The man who'd raised him after Vittorio died.
The man who'd told him his sister was dead.
The man who still controlled several family businesses.
And Margaret added one final detail.
"Salvatore was the person who ordered Anthony to keep Harper away from you."
Roman's face darkened.
May you like
Then he whispered:
"Because he knew Harper would recognize Owen."
