Chapter 11 - THE MOTHER WHO REMEMBERED EVERYTHING
The drive to Columbus took less than two hours.
Bethany sat beside Dante in the back of the SUV.
Neither had slept.
Neither had eaten.
But neither complained.
They were going to meet a woman who might be Dante's mother and Bethany's biological mother.
A woman believed dead for decades.
The private care facility stood behind iron gates and bare winter trees.
Its sign read:
WHITMORE RECOVERY CENTER.
Dante looked at Marco.
"Check every entrance."
Marco nodded.
"Already done."
Inside, the building smelled of disinfectant and lavender.
A nervous receptionist led them toward a private room.
"She's been expecting you."
Dante stopped.
"Who told her we were coming?"
The receptionist looked away.
"I don't know."
They entered Room 208.
An elderly woman sat beside the window.
Her silver hair fell over a pale blue cardigan.
She held a faded photograph.
Dante stopped breathing.
"Mom?"
The woman turned.
For several seconds, she stared.
Then her face crumpled.
"Dante?"
He crossed the room.
She reached for him.
"My boy."
Dante knelt beside her chair.
For the first time since Bethany had met him, the feared mafia boss began to cry.
His mother touched his face.
"I thought I'd never see you again."
Dante held her hand.
"I thought you were dead."
Elena nodded.
"That's what Vittorio wanted you to believe."
Bethany stood near the doorway.
Elena looked toward her.
Her eyes widened.
"Sofia?"
Bethany's breath caught.
The woman slowly stood.
"My baby."
Bethany felt tears fill her eyes.
She had imagined many things about her biological mother.
Anger.
Confusion.
Resentment.
But she hadn't imagined being recognized instantly.
Elena approached.
"Can I hug you?"
Bethany hesitated.
Then nodded.
Elena wrapped her arms around her.
"My beautiful girl."
Bethany began crying.
For twenty-nine years, she'd believed her life was ordinary.
Now she was standing in the arms of a woman who had spent decades believing she'd lost her children.
They sat together.
Elena explained that Vittorio had discovered her relationship with James Carter.
He threatened to kill the baby.
So she arranged for Lorraine Daniels, a trusted nurse, to take Sofia away.
But Vittorio eventually discovered the plan.
He staged Elena's death and confined her to a private facility under another name.
"Why didn't you escape?" Dante asked.
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Because every time I tried, he threatened you."
Dante lowered his head.
Then Bethany asked the question she feared most.
"What happened to James Carter?"
Elena looked at her.
For a moment, she seemed unable to speak.
Then she reached into her cardigan pocket.
She removed a small photograph.
A handsome man stood beside a young woman holding a newborn.
Bethany recognized herself.
"That's your father," Elena whispered.
"Is he alive?"
Elena nodded.
Bethany's heart stopped.
"Where?"
Elena began crying.
May you like
Then whispered the secret that changed everything.
"James Carter has been living under the name Calvin Reed."
