Chapter 9 - The Manager Who Knew My Real Name
Richard had spent months treating Elena as though she were worthless.
Now she knew he'd been watching her for a completely different reason.
Detective Mitchell examined the restaurant's employment records.
Elena had applied for the waitress position four months earlier.
Her application included her foster-care history.
Her previous Chicago address.
And an old emergency contact from Saint Jude's.
Richard had personally approved her hiring.
He'd also changed the evening's staffing assignments so she would serve Isabella Moretti.
Elena stared at the paperwork.
"He wanted her to see the necklace."
Aleandro nodded grimly.
"It appears that way."
"But why?"
Detective Mitchell studied the records.
"Possibly to confirm your identity. Or to observe how Isabella reacted."
Elena looked toward Aleandro.
"Then the whole thing was planned."
He didn't answer.
That silence frightened her.
The following morning, investigators searched Richard's office.
They recovered photographs of Elena leaving her apartment.
Copies of her employment records.
And correspondence connecting him to the old Moretti financial accounts.
But Richard had disappeared.
His apartment was empty.
His phone disconnected.
His bank accounts showed unusual withdrawals.
Elena felt sick.
"He knew we were investigating."
Aleandro looked toward the window.
"Yes."
Then something occurred to her.
"Richard cut my shifts whenever I questioned him."
Aleandro turned.
"What?"
"He treated me like I was disposable. He threatened to fire me. And he always seemed interested whenever I mentioned Chicago."
She swallowed.
"I thought he was just cruel."
Aleandro's expression tightened.
"Sometimes cruelty is deliberate."
Elena nodded.
For years, she'd believed people treated her badly because she was poor.
Now she realized some of them had been trying to make sure she stayed powerless.
That afternoon, Isabella called.
"Elena, please come over."
Her voice sounded frightened.
Elena hesitated.
"What's wrong?"
"I found something else in Lucia's belongings."
Elena's heart accelerated.
"What?"
"A cassette tape."
She went still.
"From my mother?"
"Yes."
Elena agreed to meet her at Rebecca's office instead of the estate.
There, Isabella handed over the cassette.
A specialist transferred the recording to a digital file.
Then Lucia's voice filled the room.
Elena covered her mouth.
It was soft.
Warm.
And strangely familiar.
"If anyone hears this, my name is Lucia Moretti."
Tears streamed down Elena's face.
"I've discovered that my brothers are using my charity to conceal illegal transfers."
A pause.
"I've copied the original records. They are somewhere Antonio and Carlo won't think to look."
Aleandro leaned forward.
Lucia continued.
"If anything happens to me, my daughter must be protected."
Her voice trembled.
"Her name is Elena."
Elena began sobbing.
Her mother had named her.
Had loved her.
Had tried to save her.
Then Lucia said something unexpected.
"Isabella, if you ever hear this, please don't blame yourself."
The old woman covered her face.
"I know you tried to protect me."
Lucia's voice cracked.
"But Antonio has become someone I no longer recognize."
The recording continued for another minute.
Then Lucia whispered:
"The original evidence is inside the one thing Elena will never be without."
Elena's heart stopped.
She slowly touched the silver locket.
Aleandro looked at her.
"The necklace."
Elena removed it.
For twenty-two years, she'd believed it was nothing more than a keepsake.
Now it might hold the truth behind her mother's disappearance.
She turned it over.
The cracked blue stone caught the light.
Then she noticed a tiny indentation beside the silver willow.
Something she'd never seen before.
She pressed it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny rolled piece of paper.
Elena's hands shook as she unfolded it.
The paper contained a series of numbers.
And one name.
Carlo Moretti.
Beneath it, Lucia had written:
He is not Antonio's brother.
Elena stared.
Then looked toward Aleandro.
"What does that mean?"
May you like
His face drained of color.
Because if Carlo wasn't Antonio's brother, then the man who helped destroy Lucia's life had been lying about his identity for decades.
