Chapter 5 - THE VISITOR WHO WAS NEVER INVITED
Lorenzo Bellini had been confined to the east sitting room the previous morning.
Now he was standing outside Rosa Romano's care facility.
Dante's expression hardened.
He reached for his phone.
"Marco, Bellini is at Rosewood. Contact the police."
Alessia turned toward the door.
"How did he get out?"
Dante's jaw tightened.
"That's what I intend to find out."
Bellini noticed them looking.
For one brief moment, his confident expression faltered.
Then he smiled.
He raised one hand in greeting.
Dante didn't move.
Bellini stepped away from the glass.
Within seconds, Marco's security team began checking the entrances while care center staff contacted local authorities.
Alessia held her mother close.
Rosa was shaking.
"He found me."
"No, Mom. You're safe."
But Alessia wasn't certain.
When Dante returned from speaking with the facility director, he looked furious.
"Bellini told staff he was your mother's financial representative."
Alessia stared.
"What?"
"He presented paperwork."
"That's impossible. I'm her legal representative."
Dante nodded.
"The documents appear suspicious. The director has suspended any access based on them."
Alessia felt sick.
Bellini had reached into every part of her life.
Her employment.
Her correspondence.
Now her mother's medical care.
"Why?" she whispered.
Dante looked at her.
"Because Rosa remembers something he needs hidden."
A detective arrived shortly afterward.
Bellini had already left the property.
But the care center's cameras captured his visit.
The detective took statements and collected copies of the documents he'd presented.
Dante stayed beside Alessia while she answered questions.
When they finally returned to the mansion, Marco was waiting with troubling news.
"Boss, Bellini didn't escape."
Dante frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Someone authorized his departure."
"Who?"
Marco hesitated.
"The order came from inside the house."
Dante's face darkened.
"Whose credentials?"
Marco placed a tablet on the desk.
The access log displayed a familiar name.
MRS. CONTI.
Alessia's stomach dropped.
The woman who had packed her suitcase.
The woman who had tried to dismiss her before Dante could ask questions.
Dante turned toward Marco.
"Where is she?"
"Her room is empty."
A long silence followed.
Then Marco continued.
"We searched her office. We found something."
He placed a small red envelope on Dante's desk.
Inside was a photograph.
Bianca Moretti stood beside Rosa Romano outside a bank.
Between them was a young girl.
Alessia recognized herself immediately.
She couldn't have been older than seven.
On the back, Bianca had written:
If anything happens to us, protect Alessia. She is the last person Lorenzo will suspect.
Alessia stared at the photograph.
Her mother's trembling hands.
Bianca's worried expression.
Her own childhood smile.
Dante looked at her.
"Alessia, how long has your mother known mine?"
She swallowed.
"I don't know."
Then she remembered something.
A silver bracelet she'd worn as a child.
Her mother had told her it was a gift from a friend.
A small black rose was engraved on its clasp.
Alessia slowly looked up.
"Dante..."
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"What?"
"I think your mother left something with me."
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