Chapter 5 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
Darkness swallowed the basement.
Elena could hear everyone breathing.
Vincent whispered instructions to his men.
Salvatore moved toward the wall.
“There is another exit.”
“Where?” Elena asked.
“Behind the shelves.”
They pushed aside several boxes.
A narrow passage appeared.
Before anyone could enter, Elena noticed another photograph lying on the floor.
She picked it up.
Her hands began to shake.
It showed her mother.
But Rosa wasn't alone.
Standing beside her was a younger woman.
Elena knew that face.
She had seen it hundreds of times.
It was Rosie.
The photograph was dated eight months after Night 17.
Elena looked at Rosie.
“You said you were afraid.”
“I was.”
“You met my mother afterward.”
Rosie nodded.
“She came to me.”
“Why?”
“To save Vincent.”
Elena's voice cracked.
“And you let her disappear?”
Rosie looked away.
“She made me promise.”
“Promise what?”
“That if she ever came back, I would protect you.”
Elena stared.
“She came back three months ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you did nothing.”
“I tried.”
“What happened?”
Rosie hesitated.
“Your mother told me someone inside our family had found her.”
Vincent stepped forward.
“Who?”
Rosie looked directly at him.
“You.”
Vincent's face went blank.
Elena stared.
“That makes no sense.”
“Your mother believed you had become exactly like your father.”
Vincent shook his head.
“I never touched her.”
“She didn't say you hurt her.”
Rosie lowered her voice.
“She said someone was using your name.”
Silence.
Vincent looked confused.
“Who?”
Rosie opened the folder.
Inside was a recent bank statement.
Millions of dollars had been transferred through accounts bearing Vincent's identity.
Elena recognized one of the signatures.
Her mother's.
“She was framed,” Elena whispered.
Rosie nodded.
“Your mother discovered that someone was rebuilding the old operation.”
Vincent's eyes hardened.
“Using my company.”
“Using your name.”
Elena suddenly remembered something.
The recipe card.
The number seventeen.
The hidden letter.
Her mother hadn't sent her to the restaurant because of Vincent.
She had sent her there because she knew the restaurant was connected to the old evidence.
Elena turned to Salvatore.
“What did my mother want me to find?”
Salvatore looked toward the shelves.
“The original ledger.”
“Where is it?”
He pointed toward an old wooden cabinet.
“It was hidden inside your childhood music box.”
Elena froze.
“My mother still has it.”
“No,” Salvatore said.
“She brought it here.”
Elena's heart pounded.
“Where?”
Before he could answer, a phone began ringing.
It was Vincent's.
He answered.
A distorted voice spoke.
“You're looking in the wrong place.”
Vincent tightened his grip.
“Who are you?”
The voice laughed.
Then said:
“Ask Elena who really paid for her childhood.”
The call ended.
Elena looked at Salvatore.
“What does that mean?”
May you like
Salvatore's face had gone white.
“It means they know about the inheritance.”
