Chapter 2
Domenico stared at Valentina as though the woman standing in front of him had become a stranger.
For six years, she had slept beside him.
Sat across from him at breakfast.
Kissed him before business trips.
Raised a glass every year on Elena’s birthday and told Ruby that her mother had been “a beautiful woman.”
Now she was saying she had been at the crash.
Domenico walked toward her.
“Say that again.”
Valentina’s lips trembled.
“I was there.”
Ruby made a small sound.
Domenico immediately looked at his daughter.
Her face had gone completely white.
He stepped between Ruby and Valentina.
“Take Ruby to my study.”
“No,” Ruby said.
“Ruby.”
“I want to hear.”
“You shouldn’t have to.”
“She was my mom.”
Those four words stopped him.
Ruby wiped tears from her cheeks.
“You always tell everyone not to treat me like a baby.”
Domenico’s jaw tightened.
She was right.
And he hated that she had to be.
He nodded toward the security chief.
“Stay beside her.”
Then he looked at Valentina.
“Start talking.”
Valentina sat on the edge of a terrace chair.
Marcus stood several feet away.
Nobody trusted anyone enough to move closer.
“It happened six years ago,” Valentina said. “I wasn’t your wife. I barely knew you.”
“You worked for the foundation.”
“Yes.”
Domenico remembered.
Valentina had handled donor events for the Vittori Family Foundation.
He had met her twice while Elena was alive.
Nothing more.
“Why were you at the crash?”
Valentina looked at Marcus.
Marcus shook his head.
“Don’t.”
Domenico turned to him.
“That was the wrong word.”
Marcus looked away.
Valentina continued.
“Marcus called me.”
Domenico’s eyes narrowed.
“Why?”
“He said he needed help.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“I didn’t cause the crash.”
“Then explain what you were doing there.”
Marcus’s shoulders fell.
“I was driving behind Elena.”
Ruby began crying silently.
Domenico felt rage pushing behind his ribs, but he forced himself not to move.
“Why?”
Marcus looked at the floor.
“Someone paid me to follow her.”
“Who?”
“I never met them.”
Domenico laughed once.
There was no humor in it.
“You expect that to save you?”
“No.”
Marcus looked up.
“I was broke. I owed money. A man contacted me through a private courier. He gave me ten thousand dollars to follow Elena from the foundation gala and report where she went.”
“What happened?”
“She left alone. I followed. About fifteen miles outside the city, her brake lights flashed. She swerved. Hit the barrier. The car rolled down the embankment.”
Domenico’s hands curled into fists.
“And you called Valentina.”
“I panicked.”
“You called your sister before emergency services?”
Marcus did not answer.
That was an answer.
Ruby looked at him with horror.
Valentina spoke quickly.
“I called emergency services while driving there.”
“Records?”
“The call was anonymous.”
“Why?”
“Marcus begged me.”
Domenico stepped closer.
“Then what did you see?”
Valentina closed her eyes.
“When I arrived, Elena’s car was upside down. Marcus was standing near the road. I heard Elena screaming.”
Ruby covered her mouth.
Domenico almost told Valentina to stop.
But Ruby lowered her hands.
“Keep going.”
Valentina looked at the child she had spent months treating like an inconvenience.
Something in her expression cracked.
“There was another car.”
Domenico’s voice turned cold.
“What kind?”
“Dark sedan. Expensive. I didn’t see the license plate.”
“Who was there?”
“A person was climbing back up from Elena’s car.”
“Man or woman?”
Valentina hesitated.
“Woman.”
Domenico’s skin went cold.
Ruby’s eyes widened.
“Who?”
“I only saw her from behind.”
“Hair?”
“Dark.”
“Height?”
“About my height.”
“What did she do?”
“She got into the sedan.”
“And left?”
“Yes.”
“Did Elena say anything?”
Valentina began crying harder.
“She was conscious.”
Domenico felt the world narrowing.
“What did she say?”
“She kept saying one name.”
Ruby stepped forward.
“What name?”
Valentina looked at Domenico.
“Sofia.”
Domenico did not react.
Not immediately.
His mind rejected it.
Sofia was his younger sister.
Ruby’s godmother.
The person who brought Ruby ice cream when she had pneumonia.
The person who had slept on Domenico’s couch for three weeks after Elena died because he could not function.
The person who had organized Elena’s funeral.
“No,” he said.
Valentina wiped her face.
“I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”
“You said you saw the woman from behind.”
“I did.”
“So Elena saying Sofia’s name proves nothing.”
“No.”
“Then why hide this for six years?”
“Because Marcus was involved.”
