"Alessandro, surely you aren't taking this seriously."
For the first time that evening, Alessandro smiled.
It was not a pleasant smile.
"That depends on how much you have to hide."
He turned back to Sophia.
"Tell me exactly what your mother said."
Sophia hesitated.
Then she reached into the small pocket of her dress and pulled out a folded piece of paper.
"My mommy told me to give you this if I ever saw you."
Alessandro took it.
The paper was old and slightly stained. His name was written across the front in handwriting he recognized immediately.
Elena's handwriting.
He unfolded it.
There were only a few lines.
ALLESSANDRO,
IF SOPHIA HAS GIVEN YOU THIS LETTER, THEN I AM PROBABLY DEAD OR THEY HAVE FOUND ME.
YOUR DAUGHTER LILY DID NOT DIE IN AN ACCIDENT.
I KNOW WHO ORDERED IT.
I HAVE THE ORIGINAL RECORDING.
TRUST NO ONE WHO SAT BESIDE YOU THAT NIGHT.
ESPECIALLY VICTOR.
Alessandro read the letter twice.
Then a third time.
His hands were no longer steady.
He looked at Victor.
"How long?"
Victor said nothing.
"How long have you known?"
The older man stood.
"This is a setup."
"How long?"
"Alessandro, listen to me."
"ANSWER ME!"
His voice exploded across the dining hall.
Every guest flinched.
Sophia covered her ears.
Alessandro immediately noticed and lowered his voice.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart."
He gently placed one hand on her shoulder.
Then he looked at Marco.
"Take her somewhere safe. Stay with her personally."
Sophia grabbed his hand.
"Please don't let him hurt my mommy."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"Where is your mother?"
"At the hospital."
"Which hospital?"
Sophia began crying.
"She told me to find you because the men came to our apartment. She ran away, but she got hurt. A lady called an ambulance."
Alessandro's blood turned cold.
"When?"
"Yesterday."
He immediately pulled out his phone.
"Find Elena. Every hospital in the city. Now."
Marco hurried away with the child.
Alessandro turned back toward Victor.
The old man was already reaching inside his jacket.
Three armed guards raised their weapons.
"Don't," Alessandro said.
Victor slowly removed his hand.
"You're making a terrible mistake."
"Perhaps."
Alessandro walked around the table.
"But I have spent three years mourning my daughter. If there is even a chance that you know something about her death, you will tell me everything."
Victor looked around the room.
Then he laughed.
A cold, bitter laugh.
"You really believe that little girl?"
"I believe the fear in your eyes."
Victor's smile disappeared.
And for the first time in fifteen years, Alessandro saw the man who had helped raise him looking like an enemy.
The guards escorted Victor to the underground security room.
Alessandro remained alone in the dining hall.
He looked at the empty chair that had once belonged to Lily.
For a moment, he could almost hear her laughter.
"Daddy, can I have another piece of cake?"
He closed his eyes.
"God help you, Victor," he whispered. "If you touched my daughter..."
He did not finish the sentence.
He did not need to.
***
At 11:43 p.m., Alessandro received a call from Marco.
"We found her, boss."
"Where?"
"St. Catherine's Hospital. She's in intensive care."
"Is she alive?"
A pause.
"Yes. But she's in critical condition."
Alessandro grabbed his coat.
"Prepare the car."
He reached the hospital twenty minutes later.
Two security teams surrounded the building. The emergency department was crowded, but the moment Alessandro entered, the atmosphere changed.
People recognized him.
Some immediately looked away.
Others moved aside.
He approached the reception desk.
"Elena Rossi. Where is she?"
The nurse checked the computer.
"Intensive care, room twelve. Are you family?"
Alessandro stared at her.
"I'm the man she was trying to reach."
The nurse hesitated.
Then she pointed toward the elevator.
Alessandro ran.
He had not run in years.
Not from police.
Not from enemies.
Not even when bullets had torn through his shoulder during an assassination attempt.
But now he ran through a hospital corridor because a woman he barely knew might hold the answer to the worst tragedy of his life.
Elena was lying beneath white hospital sheets.
Her face was bruised. A bandage covered her forehead, and an oxygen tube rested beneath her nose.
When she heard the door open, she slowly turned her head.
Her eyes widened.
"Mr. Moretti..."
Alessandro approached the bed.
"Where is Sophia?"
"Is she safe?"
"She's with my people. Nobody will touch her."
Elena began crying.
"Thank you."
Alessandro pulled a chair beside her.
"Tell me about Lily."
The woman closed her eyes.
For several seconds, she seemed unable to speak.
Then she whispered:
"I worked for Victor Romano."
Alessandro's expression hardened.
"What?"
"Not directly. I worked in one of his private offices. Cleaning, preparing rooms, serving coffee. I was invisible to everyone. They spoke in front of me because they never thought I was listening."
"What did you hear?"
"Three years ago, Victor received a phone call. He was angry. He said your daughter had discovered something she shouldn't have."
Alessandro leaned forward.
"What had she discovered?"
Elena swallowed.
"She had found a small black notebook in Victor's office. It contained names, payments, and secret transactions. She showed it to your wife."
Alessandro remembered the notebook.
Or rather, he remembered Isabella mentioning that Lily had found something strange in the library.
At the time, he had laughed.
He had told his wife that children imagined all sorts of things.
He had never investigated.
"Go on."
"Victor was afraid that Lily would tell you. He arranged for someone to interfere with the car that night."
Alessandro felt the room spinning.
"Who?"