Chapter 10 - SOFIA’S LAST MESSAGE
Sofia had known about Noah.
We discovered that the next morning.
Her encrypted laptop was found inside a locked drawer in the Moretti Foundation office.
Alessandro had never opened it.
He said it belonged to her.
That answer surprised me.
A controlling man who still respected one locked drawer.
Marco bypassed nothing.
A cybercrime investigator working with Inspector Bellini obtained formal access after the emerging evidence was reported.
That distinction mattered to me.
I was beginning to understand that if Alessandro wanted to survive his family's world, he would have to stop behaving as though rules belonged only to other people.
Sofia's files contained hundreds of financial documents.
Most meant nothing to me.
One folder did.
SEVENTEEN.
Inside were photographs of Noah.
School enrollment records.
Medical notes.
Copies of money transfers from Moretti Holdings to Bennett & Cole.
And a video.
The date was two days before Sofia died.
Alessandro pressed play.
Sofia appeared on screen.
She looked exhausted.
Her green eyes were red.
“If you're watching this, Alessandro, then I probably failed to convince you while I was alive.”
His face went white.
I almost left.
He reached for my wrist.
Not hard.
Just enough to stop me.
“Stay.”
I did.
Sofia continued.
“Your uncle did not disappear.”
“He rebuilt his network through the United States.”
“Judge Warren Bennett helped him move money and people for years.”
“The hospital scandal was not an isolated event.”
“St. Agnes was used as a documentation point.”
My stomach tightened.
“They altered birth records.”
“They facilitated illegal placements.”
“They buried complaints.”
“I found seventeen cases.”
Seventeen.
Not one baby.
Seventeen babies.
I covered my mouth.
Sofia looked directly into the camera.
“Baby Seventeen was different.”
“He was Vittorio's son.”
“Your father tried to hide him because Vittorio intended to raise the boy inside the organization.”
“Elena wanted her son free.”
“Your father promised her that.”
“After your father died, Elena ran to America.”
“She gave birth under protection.”
“Then the Bennetts betrayed her.”
Alessandro whispered something in Italian.
Sofia continued.
“They told Vittorio the baby died.”
“But they kept the child.”
“They intended to use him later.”
My skin crawled.
“Six months ago, Vittorio learned Noah was alive.”
“I believe Warren Bennett told him.”
“Why?”
“Because Warren is afraid of Derek.”
I froze.
Alessandro looked at me.
Sofia's next words made the room colder.
“Derek Bennett has spent years collecting evidence against his own father.”
“He is not doing it for justice.”
“He wants the money.”
My mouth went dry.
Derek.
Always angry about not having enough.
Always asking what his father would leave him.
Always complaining that Ryan was the favorite.
Sofia continued.
“Claire Bennett may be connected without knowing it.”
My name.
Hearing it in a dead woman's voice almost stopped my heart.
“I found her personnel file in Warren's archive.”
“She was the nurse they blamed in the Keene case.”
“She later married Derek.”
“I do not believe that marriage was accidental.”
Tears blurred my vision.
Sofia looked away briefly.
Then back.
“If Claire ever leaves him, Derek will panic.”
“Because she knows things she does not realize she knows.”
I whispered.
“What things?”
The video continued as if Sofia had heard me.
“The names.”
“The dates.”
“The people who visited their home.”
“The conversations she overheard.”
“Derek underestimated her because everyone around him underestimated women.”
Despite everything, a broken laugh escaped me.
Alessandro looked at me.
Sofia almost smiled on the video.
Then her expression darkened.
“There is one more thing.”
“Someone has been entering Luca's nursery.”
Alessandro stopped breathing.
“I found an unfamiliar medication bottle in Teresa's bag.”
“I confronted her.”
“She claimed it belonged to her.”
“I don't believe her.”
“I am having Luca examined tomorrow.”
She never made it to tomorrow.
My eyes filled.
Sofia continued.
“If anything happens to me, do not attack Vittorio.”
Alessandro's jaw tightened.
“He expects violence.”
“He understands violence.”
“Give everything to Bellini.”
Inspector Bellini stood in the doorway.
Nobody had noticed her enter.
Sofia's voice softened.
“And Alessandro.”
He leaned toward the screen.
“If I am dead, listen to me once.”
“Leave.”
“Take Luca.”
“Choose your son over your name.”
The video ended.
Silence filled the room.
Alessandro stared at the blank screen.
He did not move for a long time.
Then Maya ran in.
Luca was laughing in her arms.
My heart stopped.
“Maya.”
“I’m holding him.”
I rushed forward.
A housekeeper followed immediately.
“I was beside her.”
Maya grinned.
“He likes me.”
Luca grabbed her hair.
“Ow.”
She giggled.
For one tiny moment, the room contained something normal.
Then Enzo entered.
His expression destroyed it.
“What happened?” Alessandro asked.
“We found Teresa.”
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
Relief crossed his face.
“Where?”
Enzo hesitated.
“Police found her outside Naples.”
“She's been shot.”
My stomach dropped.
“Is she alive?”
“Barely.”
“Can she speak?”
“For a few minutes.”
Bellini immediately reached for her phone.
Enzo continued.
“She already asked for one person.”
“Alessandro?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“Claire.”
I stared.
“Why me?”
“Nobody knows.”
He swallowed.
“But she told the paramedic there is something only you will understand.”
I handed Luca to the housekeeper.
“What?”
Enzo's expression was grim.
“She said, ‘Tell the nurse the baby with the blue bracelet never died.’”
I stopped breathing.
The Keene baby had worn a blue bracelet.
But Jacob Keene was alive.
Which meant Teresa had not been talking about him.
May you like
She had been talking about another newborn from my last night at St. Agnes.
A newborn I had spent six years believing was dead.