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Val—”
“Because I was scared!”
She shouted it.
Everyone fell silent.
Valentina stood.
“I was twenty-nine. I had no money. Marcus had debts. The Vittori family owned half the city, and Elena Vittori was dying in a ditch while someone powerful drove away. What was I supposed to do?”
“Call the police.”
“I did.”
“Tell them what you saw.”
“And send my brother to prison?”
“Yes.”
Valentina stared at him.
“You say that now because it wasn’t your brother.”
Domenico’s face hardened.
“If my brother left my wife dying in a car, I would have driven him to the police station myself.”
Marcus flinched.
Domenico looked at him.
“And if he tried to run, I would have dragged him there.”
Ruby suddenly spoke.
“Did Mom die before the ambulance came?”
Nobody answered.
She looked at Valentina.
“Tell me.”
Valentina whispered, “No.”
Ruby’s face collapsed.
Domenico reached for her.
She stepped away.
“Why did Dad tell me she died right away?”
“Because that’s what I was told,” Domenico said.
Ruby looked at him.
“You never checked?”
The question hurt more than Marcus’s punch ever could have.
Domenico had accepted the report.
He had accepted the police statement.
He had accepted the family attorney’s reassurance.
He had been grieving.
Everyone said there was nothing he could have done.
Now that phrase sounded different.
Like permission to stop asking questions.
Domenico looked at security.
“Get the original crash investigation.”
“Tonight?”
“Now.”
The chief nodded and left.
Domenico turned to Valentina.
“You received messages from someone who knew what happened.”
“Yes.”
“And instead of coming to me, you terrorized Ruby.”
Valentina’s expression hardened defensively.
“They threatened to tell you I had been there.”
“So?”
“So you would leave me.”
Domenico stared at her.
“You hurt my child to protect your marriage.”
“I panicked.”
“You packed her room.”
“I thought if she left for boarding school for a few months—”
“Storage room.”
Valentina stopped.
Domenico stepped closer.
“You said she could sleep in a storage room.”
Valentina’s eyes dropped.
“There is no excuse for that.”
“No.”
Domenico pointed toward the gates.
“You are still leaving.”
Valentina nodded slowly.
“But not yet.”
She looked up.
“What?”
“You’re a witness.”
“So I’m a prisoner?”
“No. You’re protected.”
She laughed bitterly.
“From Sofia?”
“From whoever is doing this.”
Marcus rubbed his jaw.
“What about me?”
Domenico looked at him.
“You’re lucky I need answers more than I need revenge.”
Marcus did not ask again.
Ruby walked to the table and placed Elena’s photograph down.
“Aunt Sofia gave me the letter.”
Domenico looked at her.
“Yes.”
“She knew about the key.”
“Yes.”
“Why would she give it to me if she wanted it?”
That question landed heavily.
Domenico had been thinking the same thing.
Maybe Sofia was guilty.
Or maybe somebody wanted them to believe she was.
Valentina frowned.
“What exactly did Sofia say when she gave you the letter?”
Ruby thought.
“She said, ‘Your mother made me promise.’”
“Anything else?”
“She told me not to tell Dad.”
Domenico looked sharply at her.
“Why?”
“She said you would destroy it.”
Domenico’s chest tightened.
“Why would she say that?”
Ruby shrugged through tears.
“She said Mom was afraid you would choose the family.”
The same accusation.
Again.
The one Elena had made before her death.
Domenico turned away.
His father, Carlo Vittori, had controlled everything.
The family business.
The family foundation.
His children.
Even after death, the old man’s influence seemed to be reaching from the grave.
The security chief returned carrying a tablet.
“Sir.”
“What?”
“The crash report has been altered.”
Domenico stared at him.
“How?”
“The archived police file lists Elena as deceased at the scene.”
“I know.”
“But the emergency dispatch log says paramedics transported one female patient alive.”
Ruby sucked in a breath.
Domenico took the tablet.
The timestamps were clear.
Accident reported: 11:42 p.m.
Ambulance arrived: 11:57 p.m.
Patient transported: 12:14 a.m.
Hospital arrival: 12:32 a.m.
Domenico scrolled.
“What hospital?”
The line was blank.
“Missing,” the security chief said.
“What happened after she arrived?”
“We don’t know.”
Domenico looked at Valentina.
“You said she survived the crash.”
“Yes.”
“Then where did she die?”
“I don’t know.”
Domenico’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone froze.
He answered.
“Domenico Vittori.”
For three seconds, there was silence.
Then a distorted voice spoke.
“You should have let your wife leave.”
Domenico’s eyes moved toward the dark grounds.
“Who is this?”
