Chapter 5: The Little Boy in the Locked Room
Ricardo ran.
I'd never seen a man move so quickly.
He charged up the basement stairs, shouting into his phone.
“Dante! Get to Leo's room! Nobody leaves that floor!””
I followed, clutching the folder against my chest.
Behind us, Marco struggled to his feet.
“Boss, wait!””
Ricardo didn't turn.
We reached the second floor.
Leo's bedroom door stood open.
The curtains were moving in the cold night air.
His favorite stuffed bear lay on the carpet.
But the bed was empty.
“LEO!””
Ricardo searched beneath the bed, behind the curtains, and inside the adjoining bathroom.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something.
A small red toy car sat on the windowsill.
Leo never left that car anywhere.
Ricardo picked it up.
“Someone brought him here.””
I examined the window.
There were muddy fingerprints on the frame.
“Someone climbed in from outside.””
Ricardo looked down at the garden.
A black vehicle was parked beside the eastern wall.
Its headlights switched on.
“Dante!””
A guard appeared at the doorway.
“Boss?””
“Get the cars ready. Someone took my son.””
Dante looked toward the open window.
Then he lowered his eyes.
“Boss, I need to tell you something.””
Ricardo grabbed his jacket.
“Not now.””
“It's about the security cameras.””
Ricardo stopped.
“What about them?””
“They were disabled from inside the control room.””
“Who has access?””
Dante hesitated.
“Only you, Antonio, and the administrator.””
“Who is the administrator?””
Dante swallowed.
“Your mother.””
Silence.
Ricardo slowly released his jacket.
“My mother has been dead for eleven years.””
Dante nodded.
“That's what the records say.””
My skin prickled.
I remembered the photograph in the basement.
Two daughters. One son.
Three families destroyed to keep them apart.
“What if the records are wrong?”” I whispered.
Ricardo looked at me.
Before he could answer, my phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
A video had arrived.
I opened it.
Leo was sitting in a wooden chair, holding his stuffed bear. His cheeks were wet, and his little shoes dangled above the floor.
A woman stood behind him.
She wore a cream-colored blouse and a gold bracelet.
I couldn't see her face.
Then she spoke.
“Hello, Clara.””
My breath caught.
I knew that voice.
I'd heard it in old family videos. I'd heard it in the last voicemail my father left before his accident.
It was my mother's voice.
The woman stepped into the light.
Her face was older, but unmistakable.
“Mom?”” I whispered.
Ricardo took the phone from my hand.
The woman smiled.
“Ricardo, if you want your son back, bring the original birth certificate to the old Moretti chapel. Come alone.””
Ricardo's eyes narrowed.
“Who is this?””
The woman tilted her head.
“Don't pretend you don't recognize me, darling.””
Then she looked directly into the camera.
“And Clara, sweetheart, I believe it's time you learned who your real mother is.””
The video ended.
I couldn't breathe.
My mother had supposedly died eighteen years ago.
I remembered her funeral. The closed casket. My father's trembling hands. Sarah holding me while I cried.
But the woman in that video had the same small scar above her left eyebrow.
The same voice.
The same smile.
Ricardo handed me the phone.
“Do you know where the chapel is?””
I nodded slowly.
“My father took Sarah and me there once. Before everything happened.””
Ricardo called Dante.
“Prepare two cars.””
Dante nodded.
I caught Ricardo's arm.
“Wait. The woman in the video said to come alone.””
“I'm not leaving you here.””
“She knows who I am. She specifically asked for me.””
Ricardo studied my face.
“Then we're both going.””
We hurried downstairs.
Antonio was still on the floor, guarded by two men. Sarah sat against the wall, her wrists finally free.
I showed her the video.
Her face turned white.
“Where did you get that?””
“Who is she?””
Sarah stared at the screen.
Then she whispered, “Our mother.””
I grabbed her shoulders.
“You knew?””
Sarah started crying.
“She contacted me before the explosion. She told me not to trust Father.””
“Which father?””
Sarah looked toward Ricardo.
“Clara, there's something I've never told you.””
“What?””
“Your father wasn't the man who raised you.””
I stepped backward.
She continued.
“Daniel Vance adopted you when you were six months old. Your biological father was a Moretti.””
Ricardo's expression changed.
“What?””
Sarah nodded.
“Your father, Ricardo. The old boss.””
I stared at her.
The photograph in the basement suddenly made horrible sense.
Ricardo looked at me as if the ground had disappeared beneath his feet.
“Are you saying we're related?””
Sarah shook her head.
“No. I'm saying Clara is the daughter of your father's second wife.””
Ricardo's voice dropped.
“That's impossible.””
Sarah looked toward the basement door.
“Antonio knows. That's why he wanted Leo. He wanted the only child who could inherit the entire Moretti bloodline.””
Then she leaned closer to me.
“But there's something worse.””
“What?””
Sarah looked directly into my eyes.
“Our mother didn't fake her death to escape the family.””
She swallowed.
“She faked it because she was hiding the identity of the person who ordered your father's murder.””
A gunshot suddenly rang out from the front entrance.
Dante shouted.
“BOSS! WE HAVE COMPANY!””
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And from the darkness outside, a woman's voice called:
“Bring me my daughters.””
