Chapter 5 - THE MAN WHO FOLLOWED MATTEO|
I had never imagined that two words could make me feel so helpless.
Placement confirmed.
For several seconds, I couldn't stop staring at the notebook on Nora's screen.
There it was.
My name.
My unborn baby.
A decision someone had made without asking me.
Without asking Matteo.
Without even considering that my child was a person, not a transaction.
"Who confirmed it?" Leonardo asked.
Nora glanced down.
"I don't know."
"Whose handwriting is that?"
"Dr. Voss usually made the final annotations, but the placement records were handled by someone else."
"Who?"
"A woman named Margaret Hale."
Anthony looked up from his laptop.
"Margaret Hale is the executive director of the Bellweather Family Foundation."
Nora nodded.
"She attended the meetings with Richard Romano."
I gripped the edge of my hospital blanket.
"Did Bianca attend those meetings?"
Nora looked uncomfortable.
"Sometimes."
Leonardo leaned forward.
"Did she know what was happening to the mothers?"
"I can't say what she knew."
Nora lowered her eyes.
"But I saw her carrying files that contained the mothers' names."
My stomach twisted.
Bianca had known about Matteo.
She'd known about my pregnancy.
And she'd placed me inside a house where I worked until my feet swelled, cried myself to sleep, and wondered whether I would ever afford a crib.
All while someone arranged to take my child.
I looked at Leonardo.
"I need to know whether Bianca knew everything."
His expression hardened.
"She'll have to answer for what she did."
"But I want the truth."
He nodded.
"So do I."
After the interview ended, Dr. Carter checked on me again.
She explained that the baby's condition remained reassuring and that she wanted to observe me a little longer.
Leonardo offered to have anything I needed brought from the mansion.
I asked for one thing.
Matteo's old gray sweater.
He looked surprised.
"It's in my suitcase," I explained.
"I sleep with it sometimes."
His expression softened.
"I'll have it brought here."
That afternoon, Detective Hayes returned.
He carried a folder and looked more serious than before.
"We've located Arthur Pike's vehicle."
Leonardo straightened.
"Where?"
"Abandoned in a parking structure near Midway Airport."
"Was Pike there?"
"No."
Hayes opened the folder.
"But we recovered a storage-device receipt from the glove compartment."
Anthony leaned forward.
"What storage device?"
"A rented locker in an industrial storage facility."
My heart began racing.
"Did you search it?"
"We obtained a warrant."
Hayes took out a photograph.
Inside the locker were cardboard boxes, several old phones, and a black leather briefcase.
The briefcase looked familiar.
My mouth went dry.
"That's Matteo's."
Leonardo turned toward me.
"Are you sure?"
I nodded.
"He used it for work."
I leaned closer.
"There's a small scratch near the handle."
Hayes pointed toward the photograph.
"Here?"
"Yes."
Tears filled my eyes.
"That's his."
Leonardo stared at the image.
"Matteo's briefcase was missing after the accident."
Hayes nodded.
"According to the property inventory, it wasn't recovered from the vehicle."
"Because Pike took it," Leonardo said.
"That's one possibility."
The detective opened another photograph.
Inside the briefcase were financial documents, a damaged phone, and a small black notebook.
On the notebook's first page were three initials.
R.R.
S.V.
A.P.
Richard Romano.
Samuel Voss.
Arthur Pike.
Leonardo stared at the page.
"Matteo was tracking all three."
Hayes nodded.
"There's more."
He placed a printed message on the table.
It had been recovered from one of the phones.
The message was dated the day before Matteo's death.
He has the documents.
Don't let him reach Leonardo.
No sender name appeared.
Only a number.
I felt cold all over.
"Who received it?"
"Pike."
Leonardo slowly stood.
"Then someone ordered him to stop my brother."
Hayes nodded carefully.
"We're investigating that possibility."
"Can you trace the sender?"
"We're working on subscriber records and other evidence."
Leonardo looked toward the window.
I knew what he was thinking.