“You have the key.”
“What does it open?”
“You already know.”
“Where is Elena’s letter?”
A quiet laugh.
“Still asking the wrong question.”
“What question should I ask?”
“Ask why your sister gave Ruby the key now.”
The line disconnected.
Domenico called back.
No number.
Marcus swore.
Valentina looked terrified.
Ruby stared toward the mansion.
Domenico crouched beside her.
“Ruby, did Sofia know you were being moved out of your room tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you tell her Valentina was packing your things?”
Ruby nodded.
“This afternoon.”
Domenico’s heart dropped.
“What did she say?”
“She said not to worry.”
“Anything else?”
Ruby looked confused.
“She said everything would finally happen the way Mom planned.”
Domenico stood.
“Call Sofia.”
The security chief dialed.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
They tried her house.
Her staff reported she had left two hours earlier.
Destination unknown.
Domenico looked at the brass key in his palm.
“Ruby. Do you remember the address from the letter?”
She nodded.
“It wasn’t a normal address.”
“What was it?”
“Mom wrote, ‘Where the lions face the river.’”
Marcus frowned.
“That means nothing.”
Domenico did not answer.
Because he knew exactly what it meant.
His father had owned an abandoned private bank downtown.
Built in 1928.
Two stone lions guarded the entrance.
Their faces pointed east.
Toward the river.
Carlo Vittori’s private vault.
Domenico looked at security.
“Get the cars.”
Valentina grabbed his arm.
“You can’t go there.”
He pulled free.
“I’m done letting other people decide what I’m allowed to know.”
Ruby stepped forward.
“I’m coming.”
“No.”
“The key was left to me.”
“Ruby.”
“It’s mine.”
Domenico looked at his daughter.
For six years he had believed protecting her meant keeping ugly things away from her.
Tonight had taught him something brutal.
Secrets had not protected Ruby.
They had left her defenseless.
He nodded.
“You stay beside me.”
Valentina stood.
“I’m coming too.”
“No.”
“I know what Elena looked like that night. If there are photographs, documents, anything from the crash, you may need me.”
Domenico hated that she was right.
Marcus moved toward the cars.
A guard blocked him.
Marcus raised his hands.
“I followed Elena to the crash. If that vault contains the reason, I’m going.”
Domenico stared at him.
“You don’t leave my sight.”
They drove downtown with two security vehicles surrounding them.
Ruby sat beside Domenico.
The brass key remained clenched inside his fist.
At 1:07 a.m., they stopped before the old Vittori Trust Building.
The stone lions were still there.
Dust coated the front doors.
The property had been closed since Carlo’s death.
The security chief cut the old chain.
They entered.
Their flashlights crossed marble walls and abandoned teller cages.
At the rear stood an antique elevator.
Domenico pressed the basement button.
Nothing.
Ruby pointed toward a keyhole beneath it.
The brass key fit perfectly.
The elevator groaned awake.
They descended.
One floor.
Two.
Three.
Marcus frowned.
“This building only has one basement.”
Domenico looked at him.
“Apparently not.”
The doors opened.
A narrow corridor stretched ahead.
At the end stood a steel vault door.
No keypad.
Only another brass keyhole.
Ruby looked at Domenico.
He handed her the key.
“It was left to you.”
Her fingers trembled.
She inserted it.
Turned.
A mechanical sound echoed through the underground chamber.
The vault unlocked.
Domenico pulled the heavy door open.
The lights inside came on automatically.
Shelves lined the walls.
Boxes.
Files.
Old photographs.
And one wooden table.
On the table sat a small tape recorder.
Beside it was a sealed envelope.
Written across the front in Elena’s handwriting were six words.
DOMENICO — IF RUBY FOUND THIS, I FAILED.
Ruby began crying.
Domenico reached for the envelope.
A red light suddenly blinked on the ceiling.
The security chief looked upward.
“What is that?”
Marcus backed toward the door.
Domenico tore open the envelope.
Inside was only one photograph.
Elena.
Standing beside Carlo Vittori.
The photograph had been taken years after Carlo was supposedly dead.
On the back, Elena had written a date.
Three months before her own crash.
Valentina stared at it.
“That’s impossible.”
Domenico felt his knees weaken.
His father had died twelve years ago.
At least that was what Domenico had believed.
The tape recorder clicked.
Nobody had touched it.
Elena’s voice filled the vault.
“If you’re hearing this, Carlo knows I found him.”
Ruby grabbed Domenico’s arm.
May you like
Then Elena said the sentence nobody in the room was prepared to hear.
“And Domenico, your father is not the only dead Vittori who is still alive.”
