Chapter 6 - The Girl With His Eyes
The little girl's name was Sofia Bellini.
She was ten years old.
And according to the documents Marco uncovered, she'd spent most of her childhood moving between private homes and medical facilities under different guardians.
Lorenzo stared at her photograph for nearly an hour.
I sat quietly beside him.
Finally, he spoke.
"She looks like Isabella."
I nodded.
"She does."
His voice broke.
"And she has my eyes."
For a moment, I wanted to reach for him.
To touch his shoulder.
To tell him everything would be okay.
But I didn't.
I was still his employee.
And despite everything happening between us, I didn't know where I belonged in his life.
"Lorenzo, we need to find out whether she's safe."
He nodded.
"I know."
Marco arranged for an investigator to review Sofia's records and contact the relevant child-protection authorities.
By afternoon, they discovered something disturbing.
Sofia had recently been removed from a school in Connecticut.
The reason listed was a family emergency.
But the school had received no new enrollment information.
"She's missing?" I whispered.
Marco nodded.
"Her guardian withdrew her three weeks ago."
Lorenzo stood.
"Find her."
His voice was dangerously calm.
Marco hesitated.
"Boss, there's more."
"What?"
"The guardian who signed the withdrawal documents was Adrian Bellini."
Lorenzo's expression hardened.
"He has my daughter."
I felt sick.
"Why?"
"Because Adrian has always wanted control of the Vitali family assets."
Marco nodded.
"The girl may be leverage."
Lorenzo turned toward the window.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he spoke quietly.
"Eleven years ago, I lost Isabella because I trusted the wrong people."
His hands tightened into fists.
"I'm not losing Sofia."
That evening, Lorenzo received an unexpected call.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A woman's voice spoke.
"Lorenzo?"
His entire body went still.
"Isabella?"
I stared at him.
The woman began crying.
"I don't have much time."
Lorenzo gripped the phone.
"Where are you?"
"Please don't let Adrian find Sofia."
His breathing changed.
"Isabella, are you alive?"
A long silence.
Then she whispered:
"Yes."
Lorenzo closed his eyes.
May you like
But the next sentence made him stagger backward.
"Lorenzo, the girl you've been searching for isn't our only child."
