"Hidden."
"Where?"
"Somewhere your father believed would remain safe."
"Do you know where?"
"No."
Elena laughed without humor.
"Wonderful."
"But I know who does."
She waited.
Alessandro's voice lowered.
"Your mother."
Elena felt the blood drain from her face.
"My mother died four years ago."
"I know."
"Then what are you saying?"
Alessandro looked at the photograph again.
"Your father told me that if anything happened to him, he had arranged for the records to be delivered to your mother."
Elena stared.
"She never told me."
"Perhaps she didn't know what she had."
"Or perhaps she knew and was afraid."
Alessandro nodded.
"Both are possible."
Elena folded the photograph carefully.
"Where are the records now?"
"I don't know."
"Then we find them."
He studied her.
"You understand what you're asking?"
"Yes."
"No, Elena. You don't. If those documents still exist, they could destroy an entire criminal network. Men will kill to find them."
She looked directly at him.
"Your brother already killed my father."
The room became silent.
"And if he thinks those documents can hurt him, he'll come for me anyway."
Alessandro had no answer.
Finally, he said:
"Then you won't face him alone."
Elena shook her head.
"Don't make promises you couldn't keep eleven years ago."
She walked toward the door.
Before she left, she turned.
"One more thing."
"Yes?"
"Who put the poison in your water?"
Alessandro's face hardened.
"I don't know."
Elena looked at him.
"I think you do."
Then she left.
***
By noon, Luca had discovered that the bartender had disappeared.
His apartment was empty.
His car was still parked outside.
His phone had been switched off.
A neighbor reported seeing two men in black coats enter the building shortly before midnight.
The security footage from the Belladonna had also been erased.
Every camera covering the private dining room had stopped recording at 9:42 p.m.
Only one camera remained functional.
The one above the service corridor.
It showed a woman entering the private bar at 9:18.
A woman wearing a burgundy jacket.
Elena Rossi.
Luca watched the footage twice.
Then he called Alessandro.
"Boss."
"What?"
"We have a problem."
"Only one?"
"The security footage shows Elena entering the bar before your collapse."
Alessandro went quiet.
"Was she alone?"
"Yes."
"Did she touch the glass?"
"No. She picked up a tray, looked toward the bar, and left."
"Then why is that a problem?"
"Because someone has already sent the footage to the police."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
"We don't know."
"Find out."
"There's something else."
"What?"
"The bartender's apartment was cleaned before we got there. Whoever took him knew exactly what they were looking for."
Alessandro looked toward the door.
"Vittorio."
"Probably."
"Where is he?"
"At the family residence."
Alessandro removed the hospital blanket.
Luca stood.
"Don't even think about it."
"I'm going home."
"You're not leaving."
"Watch me."
"You're recovering from a poisoning."
"And my brother is trying to frame the only witness who can identify what happened."
Luca rubbed his face.
"You're going to kill yourself."
Alessandro looked at him.
"Not today."
***
That evening, Elena returned to the apartment she shared with Daniel.
It was small, located above an old bakery in Queens. The heating system rattled in winter, the kitchen window never closed properly, and the elevator had been broken for six months.
But it was home.
Daniel sat at the kitchen table with a medical textbook open in front of him.
He was twenty-one, thin, and usually cheerful despite his condition.
When Elena entered, he looked up.
"You're late."
"Sorry."
"You smell like a hospital."
"I was at one."
"Surprise."
She placed the grocery bag on the counter.
"Did you eat?"
"Yes."
"What?"
"Food."
"Daniel."
"Toast."
Elena closed her eyes.
"You're supposed to eat properly."
"I'm supposed to be studying. Yet here we are."
She smiled faintly.
Then she noticed an envelope on the table.
"What's that?"
Daniel shrugged.
"It came this afternoon."
She picked it up.
There was no return address.
Inside was a photograph.
Her father.
Standing outside a warehouse.
The same warehouse from the photograph she had shown Alessandro.
On the back, someone had written:
STOP LOOKING FOR WHAT YOUR FATHER LEFT BEHIND.
Elena's hands went cold.
Daniel stood.
"What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Elena."
She turned the photograph over.
Beneath the message was a second line.
YOUR BROTHER DOESN'T NEED TO PAY FOR YOUR CURIOSITY.
Daniel read it.
His expression changed.
"Who sent this?"
"I don't know."
"Is this about the man from last night?"
She looked at him.
"What man?"
"The one you were reading about online."
Elena frowned.
Daniel pointed toward her laptop.
"You left it open."
She walked toward it.
The article about Alessandro Moretti was still displayed.
Daniel looked at her.
"Are you involved with those people?"
"No."
"Don't lie."
"I'm not involved."
"Then why are they threatening us?"
Elena looked at the photograph.
Because they already had.
She folded the paper and placed it inside her bag.
"Listen to me. Tomorrow, you're going to stay with Aunt Maria."