Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
Lily couldn't breathe.
"My mother died."
The intruder smiled.
"That's what they wanted you to believe."
Roman signaled Arthur.
"Take him downstairs."
The man was dragged away.
Lily stood frozen.
Ava held her hand.
Roman looked at her.
"Don't build hope from the words of a criminal."
"But what if he's telling the truth?"
"Then we'll verify it."
"How?"
"With evidence."
For the next forty-eight hours, Roman's organization dug through old records.
Hospital files.
Death certificates.
Funeral records.
Burial documents.
Nothing made sense.
Anna Carter had a death certificate.
But there was no body.
The funeral home listed "private family arrangements."
No cemetery existed under her name.
Lily stared at the document.
"How did I never know?"
Roman answered gently.
"You were four."
"I should remember her."
"You were a child."
"I remember a blue dress."
Roman looked at her.
"What?"
"My mother wore blue."
"Anything else?"
"A song."
"Which one?"
Lily hummed a few notes.
Arthur went still.
"I know that song."
She turned.
"How?"
"It's an old Sicilian lullaby."
Roman looked surprised.
"My mother sang it to Ava."
Lily's eyes widened.
"Why would my mother know it?"
No one knew.
That same evening, Roman received a call.
He walked into the study.
Lily followed.
A woman was on the phone.
Roman put it on speaker.
"Who is this?"
The woman's voice was older.
"Tomasina Russo."
Lily recognized the name.
Mrs. Russo.
"You worked for my mother?"
Tomasina answered:
"Yes."
Lily's heart raced.
"Tell me everything."
"I can't over the phone."
"Why?"
"Because Anna Carter is alive."
Silence.
Lily grabbed the table.
Roman asked:
"Where is she?"
"Safe."
"Where?"
"She will tell you herself."
"How soon?"
"Tomorrow."
The call ended.
Lily cried.
Not because she knew it was true.
Because she wanted it to be.
The next afternoon, Roman drove her to a small church outside Providence.
Tomasina waited inside.
She was crying before Lily even reached her.
"Your mother loved you."
Lily collapsed into her arms.
"Where is she?"
Tomasina led them downstairs.
A woman sat in a wheelchair.
Her hair was mostly gray.
Her face was thinner.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
Lily stopped.
The woman began crying.
"Lily."
One word.
That's all it took.
Lily ran to her.
"Mom."
Anna reached for her.
"My baby."
Lily fell into her arms.
She cried for everything.
For every birthday.
Every Christmas.
Every night she had believed nobody had chosen her.
Anna held her as though trying to recover twenty years in one embrace.
"I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"I thought leaving you would save you."
"From who?"
"From the DeLucas."
Roman stood behind Lily.
His expression was unreadable.
Anna looked at him.
"Roman."
"Mrs. Carter."
"I knew your father."
Roman stiffened.
"My father?"
"Yes."
Anna nodded.
"He tried to protect us."
"From what?"
"From the people controlling the family."
She looked at Lily.
"Someone inside the DeLuca organization sold information."
Roman's jaw tightened.
"Who?"
Anna shook her head.
"I never knew."
Lily asked:
"Why was I taken?"
Anna's expression broke.
"Because you weren't the child they wanted."
Lily frowned.
"What?"
"The second baby."
Anna looked at Tomasina.
"Your sister was the one they were looking for."
Lily froze.
"My sister is alive."
"Yes."
"Where?"
Anna took her hand.
"She has been living under another name."
Roman stepped forward.
"What name?"
Anna shook her head.
"I don't know."
Lily felt hope and fear collide.
Then Anna said:
"She's closer than you think."
That evening, Roman received another message.
A photograph.
A young nurse standing outside a clinic.
Underneath it:
She knows who she is now.
Arthur traced the photo.
Boston.
Lily stared.
"That's her."
"How do you know?"
"Because I dreamed about her."
Roman looked at her.
Then his phone rang.
He listened.
His face changed.
"What?"
Arthur asked.
Roman ended the call.
"The clinic has been attacked."
Lily's blood ran cold.
"Is she alive?"
"We don't know."
Roman grabbed his coat.
"I'm coming."
"I'm coming too."
"No."
"You said together."
He stopped.
Then nodded.
"Together."
They arrived at the clinic after midnight.
Police lights painted the street red and blue.
The front windows were broken.
Inside, a nurse lay injured.
Lily rushed over.
"Where is the young woman?"
The nurse looked up.
"Lena."
Lily's heart stopped.
"Where?"
"She ran."
"From who?"
The nurse whispered:
"Men looking for the Ledger."
Roman looked at Lily.
The mystery had just become larger.
"What ledger?"
The nurse pointed toward a bloodstained box.
Inside was an old photograph.
Anna.
A baby.
May you like
And a name.
LENA CARTER.
