Chapter 5 - The Accident Was Never an AccidentValentina stood on the porch for eleven minutes before we opened the door.
During those eleven minutes, Thomas searched the security cameras for other vehicles.
Gabriel checked the tree line.
Rebecca moved Samuel to an interior room.
And I stood in the hallway, trying not to imagine what would happen if the woman who destroyed my marriage had come to finish destroying my life.
When Thomas finally unlocked the door, Valentina stepped inside slowly.
She looked different.
Her hair was pulled into a plain bun.
There was no jewelry except a simple gold bracelet.
Dark circles shadowed her eyes.
The confidence I remembered was gone.
She saw me.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she whispered, "Elena."
I wanted to slap her.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked, "How did you find me?"
She looked at Gabriel.
"Because somebody wanted me to."
"Who?"
"Vittorio."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"Explain."
Valentina held out the envelope.
"Three days ago, a courier delivered this to my apartment."
I didn't touch it.
Gabriel opened it carefully.
Inside was a photograph of Samuel.
It had been taken through the window of the pediatric clinic where I'd brought him for his last checkup.
My stomach twisted.
Underneath the photograph was a typed message.
BRING ELENA TO CHICAGO, OR THE BOY DISAPPEARS.
I pressed a hand against the wall.
Valentina watched me.
"I didn't know you had a son until that photograph arrived."
I looked up sharply.
"You were outside the hospital."
She shook her head.
"What?"
"Nico Bellini. The black SUV. You were sitting beside him."
Her face drained of color.
"Nico?"
"Don't pretend you don't know."
She sank into a chair.
"I was there to meet a witness."
"What witness?"
She glanced at Gabriel.
"Nico."
He went still.
Valentina rubbed her hands together.
"He contacted me because he believed I could help him reach Alessandro."
"Why you?"
"Because he thought Alessandro wouldn't listen to anybody else."
I laughed without humor.
"He listened to you when he stopped listening to his wife."
Valentina flinched.
Good.
I wanted her to feel a fraction of what I'd felt.
But she continued.
"Nico told me Vittorio was moving money through offshore companies to hire people for attacks. He said your car accident had been arranged."
I stared at her.
"Why didn't you tell Alessandro?"
"I tried."
"When?"
"Two days after I met Nico."
Gabriel frowned.
"What happened?"
"Vittorio intercepted the message. He threatened my brother."
She looked down.
"My younger brother, Daniel, had been working for one of the family's logistics firms. Vittorio had evidence connecting him to shipments he didn't understand."
I folded my arms.
"And you expect sympathy?"
"No."
Her answer was immediate.
"I don't expect sympathy from you, Elena. I don't deserve it."
The room fell quiet.
She looked directly at me.
"I knew Alessandro was married. I knew you loved him. And I still chose to become involved with him."
My throat tightened.
She continued.
"I told myself your marriage was already over. That you lived separate lives. That I wasn't taking anything he wanted to keep."
I said nothing.
"I was wrong."
"Yes," I whispered. "You were."
Valentina nodded.
"I won't ask you to forgive me."
"Good."
"But you need to understand what Vittorio is planning."
Gabriel sat across from her.
"Start at the beginning."
Valentina inhaled.
"Alessandro's legitimate holdings are worth several billion dollars. The restructuring he's been negotiating would remove the old family trust's control over certain subsidiaries."
"I know that," Gabriel said.
"Vittorio has been stealing from those companies for years. Once the restructuring is complete, independent auditors will find the missing money."
"So he needs Alessandro dead."
"Or discredited."
I looked up.
Valentina continued.
"Vittorio believes Alessandro's greatest vulnerability is his attachment to Elena. He used that once before."
My heart began racing.
"How?"
Valentina looked at me with unmistakable guilt.
"The accident."
I gripped the chair.
"Tell me."
"Vittorio ordered it."
"Why?"
"Because he'd learned Alessandro was considering leaving the criminal side of the business. He wanted to frighten him into believing his wife would be killed if he weakened the family."
I remembered the collision.
The truck.
The sound of glass breaking.
How Alessandro had arrived at the hospital pale and shaking.
He'd held me so tightly the nurse asked him to step back.
For weeks afterward, he barely slept.
His security measures became suffocating.
He refused to attend public events with me.
He began spending more time with Vittorio.
I had mistaken his fear for control.
Perhaps sometimes it was both.
Valentina spoke softly.
"Vittorio wanted Alessandro dependent on the family."
