Chapter 3 - The Woman He Was Supposed to Bury
There were two women with her mother’s face.
Hazel stopped believing anything after that.
The woman inside her apartment raised both hands.
“I can explain.”
“Start with why someone who looks exactly like you has my sister,” Luca said.
The woman’s face drained.
“Evelyn.”
Hazel stared.
“Who?”
“My sister.”
Hazel almost laughed from shock.
“You have a twin?”
“Had.”
“Apparently not.”
Luca’s phone rang again.
His security chief.
Luca answered.
“Talk.”
The response was short.
His jaw hardened.
His sister Sofia was alive.
The woman had escaped.
Hazel’s mother collapsed onto the couch.
“She found us.”
“Who?” Hazel demanded.
“Evelyn.”
“Why did everyone tell me you were dead?”
Her mother looked at her.
“Because Evelyn tried to kill you.”
The room went silent.
Seventeen years earlier, Hazel’s father had discovered that someone inside the Moretti organization was laundering money through charities.
The person responsible had been Evelyn Brooks.
Hazel’s aunt.
When Hazel’s mother threatened to expose her, Evelyn retaliated.
Hazel had become leverage.
So her parents staged her mother’s death.
Hazel was told only enough to keep her from searching.
Her mother entered witness protection under another name.
But Hazel’s father remained behind.
To watch Evelyn.
To gather proof.
“Why didn’t he go with you?”
“He couldn’t.”
“Why?”
Her mother looked at Luca.
“Because Antonio Moretti needed him.”
Hazel’s anger sharpened.
“So your family separated mine.”
Luca did not defend his father.
“Yes.”
That answer hurt because it was simple.
Her mother reached for Hazel.
Hazel stepped back.
“I needed you.”
“I know.”
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I know.”
“You missed everything.”
Her mother cried silently.
“I know.”
Hazel wanted to hate her.
Instead, she felt eleven years old again.
Luca turned away, giving them privacy without leaving.
Later, Hazel learned the truth about the photograph.
The child who must never know was her.
Her father had hidden evidence capable of destroying a criminal alliance involving the Morettis, corrupt businessmen, police officers, and politicians.
Daniel had discovered enough of that history to know Hazel was valuable.
So he courted her.
Proposed to her.
Used her identity.
And waited for her to lead him to the evidence.
“He never loved me,” Hazel said.
Her mother’s silence answered.
Then Luca’s phone vibrated.
A message.
A photograph appeared.
Daniel stood inside Chicago Mercantile Bank.
In his hand was a brass key.
Hazel instinctively checked her pocket.
Her key was still there.
Luca looked toward her mother.
“Two keys.”
Her mother went pale.
“Your father made two.”
Hazel stared.
“Why?”
Her mother whispered, “Because the box can only be opened when both keys are inserted.”
Luca was already moving.
Hazel followed.
They reached the bank after closing.
Daniel was gone.
But the vault manager was unconscious.
The safety deposit box had been opened.
Inside remained only a cassette recorder.
Hazel pressed play.
Her father’s voice filled the vault.
“Hazel, if you’re hearing this, then Daniel Mercer found you.”
Hazel stopped breathing.
Her father had known Daniel.
Years before Hazel ever met him.
The recording continued.
“Whatever Daniel told you about how you met was a lie.”
Hazel gripped the table.
“And if Luca Moretti is standing beside you, ask him what happened on October seventeenth.”
Hazel turned.
Luca’s face had gone completely still.
“What happened October seventeenth?”
He did not answer.
“Luca.”
The vault door slammed shut behind them.
The lights went out.
May you like
Then Daniel’s voice came through the darkness.
“Go ahead, Moretti. Tell her who really killed her father.”
