Chapter 2 - Alessandro Returned the Empty Envelope to Me and Revealed That the Bank Withdrawal Happened While He Was Still Sitting Inside My DinerI didn't sleep that night.
Alessandro's words kept circling in my head.
Someone may have noticed your daughter.
I watched Emma sleeping.
She had no idea what had happened.
She had no idea the money she returned belonged to a man whose name frightened half the city.
She had no idea the envelope carried evidence.
And she certainly had no idea someone might have been watching her.
The next morning, I drove to Rosa's early.
Alessandro was already there.
He sat in the same booth.
Same coffee.
Same black coat.
But this time, two men stood outside.
I approached.
“Why are you here so early?”
“I have a question.”
“You said that last night.”
“This one matters more.”
He slid a photograph across the table.
It was the diner.
From across the street.
A black sedan.
A man standing beside it.
And me walking toward Emma.
I looked closer.
The man was wearing a dark baseball cap.
“Who is he?”
“I don't know.”
“He appears in seven other photographs.”
He placed them in a row.
Me leaving work.
Emma entering school.
My mother being taken to dialysis.
Our apartment building.
Every picture taken from a distance.
I felt sick.
“Who took these?”
“We haven't identified the photographer.”
“Then why show me?”
“Because he was there the night you found the envelope.”
My heart began racing.
Alessandro pointed.
“This photograph was taken at 8:42 p.m.”
The envelope had been left at 8:35.
“Seven minutes.”
He nodded.
“And this one was taken at 8:51.”
Emma was running after his car.
I stared.
The photographer had been waiting.
Then another image.
Me talking to Alessandro.
Another.
Emma handing him the envelope.
Then another.
The man was gone.
“Why?”
Alessandro's answer was quiet.
“Because he got what he wanted.”
“What?”
“Proof that I would interact with you.”
I stared.
He didn't explain.
“Why does that matter?”
“Because some people think you're my weakness.”
I almost laughed.
“I barely know you.”
“They don't care.”
He folded the pictures.
“They care what I care about.”
“Why would anyone think I matter?”
“Because my life is full of people who assume kindness is weakness.”
I looked at him.
“Do you?”
“No.”
He answered too quickly.
That surprised me.
Then he reached into his coat.
He pulled out another document.
The bank authorization.
“Look at the timestamp.”
I read it.
8:43 p.m.
Exactly one minute after the photograph of the man watching us.
My stomach tightened.
“The money was withdrawn while you were still here.”
“Yes.”
“I don't understand.”
“Neither do I.”
He tapped the document.
“The authorization came from an account that was physically inside this diner.”
“What?”
He handed me another page.
A location report.
The transaction had been authenticated using a device located inside the restaurant.
I looked toward the booths.
“Someone here?”
“Yes.”
“An employee?”
“Possibly.”
I looked at the kitchen.
Rosa.
Carlos.
Jenna.
People I knew.
People I trusted.
Then Alessandro said:
“One of them is lying.”
I felt cold.
“Who?”
“That's what I'm trying to find out.”
He stood.
“I need the original security footage.”
“You can get that.”
“Yes.”
“Then why ask me?”
“Because the person who deleted the footage used the manager's credentials.”
I stared.
“That could be anyone.”
“No.”
He turned toward the kitchen.
“Not everyone had access.”
I followed his gaze.
Rosa's son, Daniel, was the assistant manager.
Daniel had been working here for six years.
He knew everything.
He was the person who handled cash.
He also knew Emma.
I couldn't believe it.
“You suspect Daniel?”
“I suspect everyone.”
I hated that answer.
“Can I ask why you trust me?”
Alessandro looked at me.
“I don't.”
My stomach dropped.
He continued:
“I trust what your daughter did.”
That hurt more than it should have.
“You think I'm involved?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“I think someone may have used you without your knowledge.”
He lowered his voice.
“And if I'm right, they chose you because nobody would suspect a single mother working in a diner.”
I felt exposed.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
“Tell Moretti to stop digging.”
My blood froze.
“Who is this?”
“Your daughter is honest.”
The voice laughed.
“Children make dangerous mistakes.”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Alessandro had heard everything.
His expression changed.
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
“Please.”
I handed it to him.
He studied the number.
“Blocked.”
“Can you trace it?”
“Yes.”
He looked at me.
“Go home.”
“No.”
“You need to.”
“My daughter is there.”
“I know.”
“That means I have to be there.”
He paused.
Then nodded.
“I'll take you.”
I shook my head.
“People already watch me because of you.”
“They watch you because of me whether you like it or not.”
I didn't want to hear that.
But I knew he was right.
He walked outside.
I followed.
As we reached the car, he stopped.
“Your daughter needs protection.”
“From who?”
“Anyone who knows about the envelope.”
I looked at him.
“Does that include you?”
He smiled faintly.
“Unfortunately.”
Then he opened the car door.
And for the first time, I realized something.
My life had changed the moment Emma returned that envelope.
May you like
But I wasn't sure whether Alessandro Moretti was bringing danger into our lives...
or whether he'd arrived because the danger was already there.
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