Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WITH THE SILVER SWALLOW
Alessandro stared at the young woman in the red coat.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then he turned toward Vincent.
“You recognized her.”
Vincent nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
“From where?”
“Mercy House.”
Alessandro's expression hardened.
“You told me you didn't know where Isabella was.”
“I didn't know where she was now.”
“But you've seen her.”
Vincent looked at the photograph.
“Three years ago.”
Alessandro took a step toward him.
“Tell me.”
Vincent swallowed.
“She came to my office asking about Matteo Bellini.”
I looked up.
“Grandpa?”
Vincent nodded.
“She said she had grown up hearing that he was her father. But nobody would tell her what happened to him.”
Alessandro's face changed.
“Did you tell her?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because Dominic was still watching her.”
Alessandro laughed bitterly.
“Twenty years, Vincent. Twenty years of protecting yourself by calling it protection for someone else.”
Vincent lowered his eyes.
“I know.”
Alessandro turned to Carlo.
“Find out how she became involved with Alina.”
Carlo nodded.
“And the depot?”
“Call Detective Hannah Pierce. Tell her a woman has been abducted and we have a location. I want the police there before anyone starts another war.”
Carlo glanced at him.
“Don, Dominic won't surrender.”
“Then he can explain himself to the police.”
I stared at Alessandro.
The cooks downstairs always whispered that he solved problems with violence.
But he wasn't reaching for a gun.
He was reaching for the photograph.
He studied Mama's face.
Then he looked at me.
“Sophia, your mother was trying to protect someone.”
“Who?”
He touched the picture of Isabella.
“This woman.”
“Is she family?”
Alessandro looked at me for a long moment.
“Yes.”
“Mine?”
His expression softened.
“I think so.”
I looked at the woman in the red coat.
She had dark hair like Mama.
But her face was different.
She looked scared.
“Is she my aunt?”
Alessandro nodded.
“Your great-aunt, in a way. She's your grandfather's daughter, so she'd be your mother's half-sister.”
I tried to understand.
Family trees were hard enough at school.
This one was impossible.
“Can she come to Christmas?” I asked.
Alessandro closed his eyes.
A small smile touched his face.
“I hope so.”
Mrs. Russo began crying again.
This time, I thought they might be happy tears.
Then Vincent spoke.
“Alessandro, Dominic didn't take Alina because of Isabella.”
Everyone turned.
“He took her because of the ledger.”
Alessandro's smile disappeared.
“What ledger?”
“The original shipping ledger Lucia found.”
“Where is it?”
Vincent looked toward the wooden swallow.
“Matteo hid the location.”
Alessandro stared at the bird.
“We already opened both compartments.”
“Yes.”
“Then where?”
Vincent pointed to the cracked wing.
“The brass pin isn't a repair.”
Alessandro took the swallow from me.
He examined the pin.
Then he carefully twisted it.
A narrow metal cylinder slid out.
Inside was a tiny roll of paper.
He unfolded it.
Numbers.
Dates.
Names.
Not the whole ledger.
A list of transactions.
At the bottom were the words:
The original rests where Lucia waited.
Alessandro looked up.
“Union Station.”
Vincent nodded.
“The clock.”
I remembered Mama's story.
The bird lady waited at the train station.
The man she loved never came.
Alessandro turned to Carlo.
“Send someone to the clock at Union Station. Don't remove anything until Detective Pierce arrives.”
Carlo nodded.
Alessandro looked at the list.
Then his expression changed.
“These payments continued after Lucia died.”
Vincent remained silent.
“Seventeen years,” Alessandro whispered. “Dominic kept taking money from people after he supposedly retired.”
He scanned another line.
Then stopped.
“Bella Vista.”
Mrs. Russo looked up.
“What?”
Alessandro's face darkened.
“The restaurant.”
He turned the paper.
“Money was transferred through accounts connected to Bella Vista.”
Mrs. Russo stepped backward.
“No.”
Vincent shook his head.
“She didn't know.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“Who?”
“Mrs. Russo.”
The old woman gripped the counter.
“Of course I didn't know.”
Vincent continued.
“Dominic used the restaurant after your father died. He hid the transfers among supplier payments.”
Alessandro stared at Mrs. Russo.
She looked devastated.
“I've worked here for thirty-one years,” she whispered. “I fed your father when he couldn't lift a spoon. I held Lucia's hand when she was sixteen and heartbroken. I would never—”
Alessandro crossed the room.
He took both her hands.
“I know.”
Mrs. Russo began crying.
He held her until she could breathe.
Then he turned back to Vincent.
“And Alina found those payments?”
Vincent nodded.
“Six weeks ago.”
“That's why she came to you.”
“Yes.”
“She wanted proof.”
“She wanted to clear Matteo's name.”
Alessandro looked at the photograph.
“And protect Isabella.”
Vincent nodded again.
“Dominic found out.”
Carlo's phone vibrated.
He answered, listened, and went still.
“Don.”
Alessandro turned.
“What?”
“Detective Pierce is at the depot.”
My heart jumped.
“Did she find Mama?”
Carlo listened again.
His face grew tense.
“She found the black car.”
“And?”
“The building is empty.”
I started shaking.
Alessandro knelt beside me.
“Sophia, look at me.”
I couldn't.
I was staring at the photograph.
At Mama's green coat.
At her tied hands.
I wanted my bed.
My yellow blanket.
Her voice singing while she brushed her hair.
Then Carlo spoke again.
“There's blood on the floor.”
Mrs. Russo gasped.
Alessandro stood.
“Whose?”
“Unknown.”
Carlo listened.
Then his expression changed.
“Wait.”
“What?”
“They found something else.”
A pause.
“A scarf.”
My chest tightened.
“Red?” I whispered.
Carlo looked at me.
“Yes.”
“With little white dots?”
He nodded.
“Mama's.”
Alessandro placed a steady hand on my shoulder.
“Was there anything written nearby?” he asked Carlo.
Carlo listened.
Then slowly repeated the detective's words.
“There are three words painted on the depot wall.”
Alessandro's face hardened.
“What words?”
Carlo looked at Vincent.
May you like
Then at me.
“ASK THE CHILD.”
