Chapter 8 - THE GRANDFATHER WHO WASN'T DEAD
Richard Mercer was alive.
Amelia could barely believe it.
The man whose funeral she'd attended six years earlier had apparently been hiding while his son continued the family business.
Detective Bennett immediately documented Troy's statement.
Gabriel contacted his legal team and cooperated with investigators examining the old warehouse operation.
But Amelia couldn't stop thinking about her children.
Nolan.
Caleb.
Lily.
They had already endured too much.
A father who frightened them.
An eviction.
A freezing bus stop.
And now a grandfather who might be connected to serious crimes.
That evening, Lily climbed into Amelia's lap.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, baby?”
“Are we going back to Daddy?”
Amelia held her tighter.
“No, sweetheart. Not tonight.”
Lily looked relieved.
Then whispered:
“Good.”
The word hurt.
No child should sound relieved simply because she wasn't going home.
Amelia kissed her forehead.
“We're finding a new safe place.”
Lily nodded.
Then looked toward the door.
“Is Mr. Gabriel coming?”
“Maybe.”
Lily smiled.
“He talks quiet.”
Amelia laughed softly.
“Yes, he does.”
“Daddy talks loud.”
The comparison made her chest tighten.
Gabriel arrived later with an update.
Wisconsin authorities had located the woman believed to be Sofia.
She was alive.
But frightened.
And her medical records suggested she'd been subjected to years of isolation and coercive treatment.
Gabriel sat beside Amelia.
“I don't know how to tell my mother.”
She looked at him.
“Tell her you found her daughter.”
His eyes filled with tears.
“And if Sofia doesn't remember us?”
“Then you give her time.”
Gabriel nodded.
For a man feared by half of Chicago, he seemed surprisingly uncertain when it came to family.
Amelia understood.
Love was the one thing money and power couldn't control.
The next morning, Rosa Moretti traveled to Wisconsin with Gabriel.
Amelia stayed with her children.
She wanted to give the family privacy.
But Gabriel called that afternoon.
His voice was shaking.
“Amelia.”
She sat upright.
“Did you find her?”
“Yes.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“How is she?”
“She's alive.”
Gabriel began crying.
“She remembered my name.”
Amelia covered her mouth.
“Gabriel…”
He took a shaky breath.
“She asked about our mother.”
Amelia began crying too.
Then Gabriel's voice changed.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“Sofia says your mother saved her life.”
Amelia swallowed.
“She did?”
“Yes.”
Then he hesitated.
“But Sofia also told us something about Richard Mercer.”
Amelia felt cold.
“What?”
Gabriel's voice became grim.
“He didn't arrange her confinement because of money alone.”
“Then why?”
Gabriel paused.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Because Sofia witnessed the murder of Troy Mercer's mother.”
