Chapter 3 - The Name My Mother Hid From Me
Marco met me inside a twenty-four-hour diner in Queens.
He chose a booth facing the door.
That told me enough about the kind of truth I was about to hear.
I sat opposite him.
“You lied to me my entire life.”
“Yes.”
No excuse.
I almost respected that.
Almost.
“Start at the beginning.”
Marco wrapped both hands around untouched coffee.
Rosa had been twenty-three when she worked nights in the maternity wing at St. Catherine’s.
She was studying nursing.
Saving money.
Planning to move to California.
Then Elena Bellini arrived to deliver twin girls.
Sofia.
And Alessia.
The Bellinis were already powerful then.
Old money.
Older enemies.
According to Marco, Rosa noticed something strange two nights after the twins were born.
Security around the maternity floor suddenly disappeared.
One elevator stopped working.
A nurse Rosa had never seen before entered the nursery.
Then Elena Bellini began screaming.
Someone was coming for one of the babies.
“Why one?” I asked.
Marco shook his head.
“Rosa never knew at first.”
“What did she do?”
“She took you.”
My stomach turned.
“She kidnapped me.”
“No.”
His answer came hard.
“Elena told her to.”
He reached inside his coat.
A faded envelope appeared.
My name was written across it.
Not Alina.
ALESSIA.
“Rosa gave this to me before she died.”
Mom had died three years earlier from complications after surgery.
I had sat beside her hospital bed.
Held her hand.
Asked if there was anything she needed to tell me.
She said no.
I stared at the envelope.
“Why didn’t you give it to me?”
“She made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“That I would wait unless the Bellinis found you.”
I almost screamed.
“They found me nine months ago!”
“I didn’t know Sofia had.”
“You knew Dominic was here tonight.”
“I didn’t know why until Leo grabbed your necklace.”
My hands shook as I opened Rosa’s letter.
Her handwriting nearly destroyed me.
My Lina,
If you are reading this, then the past finally found you.
I had to stop.
Marco waited.
I forced myself onward.
Rosa wrote that Elena had shoved one newborn into her arms and said:
Take her somewhere my husband’s family cannot find her.
Not her husband.
His family.
That distinction mattered.
Rosa escaped through a staff stairwell during a fire alarm.
By morning, hospital records listed baby Alessia Bellini as missing.
Rosa intended to return me once it was safe.
It never became safe.
Elena contacted her secretly twice.
The second time, she told Rosa:
Raise her as your own.
Do not let her know who she is until she can survive knowing.
Tears dropped onto the paper.
Rosa wrote:
I became your mother because I loved you, not because I gave birth to you. If that makes you hate me, I accept it.
I covered my mouth.
I did not hate her.
That almost hurt more.
Near the bottom, one sentence was underlined twice.
If the Rinaldis ever find you, do not assume Dominic is your enemy.
Then another:
But before you trust him, ask him who killed Sofia.
I looked at Marco.
“What did she know?”
“Nothing about Sofia. Rosa died before Sofia did.”
“Then why write that?”
“She added that line later.”
“What?”
Marco looked frightened.
“Someone visited Rosa in the hospital three days before she died.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
I read the final paragraph.
Your sister is closer than you think. If she ever finds you, tell her I kept my promise.
I folded the letter.
“Sofia found Mom.”
Marco stared.
“Maybe.”
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
A photograph appeared.
Dominic standing beside Leo outside Aurelia.
Below it:
ASK RINALDI WHY HIS WIFE’S CAR LOST ITS BRAKES.
My skin went cold.
May you like
A second message appeared.
AND ASK HIM WHY HE BURIED THE REPORT.
