Chapter 1 - THE NAME INSIDE MY FILE
The orphanage director did not hand Dominic Moretti the file.
She held it against her chest.
That frightened me more than the armed men standing behind him.
“Mr. Moretti,” she whispered, “perhaps we should discuss this privately.”
Dominic rose slowly from one knee.
“No.”
His enormous body blocked half the afternoon sun.
“If this concerns Lily, she stays.”
The director looked at me.
I hugged Mr. Bear.
“I can hear secrets.”
One of Dominic’s men coughed like he was hiding a laugh.
Dominic’s mouth twitched.
“Apparently she can.”
The director finally opened the folder.
Most of the pages looked boring.
Forms.
Medical records.
School evaluations.
Then she removed a yellow envelope.
The handwriting on the front made Dominic stop breathing.
I noticed because adults always breathed strangely when they were scared.
FOR DOMINIC MORETTI — IF YOU EVER FIND HER.
Dominic took it.
His fingers trembled.
That scared everyone.
Men like Dominic Moretti were not supposed to tremble.
“Who wrote this?”
The director answered softly.
“Your mother.”
Dominic’s face went white.
His mother, Maria Moretti, had died seven years earlier.
That was what I learned later.
At the time, I only knew the giant man beside me suddenly looked like someone had opened a door inside his chest.
He broke the seal.
One photograph slid out.
It landed on my lap.
I picked it up.
A younger Dominic stood beside an older woman with kind eyes.
Between them was a girl with long dark hair.
I stared.
Something about her face felt familiar.
The director whispered:
“That woman in the middle was registered here as Sofia Harper.”
Dominic’s voice came out rough.
“No.”
I looked up.
“Who is she?”
He did not answer.
The director did.
“Dominic’s younger sister.”
I looked back at the photograph.
The girl had my blue eyes.
My chin.
Even the same little dent in one cheek.
Dominic crouched again.
This time there was no coldness in him.
“Lily.”
“Yes?”
“What was your mother’s name?”
“Anna.”
The director shook her head.
“Anna Harper was the name on the hospital paperwork.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
Then he looked at me.
“Your mother’s real name was Sofia Moretti.”
I did not understand why everyone stopped moving.
I understood only one thing.
“So you knew my mommy?”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“Was she nice?”
A broken smile appeared.
“She was the best person in our family.”
That sounded important.
I hugged Mr. Bear tighter.
“Where is she?”
Dominic looked toward the director.
The director looked away.
Then Dominic said the hardest word.
“She died.”
My heart hurt in the old familiar place.
I already knew my mommy was dead.
But somehow hearing that someone remembered her made the sadness new again.
Then Dominic unfolded the letter.
His mother’s handwriting covered three pages.
He read silently.
His expression changed.
Sadness became confusion.
Confusion became anger.
Then fear.
At the bottom of the final page was one sentence.
Dominic read it aloud.
“If Sofia’s daughter is ever found, do not let Victor know.”
One of the armed men behind him went completely still.
I looked around.
“Who is Victor?”
Dominic turned toward the mansion-sized black SUV beyond the gates.
His voice became ice.
“My uncle.”
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
May you like
And the name glowing there was:
VICTOR MORETTI.
