Chapter 9 - THE RABBIT THAT RECORDED A MURDER PLAN
The recording lasted twelve seconds.
Twelve seconds were enough to destroy eighteen months of lies.
Victor's voice came first.
“At four o'clock, Carmela's car will be alone.”
Another man answered.
“And Dante?”
“Different route.”
A pause.
Then:
“Make sure there are no survivors.”
The recording ended.
Dante stared at the rabbit.
Sophia hugged it tighter.
She didn't understand what she'd just played.
I did.
So did everyone else.
Dante knelt in front of her.
“Sweetheart.”
Sophia looked up.
“Yes?”
“May I borrow the rabbit?”
She frowned.
“Why?”
He swallowed.
“Because it has something important inside.”
She considered that.
Then handed it over.
“Bring him back.”
Dante's expression broke.
“I promise.”
The toy was documented and examined properly.
Inside was an old voice recorder.
The memory was damaged but recoverable.
Isabella claimed she had never known.
Victor gave her the rabbit months after Carmela's death and asked her to keep it at the estate.
She eventually gave it to Sophia because it looked like a child's toy.
That decision accidentally exposed him.
The recovered files contained more recordings.
Victor discussing security schedules.
Payments to gunmen.
Financial transfers.
And one conversation with Father Matteo.
Dante's uncle.
The retired priest Sophia had seen near Carmela's door.
My stomach tightened.
Matteo's voice sounded terrified.
“You killed her.”
Victor answered:
“She was becoming a problem.”
“You told me nobody would be hurt.”
“You were paid not to ask questions.”
Silence.
Then Matteo whispered:
“I will not protect you anymore.”
The recording ended.
Dante looked devastated.
His uncle knew.
Not before the attack.
But afterward.
And he stayed silent.
Then Dante's attorney received a message.
Father Matteo had contacted the authorities.
He wanted to give a statement.
He claimed Victor had been blackmailing him for years using evidence connected to church donations and family accounts.
He also claimed he was the person who slid Carmela's photograph beneath the sitting-room door.
My heart pounded.
“He wanted Dante to find it,” I said.
The attorney nodded.
Matteo had finally decided to expose Victor.
But there was more.
He revealed that Carmela had left one last piece of evidence with him.
A letter.
Not to Dante.
To me.
I stared.
“Why would Carmela write to me?”
Nobody knew.
The letter arrived that evening.
My name covered the envelope.
ROSA BENNETT.
I opened it with shaking hands.
Rosa,
If Luca is right about you, then one day Sophia may be the last person who can prove what Victor did.
I stopped breathing.
Carmela had known about my daughter before she died.
Then I read the next line.
And if Dante ever learns who Sophia is, make sure he knows one thing.
May you like
My throat tightened.
Luca wanted his daughter raised far away from this life.
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