Chapter 7 - THE MOTHER HE BURIED SEVEN YEARS AGO
Gabriel Rossi had buried his mother seven years earlier.
Her funeral had been held in a private chapel.
The casket was closed.
His father had arranged everything.
Gabriel remembered the rain.
The black umbrellas.
The silence.
And the way Salvatore Rossi stood beside the grave without shedding a tear.
Now Vincent was telling him Isabella Rossi might still be alive.
It seemed impossible.
“My mother died.”
Vincent nodded.
“That's what the family was told.”
Gabriel stared.
“Are you certain?”
“We've obtained records indicating a woman matching her identity has been receiving treatment under an alias.”
Gabriel slowly sat down.
For years, he'd believed his mother died from complications following an illness.
Now he wondered whether his father had arranged another disappearance.
Norah watched his expression.
The powerful man who frightened everyone in the mansion suddenly looked like a boy who'd lost his mother.
She sat beside him.
“Gabriel.”
He looked up.
Her voice was gentle.
“I'm sorry.”
He shook his head.
“We don't know yet.”
She nodded.
“Then let's find out.”
He studied her.
For the first time, he understood what she'd been living with.
The uncertainty.
The grief.
The fear that someone she loved had been hidden away.
And the terrifying possibility that the people responsible were connected to his family.
The following morning, investigators confirmed that both Thomas Hayes and Isabella Rossi were alive.
They were receiving care at the same facility.
Both had been admitted under questionable circumstances.
Their records contained inconsistent consent documents.
And the facility was linked to Adrian Rossi's financial network.
Gabriel contacted his attorney.
He agreed to provide family records and cooperate with the investigation.
Then he waited.
The waiting was harder than anything he'd experienced.
He could order men around.
Move money.
Close businesses.
But he couldn't force the past to make sense.
Norah sat nearby, her injured wrist supported in a sling.
She watched him.
“Are you scared?”
Gabriel looked at her.
For a moment, he considered lying.
Then he nodded.
“Yes.”
Norah smiled sadly.
“Me too.”
They sat together in silence.
Then she whispered:
“Maybe that's okay.”
He looked at her.
“What?”
“Being scared.”
Gabriel smiled faintly.
“Maybe.”
Hours later, they received permission for a supervised visit.
The facility arranged a private room.
Norah entered first.
An elderly man sat near the window.
His hair was white.
His shoulders narrow.
But when he turned, she recognized his eyes.
“Daddy?”
Thomas Hayes looked up.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then his lips trembled.
“Norah?”
She began crying.
“Oh, Daddy.”
She crossed the room.
He opened his arms.
And for the first time in six years, father and daughter embraced.
Gabriel stood at the doorway.
His eyes filled.
Then he heard a voice behind him.
“Gabriel?”
He turned.
An elderly woman stood beside a nurse.
Silver hair.
Gentle eyes.
A familiar smile.
His mother.
Isabella Rossi.
Gabriel stopped breathing.
“Mom?”
She began crying.
“My boy.”
He crossed the room and embraced her.
For a moment, the years disappeared.
He was a child again.
Safe in his mother's arms.
But when Isabella pulled back, her expression changed.
“Gabriel, you shouldn't have come.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
She looked toward Norah.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Because Adrian didn't hide us to protect the family. He hid us because we know what happened to your first wife.”
