Chapter 13 - WHAT SOFIA KNEW
Alessandro did not ask me to believe him.
That was the only reason I listened.
We returned to the house in separate cars.
I refused to speak to him until Maya was asleep.
Then I entered the library.
“Tell me everything.”
He nodded.
“I did not know Sofia met Derek.”
“Did you know she went to America?”
“Yes.”
That was already a lie by omission.
“You told me she was investigating Vittorio's accounts.”
“She was.”
“Why hide the trip?”
“Because I followed her.”
I stared.
“You followed your wife?”
“Yes.”
“Protection?”
“No.”
He looked ashamed.
“Control.”
At least he knew the word now.
“She discovered my men at the airport.”
“She was furious.”
“She changed her itinerary.”
“I lost track of her for twelve hours.”
“And during those twelve hours she met Derek.”
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
“I don't know.”
I crossed my arms.
“Try again.”
Alessandro walked toward Sofia's laptop.
“There is a file Bellini found after your statement.”
He opened an audio recording.
Sofia's voice filled the room.
Then Derek's.
“You don't understand my father.”
Sofia replied.
“I understand exactly what your father is.”
Derek laughed.
“No.”
“You understand money transfers.”
“You don't understand leverage.”
“What leverage?”
“Claire.”
I stopped breathing.
Sofia's voice sharpened.
“Your wife?”
“She doesn't know what she saw.”
“What did she see?”
“Enough.”
“What does that mean?”
Derek paused.
“When Claire worked at St. Agnes, she saw Gabriel Reed's mother.”
My skin chilled.
I tried to remember.
Gabriel's mother.
Nineteen.
Terrified.
Dark hair.
Bruising around one wrist.
She had refused to give me family information.
I remembered one thing.
A tattoo.
A small falcon near her collarbone.
My breath caught.
“Elena.”
Alessandro looked at me.
“Yes.”
I covered my mouth.
Gabriel Reed's supposed mother had actually been Elena Vitale.
Which meant Gabriel was Baby Seventeen.
The records showed two babies because the same child had been given multiple identities.
Then who was Noah?
The recording continued.
Sofia asked the same question.
“Where is Elena's son?”
Derek answered.
“My father doesn't know anymore.”
“That's why everyone is panicking.”
“Baby Seventeen disappeared twice.”
“What does that mean?”
“The baby transferred to Italy came back.”
“Then someone switched him.”
Sofia went silent.
“So Noah is not Baby Seventeen?”
“My father thinks he is.”
“Vittorio thinks he is.”
“But?”
Derek laughed.
“My mother knows better.”
The recording ended.
I stared at Alessandro.
“Noah isn't Vittorio's son.”
“Apparently not.”
“Then Daniel might be.”
“Yes.”
“And Margaret Bennett knows.”
“Probably.”
I sat down.
“Why did Derek tell Sofia?”
“Money.”
“How do you know?”
“Listen.”
Alessandro played another recording.
Derek again.
“I want ten million.”
Sofia laughed in disbelief.
“For information?”
“For enough evidence to bury my father.”
“You expect me to pay you.”
“Your husband will.”
“He doesn't even know I'm here.”
“He will when you tell him his uncle wants to put the wrong boy at the head of the family.”
My stomach turned.
Derek had not been helping Sofia.
He had been selling information.
“Did she pay?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“She told him to go to authorities.”
The recording continued.
Sofia's voice became cold.
“I will not give you criminal money to betray your criminal father.”
“I am taking this to the police.”
Derek responded immediately.
“If you do, Claire goes down with him.”
Silence.
“What?”
“The forged signatures all belong to her.”
“The hospital transfers.”
“The nursing authorizations.”
“She is the paper trail.”
I felt faint.
“That’s why Derek needs me back.”
Alessandro nodded.
“If investigators reopen the files, his family may try to make you responsible.”
“But Sofia knew they were forged.”
“Yes.”
“And Caroline's drive proves some of it.”
“Yes.”
I rubbed my temples.
“Then why did Sofia leave Derek alive?”
A terrible question.
Alessandro answered honestly.
“Because my wife was better than me.”
I looked at him.
“What would you have done?”
“You know.”
“Yes.”
He sat opposite me.
“Claire, there is something else.”
Of course there was.
“What?”
“Sofia recorded one final conversation.”
“With whom?”
“Margaret Bennett.”
I stared.
“Derek's mother?”
“Yes.”
He pressed play.
Margaret's voice trembled.
“Sofia, you cannot contact me again.”
“I need the boy's name.”
“No.”
“Vittorio is hurting children trying to find him.”
“I know.”
“Then help me.”
“I helped once.”
“What did you do?”
Margaret started crying.
“I switched the babies.”
Every hair on my arms lifted.
Sofia whispered.
“Explain.”
“Warren intended to hand Elena's son back to Vittorio after collecting enough money.”
“I couldn't let him.”
“So I changed the identification.”
“I sent another infant under Baby Seventeen's papers.”
My stomach turned.
“What happened to that baby?”
“I don't know.”
“Where did Elena's child go?”
Margaret breathed shakily.
“I gave him to someone I trusted.”
“Who?”
“A nurse.”
My heart stopped.
Alessandro looked at me.
The recording continued.
Sofia asked.
“Which nurse?”
Margaret answered.
“Not Claire.”
I exhaled.
“A woman named Rebecca Sullivan.”
The name hit me.
Rebecca.
My old charge nurse.
The woman who told me Gabriel died.
The woman who testified against me.
The woman who disappeared from St. Agnes two weeks after I resigned.
Sofia asked.
“Where is Rebecca now?”
Margaret hesitated.
“Rome.”
I stood.
“What?”
Alessandro's eyes widened too.
The audio continued.
Sofia whispered.
“Where in Rome?”
Margaret gave an address.
Marco entered the library at exactly that moment.
He looked at us.
“We found Rebecca Sullivan.”
I stared.
“Alive?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
He swallowed.
“At an elementary school fifteen minutes from here.”
My heartbeat exploded.
“And she isn't alone.”
“What does that mean?”
“She has a six-year-old son.”
May you like
A boy named Daniel.
The real Baby Seventeen had been living in Rome all along.
