Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN WHO BORROWED MY MOTHER'S NAME
Teresa Moretti had been treated under my mother's identity.
That was what the hospital records suggested.
I stared at her photograph.
“Why?”
Teresa looked horrified.
“I don't know.”
Vincent's expression darkened.
“Mother, when were you treated at St. Anne?”
She thought for a moment.
“About nine years ago.”
My pulse quickened.
The same period my father disappeared.
“What happened?”
Teresa looked toward me.
“I was hospitalized after someone tampered with my medication.”
My stomach tightened.
“Poisoned?”
“Not exactly. My blood pressure medication had been replaced.”
Vincent stared.
“You never told me.”
Teresa looked ashamed.
“You had just taken control of the family. I didn't want you starting another war.”
He closed his eyes.
The irony was painful.
Everyone had hidden things to protect someone else.
And the lies had only created more danger.
Rebecca compared the medical records.
Teresa's treatment had been billed under Diane Reed's identity.
The paperwork was authorized by an administrator tied to the same financial network my father was investigating.
Why use my mother's name?
Then Tyler pointed toward the dates.
“Dad was still alive.”
We all looked at him.
He continued.
“If Dad was protecting Mrs. Moretti, maybe he used Mom's identity.”
My stomach tightened.
Could my father have done it?
Rebecca shook her head.
“We shouldn't assume.”
She was right.
Then another document surfaced.
A transfer order.
Teresa had been moved from St. Anne to a private rehabilitation facility outside Chicago.
The authorization carried my father's signature.
I stared.
“Did he sign this?”
Teresa looked at it.
“I don't know.”
Rebecca arranged for handwriting comparison.
Hours later, the preliminary assessment suggested the signature was likely genuine.
My father had helped move Teresa.
Why?
Teresa closed her eyes.
“I remember Michael visiting me.”
I stared.
“You saw him?”
“Yes.”
“When?”
“The night before I was transferred.”
My chest tightened.
“What did he say?”
Teresa's face softened.
“He told me someone wanted me gone because I knew too much about Antonio's death.”
Vincent turned sharply.
“My father's death?”
She nodded.
“Michael believed Antonio wasn't killed by rivals.”
Silence.
Vincent looked toward me.
His jaw tightened.
“Who killed him?”
Teresa swallowed.
“My brother-in-law.”
Vincent went still.
“Lorenzo?”
She nodded.
Then she whispered:
“Antonio discovered Lorenzo was stealing from hospital projects.”
My father had known.
Teresa had known.
And both became targets.
Then Rebecca's phone rang.
She listened carefully.
Her expression changed.
“We have a development.”
I stood.
“What?”
“The safe house near Milwaukee.”
My heartbeat accelerated.
“What about it?”
“Property records show someone has been paying utilities there for nine years.”
I stopped breathing.
Rebecca continued.
“And there is a current resident.”
My knees weakened.
She turned her screen toward me.
The name on the account was Michael Reed.
May you like
My father.
Alive.
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