Chapter 6 - THE BROTHER I NEVER KNEW I HAD
The room seemed to spin.
Gabriel Marino.
Matteo's missing brother.
Had supposedly been placed with my parents.
But I had grown up an only child.
At least, that was what I'd always believed.
“That's impossible,” I whispered.
Matteo looked toward me.
“Naomi…”
“My parents never adopted anyone.”
Luca studied the records.
“The placement may not have been completed.”
I shook my head.
“No. I would remember a baby.”
Then a memory flashed.
A small crib in our old apartment.
A blue blanket.
My mother crying beside an empty nursery.
I pressed my hands against my temples.
“Oh, God.”
Matteo moved closer.
“What?”
“I remember a nursery.”
His expression changed.
“And?”
“My mother told me it belonged to a cousin who'd stayed with us.”
Luca turned another page.
“There was a second transfer.”
My heart raced.
“Where?”
“The child was removed from the Parker household six months later.”
Matteo's jaw tightened.
“By whom?”
Luca hesitated.
“An attorney named Vincent Bellini.”
Matteo went completely still.
I noticed immediately.
“You know him?”
He nodded slowly.
“Vincent handled my father's personal legal affairs.”
“Where is he now?”
Matteo's expression darkened.
“He's still alive.”
My stomach tightened.
“Then we can ask him.”
Matteo shook his head.
“He disappeared from public life years ago.”
Luca opened another file.
“Actually, boss, I found a recent business registration.”
Matteo turned.
“What?”
“Vincent Bellini operates a private investment firm in Connecticut.”
I stared.
“Then he hasn't disappeared.”
“No,” Luca said.
“He's been hiding in plain sight.”
Matteo looked toward the window.
Then he turned back to me.
“Naomi, I need to ask something difficult.”
I swallowed.
“What?”
“Did your parents ever tell you why they moved so often?”
I thought about my childhood.
Queens.
Brooklyn.
Staten Island.
Then Queens again.
We'd moved four times before I turned ten.
Mom always said it was because rent kept increasing.
I nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Matteo's expression tightened.
“Maybe they were running from someone.”
I felt sick.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
A man's voice spoke.
“Naomi Parker?”
“Yes?”
“You don't know me.”
I gripped the phone.
“Who is this?”
A pause.
Then:
“My name is Gabriel.”
My heart stopped.
Across the room, Matteo froze.
The caller continued.
“I think you knew me when I was a baby.”
I could barely breathe.
“Where are you?”
A long silence followed.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“Inside the Marino mansion.”
