Chapter 6 - The Collection of Lies
December 14 arrived.
The auction was held inside an old private club.
Hundreds of millions in art moved through the room.
Most buyers believed they were purchasing authenticity.
They weren't.
I entered beside Anthony.
I wore a black dress.
He wore black.
People stared.
Whispers followed.
The mafia boss and the art expert.
Nobody understood the connection.
The collection was displayed.
I examined each piece.
One by one.
Then I saw it.
A portrait attributed to a famous European master.
The signature was perfect.
The canvas was old.
The pigments were convincing.
But the shadows were wrong.
“Fake.”
Anthony looked at me.
“Certain?”
“Yes.”
I moved to the next.
“Fake.”
Third.
“Fake.”
Fourth.
Real.
Fifth.
Fake.
By the time I finished, twelve pieces were identified as fraudulent.
The room erupted.
Elias Moretti appeared at the entrance.
He smiled.
“Emma.”
My skin crawled.
Anthony moved in front of me.
Elias laughed.
“Still protecting her?”
“She doesn't need protection.”
“She always did.”
Anthony's eyes hardened.
Elias looked at me.
“You look like your mother.”
“You knew her.”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
He smiled.
“Dead.”
I stepped forward.
“You're lying.”
He shrugged.
“Maybe.”
Anthony grabbed his arm.
Elias whispered something.
Anthony's face changed.
“What?”
“I know where Sarah is.”
He released him.
“Where?”
“Come alone.”
“No.”
Elias laughed.
“You've always been predictable.”
Then he disappeared.
The auction collapsed.
Police arrived.
The gallery was raided.
The fake collection was seized.
But Elias escaped.
That night Anthony couldn't sleep.
I found him in the study.
“You should rest.”
“So should you.”
He looked at me.
“I found something.”
“What?”
He held out a photograph.
My mother.
Alive.
Taken two months earlier.
My knees nearly gave out.
“Where?”
“An old monastery in Vermont.”
“We go.”
He nodded.
But then he added,
“Elias knows we're coming.”
“Good.”
He looked at me.
“Why?”
“Because I'm tired of being afraid.”
The next morning, we drove north.
The monastery was empty.
We found my mother's belongings.
Her journals.
Her restoration tools.
And another recording.
My mother's voice.
“Emma, if you ever hear this, I need you to know I chose to disappear.”
I cried.
“I was being watched.”
“I knew they would use you.”
“I asked Anthony's grandmother to protect you.”
“But I was too late.”
She paused.
Then said,
“Your father did not sell you because he hated you.”
“He sold you because he believed money would save him.”
“That doesn't excuse him.”
“But I want you to understand.”
She loved you.
Or at least she believed she did.
The recording ended.
I sat on the floor.
Anthony sat beside me.
“I'm sorry.”
I leaned against him.
“She knew.”
“Yes.”
“She knew everything.”
“Yes.”
“I spent years thinking she abandoned me.”
Anthony took my hand.
“She was trying to protect you.”
“I know.”
Then footsteps sounded.
We turned.
A man stood in the doorway.
Elias.
He smiled.
“Beautiful reunion.”
Anthony stood.
“Where is Sarah?”
“Close.”
“Bring her.”
Elias shook his head.
“First, you give me the ledger.”
“What ledger?”
“The one your grandmother kept.”
Anthony frowned.
“What ledger?”
Elias looked at me.
“Your mother never told you.”
“Tell me.”
Elias smiled.
“The ledger contains every person who profited from the counterfeit network.”
“Names?”
“Names.”
“Why do you want it?”
“Because Anthony's family isn't innocent.”
I looked at Anthony.
Elias continued.
“Your grandfather started the operation.”
Silence.
Anthony's face went pale.
“That’s a lie.”
“Read the ledger.”
Elias threw a key onto the floor.
“The vault is beneath the old Ferrante chapel.”
Then he left.
Anthony stared at the key.
“My grandfather.”
I touched his shoulder.
“We find it.”
May you like
He nodded.
“We find the truth.”