"And you?" I asked. "Where did you fit into it?"
She looked down.
"Vittorio encouraged our relationship."
My chest tightened.
"Encouraged?"
"He introduced us. Arranged business trips. Told me Alessandro's marriage was failing."
I stared at her.
"Did he pay you?"
Her eyes flashed.
"No."
"Then what did he promise?"
A long silence.
"Influence. Access. A place in the future organization."
I laughed.
"You sold yourself for a seat at the table."
Valentina accepted the accusation.
"At first, I thought I was making a smart decision."
"And later?"
"Later, I realized Vittorio wasn't building a partnership. He was isolating Alessandro from anyone who might persuade him to change."
I looked away.
Alessandro had betrayed me.
Nothing Valentina said changed that.
But it was becoming clear someone had been carefully exploiting every weakness in our marriage.
Gabriel leaned forward.
"Where's Nico's evidence?"
Valentina hesitated.
"He gave me a storage device. I copied the files."
"Where are they?"
"Hidden."
Thomas frowned.
"Why bring them to us instead of federal authorities?"
"Because some of the authorities are compromised."
Gabriel's expression darkened.
"Names?"
"One senior investigator. Two local officers. A state official."
Thomas looked at Gabriel.
"We'll need independent verification."
Valentina nodded.
"I know."
Then she looked at me.
"There's something else."
I braced myself.
"Say it."
"When Nico met me outside the hospital, he didn't know you were there."
I stared.
"Then why was he in North Carolina?"
"To meet a nurse who had treated a woman connected to Vittorio's financial network."
I felt confused.
"What woman?"
Valentina swallowed.
"Gabriel's sister."
Gabriel stood abruptly.
"What did you say?"
Valentina looked frightened.
"Your sister wasn't killed six years ago."
The room went silent.
Gabriel gripped the table.
"Don't lie to me."
"I'm not."
He moved closer.
"Where is she?"
Valentina's voice shook.
"She's alive. Or she was three months ago."
Gabriel looked as though someone had punched him.
"Where?"
"In a private care facility outside Richmond."
Thomas rose.
"What facility?"
Valentina gave him the name.
He immediately stepped into the study to make a call.
Gabriel stood frozen.
Six years.
Six years believing his sister was dead.
I recognized the expression on his face.
Hope was sometimes more frightening than grief.
Because grief could become familiar.
Hope could destroy you all over again.
Then Valentina looked toward the hallway.
"Is he here?"
My entire body stiffened.
"Who?"
"Your son."
"Don't."
She lowered her eyes.
"I'm sorry."
"You don't get to see him."
"I understand."
"You don't get to speak his name."
She nodded.
"And you certainly don't get to use him to win Alessandro back."
Her expression crumpled.
"I'm not trying to."
I stepped closer.
"Then why are you really here?"
She reached into her handbag.
Gabriel immediately moved.
"Slowly."
Valentina withdrew a small folded document.
She placed it on the table.
It was a laboratory report.
A paternity test.
I stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"Vittorio had it commissioned."
My blood went cold.
Samuel's name appeared near the top.
Alessandro's name appeared below it.
The report indicated a biological relationship consistent with father and son.
I had never consented to any such test.
Someone had taken Samuel's genetic information.
I felt physically ill.
"How?"
Valentina shook her head.
"I don't know. Possibly a discarded hospital specimen. It could also be falsified. But Vittorio believes the result."
Gabriel studied the document.
"When was it issued?"
"Six days ago."
I looked at the date.
Six days.
My son had been known to these people for less than a week.
And already they were treating him as a threat.
Valentina's voice became almost inaudible.
"Vittorio told me he doesn't intend to let Alessandro acknowledge the child."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because the moment Samuel is publicly recognized, the succession arrangement changes."
"Then we'll keep him hidden."
Valentina shook her head.
"That won't be enough anymore."
I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
"Why not?"
She looked toward the window.
"Because Vittorio's men aren't trying to find your son now."
I stared.
"They already know where he is."
At that moment, Thomas returned from the study.
His face had gone pale.
"Gabriel," he said. "I just spoke to someone at the facility in Richmond."
Gabriel turned.
"And?"
Thomas hesitated.
"Your sister is alive."
Gabriel closed his eyes.
"But," Thomas continued, "she isn't safe."
We all looked at him.
"Somebody signed her discharge paperwork yesterday."
"Who?" Gabriel demanded.
May you like
Thomas looked at Valentina.
"The person listed as her legal guardian is Vittorio Moretti."
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