Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LOCKED DOOR
The woman behind the locked door was no longer six years old.
She was twenty-nine.
And when Norah entered the private rehabilitation facility, she recognized her eyes immediately.
Gray.
Bright.
Terrified.
The facility director had initially refused Roman access.
That changed when his attorney arrived with a court-authorized emergency order secured through the appropriate authorities.
Federal investigators were already reviewing the suspicious ownership records.
Roman hadn't wanted another secret.
He wanted everything documented.
Norah walked into a quiet room overlooking a frozen garden.
A slender woman sat near the window, reading a worn children's book.
She looked up.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then the woman dropped the book.
“Nora?”
The missing final letter didn't matter.
Norah covered her mouth.
“Lily?”
The woman stood so quickly her chair tipped backward.
She rushed into Norah's arms.
“I thought you died.”
Norah held her tightly.
“I thought I lost you.”
Behind them, Teresa began to sob.
Sofia slowly looked past Norah.
Her eyes widened.
“Mommy?”
Teresa crossed the room on unsteady legs.
“My baby.”
The reunion was quiet at first.
Then Sofia touched Teresa's face.
“You got older.”
Teresa laughed through her tears.
“So did you, sweetheart.”
Roman remained near the doorway.
He had spent twenty-three years wondering whether he would ever see his sister again.
Now she stood before him.
Sofia studied his face.
“Roman?”
He nodded.
She smiled.
“You used to hide my dolls in your closet.”
Roman's composure broke.
“I still have one.”
She stepped forward and hugged him.
For a moment, the powerful Bellandi empire meant nothing.
There was only a family holding someone they had believed lost forever.
But Sofia's story was far from finished.
She explained that Eleanor had controlled her treatment, visitors, and communications.
Whenever she demanded to see her family, staff told her the Bellandis had abandoned her.
“Why didn't you try to leave?” Roman asked gently.
“I did. Twice.”
Sofia looked toward the door.
“Then they told me Norah would die if I tried again.”
Norah felt her knees weaken.
Sofia reached for her hand.
“There's something else.”
“What?”
“The fire wasn't meant to kill me.”
Roman frowned.
“Who was the target?”
Sofia looked directly at Norah.
“You were.”
Then she revealed the reason.
May you like
Norah had unknowingly witnessed a murder three days before the fire.
And the victim had been Roman Bellandi's father.
