Chapter 10 - The Sister Who Carried My Mother's Secret
A woman stood outside the apartment door and whispered: "Alessandra... I finally found you." When Alessandra Ferraro opened the door, she discovered a familiar necklace hanging around the stranger's neck. But behind the necklace was a hidden message: "For the daughter I couldn't save." Alessandra realized the woman standing in front of her was the sister her mother had buried from the world.
I couldn't move.
My hand was still on the lock.
The woman's voice remained in my head.
Little sister.
Two words.
Two words that shouldn't have meant anything.
But they did.
Because my entire life...
I had been missing something.
Someone.
I slowly opened the door.
Matteo immediately stepped forward.
"Wait."
I looked back at him.
His eyes were serious.
Protective.
But this time, I didn't stop.
I needed to know.
I needed to see.
The door opened.
And there she was.
A woman standing in the hallway.
She looked around my age.
Maybe a little younger.
Dark blonde hair.
Tired eyes.
A small scar near her eyebrow.
She wasn't smiling.
She looked afraid.
Like she wasn't sure if I would close the door in her face.
For several seconds...
Neither of us spoke.
Then her eyes moved to Luca.
And tears appeared immediately.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
"Oh my God."
Her hand covered her mouth.
"He looks exactly like..."
She stopped herself.
I felt my chest tighten.
"Like who?"
The woman looked at me.
And I saw it.
The same sadness my mother carried.
The same feeling of someone who had spent years waiting.
"Like Isabella."
My breath stopped.
My mother's name.
Again.
But this time...
From someone who looked like she belonged to my family.
"Who are you?"
My voice barely came out.
The woman swallowed.
"My name is Sofia."
Everything around me became quiet.
Sofia.
The name from the recording.
The name I had heard for the first time only minutes ago.
My sister.
I should have felt happy.
I should have felt relieved.
But I didn't.
I felt scared.
Because every person who entered my life came with a secret.
A hidden past.
A reason they disappeared.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
The words came out colder than I intended.
Sofia nodded slowly.
"I expected you to say that."
She reached into her coat.
Matteo immediately moved.
But Sofia stopped.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
She pulled out a small necklace.
And I froze.
The same silver chain.
The same design.
The same symbol.
My mother's necklace.
But different.
A matching piece.
I touched mine.
My hands began shaking.
"You have one."
Sofia nodded.
"She gave it to me before she hid me."
I stared at her.
"Why?"
Sofia looked down.
"Because she knew someone would come looking for us."
My heart sank.
"Who?"
Sofia looked past me.
At Matteo.
Then at Carlo.
Then back at me.
"Gabriel."
The room went silent.
Again.
That name.
The ghost from the past.
The man who had caused every secret.
Every disappearance.
Every lie.
"He's alive," Sofia said.
Nobody spoke.
I looked at Matteo.
His face changed.
Not because he was surprised.
Because he already suspected it.
"You knew?"
Matteo looked at me.
"No."
But Sofia interrupted.
"He knew something."
Matteo turned toward her.
"Don't."
Sofia's eyes hardened.
"You can't protect her by keeping her blind."
I stepped between them.
"What does she mean?"
Matteo was silent.
That silence hurt.
"Matteo."
Finally, he spoke.
"When Gabriel disappeared, I found evidence that someone helped him escape."
"Who?"
He looked at Sofia.
"I didn't know."
Sofia laughed quietly.
"Of course you didn't."
"What does that mean?"
Sofia looked at me.
"It means Gabriel never worked alone."
The apartment became heavy.
"Who helped him?"
Sofia looked at the floor.
"My father."
The words shocked everyone.
Even Matteo.
"Your father?"
Sofia nodded.
"The man Isabella trusted most."
I felt dizzy.
"Who was your father?"
Sofia looked at Matteo.
Then whispered:
"Marco Ferraro."
My mother's husband.
My father.
The man I barely remembered.
The man who died when I was a child.
"No."
I shook my head.
"My father loved my mother."
Sofia's expression softened.
"He did."
That answer confused me.
"Then why?"
"Because loving someone doesn't mean you never make mistakes."
I looked away.
My entire childhood was changing.
Every memory.
Every story.
Everything I believed.
Sofia entered the apartment slowly.
Her eyes moved around.
Like she was seeing a place from a dream.
"She kept this room."
I frowned.
"What?"
Sofia touched the wall.
"Mommy's hiding place."
The way she said mommy made my heart ache.
Nobody had called Isabella that in years.
"She used to bring us here."
Us.
Not me.
Us.
"You remember?"
Sofia smiled sadly.
"Some things."
She looked at Luca.
"I remember her singing."
My eyes filled.
Because I didn't.
I barely remembered my mother's voice.
Only pieces.
Small pieces.
Sofia walked toward the hidden room.
"She left something else."
My heart jumped.
"What?"
Sofia looked at the floor.
"There is another compartment."
Everyone followed her.
She touched a small mark near the wall.
Then pressed it.
A hidden drawer opened.
Inside was a single envelope.
And a key.
Matteo picked up the envelope.
His face changed.
"What?"
I asked.
He handed it to me.
My name.
Again.
But this time...
There was something else.
A second name.
Sofia.
The letter was written to both of us.
I opened it.
My mother's voice came alive in my mind.
My daughters,
If you found this together, then I know I made the right choice.
I stopped.
Daughters.
Plural.
For years, I thought I was alone.
I kept reading.
There is one final truth you must know.
Gabriel did not disappear because he was afraid.
He disappeared because he was waiting.
My hands trembled.
Waiting for what?
The next line answered.
Waiting for Luca.
I looked at my son.
My heart dropped.
No.
Not again.
Not my child.
Not another secret involving him.
Sofia grabbed my hand.
"Keep reading."
I did.
Gabriel believed Luca was the final piece of his plan.
But he was wrong.
Because Luca was never the key.
The key was you.
I looked up.
Me?
The letter continued.
Your bloodline was never about power.
It was about protecting the truth.
The truth your father died trying to reveal.
The truth Gabriel tried to erase.
Then the final sentence appeared.
A sentence that made Matteo immediately stand.
Because he recognized the handwriting change.
It wasn't my mother's.
Someone else had added it.
Someone who had found the letter after she wrote it.
The words were:
"Alessandra, if you are reading this, Gabriel is already inside the building."
Everyone froze.
A sound came from outside.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Heavy.
Coming closer.
Matteo reached for his weapon.
Sofia grabbed Luca.
Carlo moved toward the window.
Then the apartment lights went out.
A phone rang in the darkness.
Not Matteo's.
Not mine.
Not Sofia's.
A voice answered from the other side of the room.
May you like
And whispered:
"Hello, daughters."
