Chapter 10 - THE FATHER WHO SOLD HIS SILENCE
Giovanni Bellandi had not kidnapped his daughter.
But he had helped keep her hidden.
The proof arrived in a sealed file recovered from an attorney's private archive.
Inside were payment records, correspondence, and a handwritten agreement bearing Giovanni's signature.
Roman read the documents three times.
Then he walked to the window without speaking.
His father had known Sofia was alive.
He had known Vincent Caruso controlled her whereabouts.
And he had signed an agreement promising not to interfere.
Teresa stared at the papers.
“Why?”
The answer was buried in the final page.
Years earlier, Giovanni had used Caruso-controlled companies to conceal illegal payments and protect valuable real estate holdings.
When Matteo discovered the scheme, he threatened to expose both men.
Vincent used that knowledge as leverage.
If Giovanni contacted the authorities, Vincent would reveal the financial crimes and threaten Sofia.
Giovanni had surrendered.
Then he had allowed his wife and son to believe their daughter was dead.
Roman closed the file.
“He chose his empire over his child.”
Teresa began to cry.
“I spent twenty-three years blaming myself.”
Norah reached for her hand.
“You didn't do this.”
Teresa looked toward Sofia, who sat beside the fireplace with a photograph of the family home.
“I can't give her those years back.”
“No,” Norah said softly. “But you can give her every year after today.”
Roman watched them.
For the first time, he saw his family's history without the mythology his father had created.
Power hadn't protected them.
Secrecy had destroyed them.
His phone rang.
Marco.
“Boss, federal agents searched the Caruso office.”
“What did they find?”
“Evidence linking Vincent to Mercer and the fire. But there's a problem.”
Roman's shoulders tightened.
“Tell me.”
“Vincent is gone.”
“What about Eleanor?”
“Gone too.”
“And Vanessa?”
Marco hesitated.
“We found her.”
Roman closed his eyes.
“Alive?”
“Yes. But she's asking for Norah.”
Norah looked up.
“Why me?”
Marco's voice was grim.
“Because Vanessa says she knows who ordered the fire.”
Roman thought the answer was obvious.
Vincent.
Eleanor.
Perhaps both.
But then Marco delivered the final detail.
Vanessa had confessed that her parents were following instructions from someone else.
Someone who had been inside the Bellandi mansion the night Sofia disappeared.
May you like
Someone still employed by the family.
And someone who had been watching Norah since the moment she accepted her housekeeping job.
