Chapter 8 - THE DAUGHTER WHO RETURNED FROM THE DEAD
Isabella Moretti had spent twelve years pretending to be dead.
And now she was asking me to trust her.
I sat in Detective Brooks's office with the phone on speaker.
"Where are you?" I demanded.
Isabella hesitated.
"Somewhere safe."
"Then come forward."
"I will."
"When?"
"When I'm certain Henderson's people can't reach me."
My stomach tightened.
"Your mother thinks you're dead."
Silence.
Then a quiet sob.
"I know."
The sound changed something inside me.
Until then, Isabella had been another mysterious stranger carrying secrets.
Now she sounded like a daughter who had spent years longing for her mother.
"Why didn't you contact her?" I asked.
"Because I was told she'd be killed if I did."
Detective Brooks leaned forward.
"Isabella, I'm Detective Elena Brooks. We can discuss witness protection and how to verify your identity."
A long pause followed.
Then Isabella whispered, "I want to come home."
My eyes filled.
But she continued.
"First, Natalya needs to understand something."
"What?"
"Her father helped Matteo escape."
I stopped breathing.
"Escape from whom?"
"From the people who controlled the Moretti accounts."
My heart hammered.
"Did my father survive?"
Isabella hesitated.
"Natalya..."
"Tell me."
Her voice broke.
"Viktor was killed after refusing to reveal where Matteo had hidden the records."
I covered my mouth.
I had known Dad was murdered.
But hearing the reason made the loss feel new.
"Who killed him?"
"We don't know who physically carried it out."
I swallowed.
"But we know who ordered the search."
"Who?"
"Arthur Henderson."
The room fell silent.
Detective Brooks took notes.
Then Isabella continued.
"Matteo spent years collecting evidence. He wanted to expose the people using his family's businesses for illegal transfers."
"And Adrien?"
A pause.
"Adrien didn't know everything."
I frowned.
"He inherited the organization."
"Yes."
"Then how could he not know?"
"Because Arthur and several senior executives manipulated him."
I stared.
"You're asking me to believe the mafia boss is innocent?"
"No."
Isabella's voice sharpened.
"I'm telling you the truth is complicated."
I fell silent.
She continued.
"Adrien made choices he has to answer for. But he didn't order your father's death."
I looked down.
For the first time, I realized I had been treating Adrien as though he were one person.
The man who threatened the Russians.
The businessman who controlled an empire.
The stranger who let me leave.
The man who claimed not to know my father.
All those things could be true at once.
Then Isabella said something unexpected.
"Matteo is alive."
My heart stopped.
"What?"
"He survived."
Detective Brooks leaned forward.
"Where is he?"
Isabella hesitated.
"I can't tell you over the phone."
My hands shook.
"Why?"
"Because Henderson is still searching for him."
I swallowed.
"But Arthur retired."
Isabella laughed bitterly.
"Retirement doesn't erase powerful connections."
Then she gave us an address for a meeting through the detective.
Before disconnecting, she whispered something that made my heart stop.
"Natalya, the forty-seven poems aren't simply evidence against criminals."
"What are they?"
"A record of every person who helped destroy our families."
I stared.
May you like
Then she added the final secret.
"And one of the names in those poems belongs to someone working inside Cello Nero."
