"That doesn't explain why she told me never to trust you."
"No," Marco said. "It doesn't."
"Then explain."
Marco leaned against the wall.
"Your mother was not an ordinary employee. She knew the family's financial arrangements, its private accounts, and the names of people who were not supposed to appear in official records."
Elena felt a chill of understanding.
"She was involved in illegal business?"
"She was involved in keeping certain people alive."
"Who?"
"Children. Women. People who had become inconvenient to powerful men."
Elena stared at him.
"That sounds like a story."
"Unfortunately, it was her life."
Marco rubbed his forehead.
"Twenty-two years ago, the De Luca family was in the middle of a war. Alessandro's father, Vittorio, was trying to negotiate peace with three rival organizations. One of those organizations had information that could have destroyed him."
"What information?"
"Names. Locations. Accounts. A list of people who had disappeared under orders from men who believed they were untouchable."
Elena thought of her mother's old papers.
"She had those documents?"
Marco nodded.
"And she refused to hand them over."
"Why?"
"Because the list contained the name of a child."
Elena looked at him.
"Whose child?"
Marco did not answer immediately.
Then the double doors opened.
A doctor emerged.
"Mr. Bellini?"
Marco straightened.
"Yes."
"He's stable for now. His blood pressure has improved, but we are concerned about the possibility of poisoning. We need to run additional tests."
"Can we see him?"
"One person at a time. He's still under observation."
Marco looked at Elena.
"Wait here."
He entered.
Elena sat down.
Her thoughts returned to the photograph.
She removed it from her apron and studied it under the fluorescent lights.
Her mother looked younger than she remembered. Her auburn hair was longer, and she was smiling.
Behind her stood a man.
Tall.
Dark-haired.
His face was partially obscured by the sunlight.
Elena turned the photograph over.
She examined the handwriting again.
Then she noticed something she had missed.
In the bottom corner, almost hidden beneath the date, was a small inscription.
For Alessandro, with love.
Her fingers tightened around the paper.
Alessandro.
Not Vittorio.
Not Marco.
The unconscious man.
Why would her mother have written a dedication to him?
And why had she never mentioned it?
***
When Marco returned, Elena was standing.
"Tell me the truth."
He looked tired.
"About what?"
"Why does my mother have a photograph with Alessandro?"
Marco stared at the picture.
Then he exhaled.
"Because she raised him."
Elena felt the corridor tilt.
"What?"
"Not officially. Not on paper. But when Alessandro was a child, Sofia was the person who looked after him."
"Why?"
"His mother died when he was very young. His father was rarely home. The household staff changed constantly. Sofia became the one person he trusted."
Elena looked at the photograph again.
"Then why did my mother leave?"
Marco's expression darkened.
"Because Vittorio ordered her to."
"Why?"
"Because she discovered something."
"What?"
Marco lowered his voice.
"That the man who was supposed to protect Alessandro was preparing to sell him."
Elena stared at him.
"His own father?"
"Not Vittorio."
"Then who?"
Marco glanced toward the hospital room.
"Vincent Rizzo."
Elena remembered the man at the restaurant.
His smile.
His questions.
The way he had looked at her.
"Why would he want Alessandro dead?"
"Because Alessandro has spent the last two years trying to dismantle the old structure his father built. Vincent believes the family should return to the old ways. He wants control of the ports, the illegal accounts, and the people who still owe the De Lucas favors."
"And Alessandro refuses?"
"Alessandro has refused many things."
Marco paused.
"Unfortunately, refusing Vincent has become dangerous."
Elena folded the photograph.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because the last time someone mentioned your mother's name, a man disappeared."
"Who?"
"Vittorio's accountant."
Elena felt her stomach tighten.
"What happened to him?"
"Nobody knows."
Marco looked directly at her.
"But before he vanished, he left a message with Sofia."
"What message?"
"That the original ledger had never been destroyed."
Elena remembered the wooden jewelry box.
The old letters.
The papers her mother had kept.
She had never opened the false bottom.
Not once.
Marco noticed the change in her expression.
"You know something."
"I don't know anything."
"Elena."
She looked away.
"My mother left me a box."
Marco became still.
"Where is it?"
"At home."
"Does anyone else know?"
"No."
"Good."
He reached for his phone.
"I need to speak with Alessandro."
"He's unconscious."
"Not anymore."
Elena turned.
Through the glass panel of the hospital room, she could see movement.
A nurse was adjusting the equipment beside the bed.
And Alessandro De Luca was awake.
***
Alessandro opened his eyes to a white ceiling.
For a moment, he did not know where he was.
Then the familiar sounds of a hospital returned.
A monitor.
Footsteps.
A distant voice.
He tried to sit up.
Pain pressed against his chest.
"Don't move."
Marco appeared beside the bed.
Alessandro looked at him.
"What happened?"
"You collapsed."
"Where?"
"The Bellagio."
Alessandro closed his eyes.
"How long?"
"About an hour."
"Vincent?"
Marco's expression changed.
"He's missing."
Alessandro opened his eyes again.
"Missing?"