For most of his life, Leonardo Moretti had lived in a world where problems were solved by men who didn't ask questions.
He had guards.
Connections.
A reputation that made people afraid to say no.
But I didn't want revenge.
I wanted the truth.
And I wanted my baby safe.
"Leonardo?"
He turned.
"Please don't do anything Matteo wouldn't want."
His expression changed.
I swallowed.
"He hated violence."
"I know."
"He believed people should face consequences."
Leonardo looked down.
"He also believed I could be better than I was."
The confession was so quiet I almost missed it.
He sat beside me.
"When we were young, I thought protecting my family meant being feared."
His eyes moved toward Matteo's ring.
"My brother spent his whole life trying to teach me that being feared isn't the same as being trusted."
I squeezed his hand.
"Then listen to him now."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Finally, he nodded.
"I will."
That evening, something unexpected happened.
A woman arrived at the hospital asking to speak with me.
Her name was Claire Bennett.
I recognized her immediately from the photograph Anthony had shown me.
She was thin, with tired brown eyes and a faded denim jacket.
When she entered my room, she stopped at the sight of my stomach.
"Oh, God."
I didn't know what to say.
Then she whispered, "You're Emma?"
I nodded.
Claire covered her mouth.
"Matteo told me about you."
My heart stopped.
"He did?"
She nodded through tears.
"He said you were the reason he wanted to become a better man every day."
I began crying.
Claire stepped closer.
"He showed me your courthouse photograph."
I covered my face.
For months, I'd been surrounded by people who refused to acknowledge my marriage.
Now a stranger was telling me Matteo had spoken about me with pride.
"He loved you so much," Claire whispered.
I couldn't answer.
She sat beside me.
"I wish I'd met him under different circumstances."
"Did he promise to help you?"
She nodded.
"He said we'd find my daughter."
A tear slid down her cheek.
"Then he died."
I reached for her hand.
"I'm sorry."
Claire shook her head.
"No."
Her voice trembled.
"I'm sorry you lost your husband because he was trying to help people like me."
I squeezed her fingers.
"That was who he was."
We sat together for a long time.
Then Claire reached into her purse.
She took out a folded piece of paper.
"Matteo gave me this the last time we met."
I stared.
"What is it?"
"A phone number."
"Whose?"
"He said it belonged to someone who could verify the financial records if anything happened to him."
Leonardo stepped forward.
"May I see it?"
Claire handed him the paper.
He read the name.
His expression changed.
"Anthony."
The attorney moved closer.
Leonardo held out the note.
"Do you know this person?"
Anthony looked down.
Then his face went white.
"Yes."
My heart began pounding.
"Who is it?"
Anthony swallowed.
"Jonathan Mercer."
Leonardo closed his eyes.
"Of course."
I looked between them.
"Who is Jonathan Mercer?"
Leonardo took a slow breath.
"He was the accountant who worked on the Romano merger."
Claire stared.
"Then why would Matteo trust him?"
Anthony looked at the paper again.
"Because Mercer tried to stop the merger."
I frowned.
"What happened to him?"
Leonardo's expression darkened.
"He disappeared."
A terrible silence followed.
Then Claire whispered, "When?"
Anthony checked his records.
"Three days before Matteo's accident."
I felt my stomach drop.
Two men.
Both investigating the same money.
Both gone within days.
But before I could speak, Detective Hayes received a call.
He listened silently.
Then he looked directly at Leonardo.
"We found Pike."
Leonardo stood.
"Where?"
Hayes hesitated.
"At a motel outside Chicago."
"Is he alive?"
"Yes."
The detective's expression turned grim.
"And he says he'll give a full statement."
I exhaled.
But Hayes hadn't finished.
"He wants something in return."
Leonardo narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
Hayes looked at me.
"He says he can prove who ordered Matteo's death."
My heart stopped.
May you like
Then Hayes said the words that would change everything.
"But according to Pike, Richard Romano wasn't the person who gave the final order."
