Chapter 4 - THE BROTHER WHO DISAPPEARED
“Is he dead?”
Alessandro asked the question without raising his voice.
Daniel shook his head.
“We haven't found a body.”
“Then don't tell me what you think happened. Find my brother.”
I stood near the fireplace, holding the photograph of Elena.
Her handwriting seemed to burn through the paper.
THEY BOTH KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FATHER.
I had spent eleven months believing the Romano family was simply wealthy, dangerous, and complicated.
Now I was beginning to understand that its greatest danger might be inside its own walls.
Alessandro turned to Dr. Hale.
“Tell me about Elena's father.”
Hale looked uncomfortable.
“I didn't know him personally.”
“His name was Thomas Bell.”
“Yes.”
“He died in a warehouse accident.”
Hale slowly shook his head.
“That's what the report said.”
Alessandro stared.
“Another report?”
“I was a physician, Mr. Romano. I wasn't responsible for investigating his death.”
“But you know something.”
Hale hesitated.
“Elena believed her father's death was connected to a financial transaction.”
“What transaction?”
“I don't know.”
Alessandro's patience was disappearing.
He moved closer.
“Seven years ago, I buried my wife. Tonight, someone tried to harm my daughter. My brother has vanished, and you're standing in my study telling me every record I've trusted might be false.”
Hale looked directly at him.
“Then stop asking why I didn't understand everything. Ask why your uncle made certain nobody could.”
For a moment, I thought Alessandro might strike him.
Instead, he walked to the window.
Outside, the grounds were illuminated by security lights.
The engagement guests had finally been escorted away.
The mansion looked enormous and empty.
“Daniel,” Alessandro said, “I want Lily's room guarded by people who answer only to you.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And nobody leaves until we understand what happened.”
Hale took a breath.
“There's something else.”
Alessandro turned.
“The medical report Scarlett used came from a private records service. I recognize the letterhead.”
“What service?”
“Bellmont Clinical Archives.”
I remembered the brass key.
“Is that where the old clinic kept its records?”
Hale nodded.
“Some of them.”
Alessandro picked up the key.
“We're going there.”
I expected him to order me upstairs.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Claire, you've noticed things the rest of us missed.”
I didn't know what to say.
“I need someone who remembers what Lily says, not just what adults want to hear.”
“I'll help.”
He studied my face.
“You could lose your job by staying involved.”
I thought about my mother's medication.
Then I thought about Lily crying over a plate of cake.
“I was afraid of losing my job when Scarlett threatened me,” I admitted.
“But I'm more afraid of what happens if everyone stays quiet.”
Alessandro nodded.
“Then you're coming.”
Before we left, I checked on Lily.
She sat on the carpet with Giuseppe, coloring a picture of a house.
Her hands were still shaking slightly.
“Claire,” she said, “did I do something bad?”
My heart broke.
“No, sweetheart.”
“Scarlett said the party was ruined because of me.”
I sat beside her.
“The party was ruined because grown-ups made bad choices.”
“Daddy's mad.”
“He's frightened because he loves you.”
Lily looked down.
“Can he still marry Scarlett?”
I hesitated.
“That isn't something you need to worry about.”
She picked up a pink crayon.
“I don't want another mommy if she's mean.”
I gently touched her shoulder.
“You don't have to choose a mommy tonight.”
She leaned against me.
Then she showed me her drawing.
It was a picture of three women.
One wore a blue dress.
One had gray hair.
And one wore a white apron.
“Who's this?” I asked, pointing to the woman in blue.
“Mommy.”
“And this one?”
“Grandma.”
“And the one in the apron?”
“You.”
I swallowed.
Lily smiled faintly.
“You all keep me safe.”
I hugged her.
But when I stood, I noticed something unusual.
She had drawn a small red door beside the house.
“What's that?”
“Grandma's place.”
“Where?”
“The place with the blue windows.”
I remembered the old clinic photograph.
The building had blue window frames.
“Did Grandma take you there?”
Lily nodded.
“Once.”
“When?”
“When I was little.”
“Do you remember who was there?”
She frowned.
“A lady who cried.”
My stomach tightened.
“What lady?”
“I don't know.”
“Did she know you?”
Lily nodded again.
“She called me her little star.”
I stared at her.
According to Alessandro, Elena had called Lily that exact name.
My little star.
At the clinic, an hour later, I couldn't stop thinking about it.
The building stood behind a locked iron gate near the western suburbs.
Its blue window frames were faded.
The parking lot was empty.
Daniel entered first.
Inside, dusty furniture sat beneath white sheets.
The clinic had closed years earlier.
But the archives room remained locked.
The brass key fit perfectly.
Alessandro opened the door.
Shelves of labeled boxes filled the room.
Hale found the old patient index.
“Romano, Elena.”
He pulled out a thin folder.
Inside was a treatment record.
It confirmed that Elena had been admitted on April 10.
Eight days after her supposed death, she had been photographed outside the building.
But on April 18, her records stopped.
No discharge summary.
No transfer destination.
Nothing.
Alessandro flipped through the pages.
“Why?”
Hale pointed to the final entry.
“Her care was transferred to a private physician.”
“Who?”
“The signature is missing.”
I examined the page.
Someone had removed a section with a blade.
But underneath, the paper still showed an indentation.
I tilted it beneath the desk lamp.
There was a partial name.
M. Romano.
Alessandro stared.
“Matteo.”
Hale frowned.
“Or someone wanted you to believe it was Matteo.”
Before Alessandro could answer, Daniel called from the corridor.
“Sir, you need to see this.”
We followed him into a small examination room.
A coat hung on the back of a chair.
Dark gray wool.
A fresh bloodstain marked the sleeve.
Daniel held up a wallet.
Matteo's driver's license was inside.
Alessandro reached for it.
Then a weak voice came from behind a storage cabinet.
“Don't let Vittorio get the notebook.”
We turned.
Matteo Romano was sitting on the floor, clutching his injured shoulder.
He looked at his brother.
“Alessandro,” he whispered, “I didn't betray Elena.”
Alessandro knelt beside him.
“Then tell me who did.”
Matteo's eyes filled with tears.
“Your wife found proof that Vittorio stole something from her father.”
“What?”
Matteo swallowed.
“Not money.”
May you like
He reached inside his jacket and produced a small blue notebook.
“Your daughter.”
