Chapter 7 - ROSA WALKS INTO THE ROOM
Elena forgot how to breathe.
Her mother stood at the top of the stairs.
Rosa looked older.
Much older.
Her hair was silver.
Her face was thin.
But Elena knew her instantly.
“Mom?”
Rosa's eyes filled with tears.
“Elena.”
Elena ran toward her.
They embraced so tightly that neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Elena pulled away.
“You lied to me.”
Rosa nodded.
“I did.”
“You told me Dad abandoned us.”
“I needed you to believe that.”
“You told me we had nothing.”
“I needed you to believe that too.”
“Why?”
Rosa touched her daughter's face.
“Because people were looking for you.”
Elena cried.
“I spent my entire life thinking nobody wanted me.”
Rosa's voice broke.
“I wanted you alive.”
Behind them, Evelyn Moretti stood silently.
Vincent turned toward her.
“Did you order it?”
Evelyn looked at her son.
“Yes.”
The room froze.
Vincent's voice became barely audible.
“You ordered Rosa's disappearance?”
“I ordered her silence.”
“She was nearly killed.”
“I never ordered anyone to kill her.”
Rosa stepped forward.
“You ordered Salvatore's death.”
Evelyn's face tightened.
“He betrayed us.”
“He tried to protect your son.”
“He was weak.”
Vincent stared at his mother.
“You destroyed all of us.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“No.”
She pointed at Elena.
“She did.”
Elena frowned.
“What?”
“Your mother stole the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“She stole money.”
“To return it.”
“She destroyed the family.”
Evelyn's voice trembled.
“She destroyed the empire your father built.”
Vincent laughed bitterly.
“An empire built on stolen money.”
Evelyn suddenly smiled.
“You still don't understand.”
She pulled a small flash drive from her coat.
“The ledger was never the most dangerous evidence.”
She handed it to Elena.
“What is this?”
“A recording.”
Elena looked at Vincent.
Evelyn continued.
“Your mother believes she knows who killed your father.”
Rosa's expression changed.
Evelyn smiled.
“But she doesn't.”
Then she turned toward Salvatore.
“Tell them.”
Salvatore said nothing.
Evelyn whispered:
“The man who killed Vincent's father was standing in this room twenty years ago.”
Everyone turned.
Vincent looked at Salvatore.
Then Rosie.
Then Rosa.
Then Elena.
Nobody moved.
Finally, Salvatore spoke.
May you like
“It was me.”
Elena's heart shattered.
