Chapter 9 — The Woman in the Photograph
“Your mother is alive.”
Those four words refused to leave my head.
I stood frozen beside Gabriel while Alessandro pressed a cloth against the bullet wound in his shoulder.
“Elizabeth.”
I didn't respond.
“Elizabeth, look at me.”
I finally did.
“Did you hear what he said?”
“My mother…”
My voice barely existed.
“My mother is alive.”
Alessandro nodded.
“We'll find out.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“You don't understand.”
I looked at Gabriel.
“He said she never died.”
Alessandro's expression tightened.
“Then someone has been lying to you for twenty-seven years.”
“My father told me she died.”
“I know.”
“Then why would he lie?”
Neither of us had an answer.
The chapel doors opened.
Matteo rushed inside with two security men.
“Mr. Vitali.”
Alessandro stood.
“Report.”
“The shooter escaped.”
“Vehicle?”
“Black sedan.”
“Plate?”
“Covered.”
Alessandro cursed under his breath.
Then Matteo looked at Gabriel.
“Who is he?”
“My brother.”
Matteo froze.
“Gabriel Vitali?”
“Yes.”
“He's alive?”
“Apparently.”
Gabriel groaned.
I immediately knelt beside him.
His eyes opened.
“Don't take me to a hospital.”
Alessandro frowned.
“You were shot.”
“I know.”
“You need surgery.”
“Hospital records are monitored.”
Alessandro exchanged a look with Matteo.
Then nodded.
“We have a private medical facility.”
Gabriel grabbed my wrist.
“No.”
His eyes found mine.
“If Stefano knows I'm alive, he'll know you're here.”
“I don't care.”
“You should.”
He tried to sit up.
I stopped him.
“Don't move.”
His eyes softened.
“You sound like your mother.”
I stared.
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
He looked away.
“I don't know.”
“You just told me she's alive.”
“I said she never died.”
“That's not the same thing.”
Gabriel closed his eyes.
“She disappeared.”
“When?”
“Twenty-seven years ago.”
“Where?”
“I don't know.”
I felt frustration burning through me.
“Then why tell me?”
“Because your father left me instructions.”
“What instructions?”
Gabriel looked at Alessandro.
“Only tell her when she reaches twenty-five.”
Alessandro stepped forward.
“What happens at twenty-five?”
Gabriel nodded toward me.
“She gains access to the trust.”
I remembered the twenty-million-dollar transfer.
“What else happens?”
“The truth becomes legally hers.”
I stared at him.
“What truth?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“The truth about the night Marco disappeared.”
Marco stepped closer.
“Tell her.”
Gabriel hesitated.
Then he spoke.
“Marco didn't disappear.”
Marco's face tightened.
“What?”
“You were taken.”
“By Stefano?”
Gabriel nodded.
“But Stefano wasn't alone.”
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
“Who helped him?”
Gabriel looked at him.
“Your father.”
Silence.
I stared.
“No.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Your father made a deal.”
Alessandro's face became unreadable.
“What deal?”
“He traded Marco's life for yours.”
Alessandro didn't move.
“Explain.”
“Stefano threatened to kill you.”
Gabriel's voice weakened.
“Your father agreed to make Marco disappear.”
Marco looked devastated.
“My father betrayed me?”
“He thought he was saving Alessandro.”
I looked at Alessandro.
He seemed unable to process it.
Then Gabriel said:
“But the plan failed.”
“How?”
“Your mother discovered what happened.”
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
“She rescued Marco.”
“And took me with her.”
Marco stepped closer.
“Why did she leave me?”
“She didn't.”
Gabriel shook his head.
“Stefano found them.”
“What happened?”
“They separated.”
I felt tears burning my eyes.
“My mother?”
“She escaped with you.”
“Then why did I grow up believing she was dead?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“Because Stefano needed you to disappear.”
A terrible thought entered my mind.
“So my entire childhood…”
“Yes.”
“Was a lie.”
Gabriel didn't deny it.
Alessandro stepped toward me.
I pulled away.
He stopped immediately.
I didn't want comfort.
Not yet.
I wanted answers.
“Where is she?”
Gabriel reached inside his coat.
He pulled out a small photograph.
He handed it to me.
I looked.
My mother.
Older.
Standing outside a hospital.
Holding a newborn baby.
My breath caught.
“That baby…”
Gabriel nodded.
“Your child.”
I stared at him.
“What?”
“The photograph was taken two weeks ago.”
My hands began shaking.
“That's impossible.”
“No.”
Gabriel pointed at the hospital.
“Your mother has been watching you.”
My heart stopped.
“Watching me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
“Then why didn't she contact me?”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“Because Stefano knows where she is.”
A phone rang.
Alessandro answered.
“Matteo.”
The voice on the other end spoke rapidly.
Alessandro's face changed.
“What?”
He listened.
Then:
“Are you sure?”
He hung up.
I stared at him.
“What?”
He looked at me.
“The hospital in the photograph has been abandoned for eleven years.”
My blood ran cold.
Gabriel whispered:
“That's because it was never a hospital.”
“What was it?”
“A safe house.”
“For whom?”
Gabriel looked at me.
“For your mother.”
Alessandro's phone rang again.
This time, the caller ID was blocked.
He answered.
A woman's voice came through.
Soft.
Shaking.
“Alessandro.”
He froze.
I watched his expression change.
The voice continued.
“Don't let Elizabeth come looking for me.”
My heart stopped.
I whispered:
“Mom?”
Silence.
Then the woman said:
“I'm sorry.”
The line went dead.
I reached for the phone.
“Call her back.”
Alessandro stared at the screen.
“There's no number.”
I grabbed his arm.
“She called you.”
“I know.”
“Then find her.”
“I will.”
I looked at him.
“And this time…”
My voice hardened.
“…don't ask me to stay behind.”
He nodded.
“I won't.”
Outside, thunder rolled over Chicago.
And somewhere in the city, my mother was alive.
May you like
But someone had just warned us not to find her.
Which meant we were already too close.
