Chapter 16 - The Woman Who Came Back From the Dead
We found Sofia before sunset.
Because she wanted us to.
The note contained invisible ink that appeared under ultraviolet light.
An address.
An old farmhouse ninety miles north.
Alessandro wanted to send Enzo first.
I refused.
“This is my grandmother.”
“She may be compromised.”
“She raised me.”
“And she lied to you for your entire life.”
That hurt because it was true.
We went together.
No convoy.
Just Alessandro, Enzo, and me.
The farmhouse sat alone beyond an orchard.
A woman waited on the porch.
Smaller than I remembered.
Whiter hair.
Same straight back.
Same hands.
I stopped breathing.
“Mara.”
Her voice broke me.
I crossed the yard.
Then stopped before touching her.
Four years of grief crashed into rage.
“You let me bury you.”
Sofia cried.
“I know.”
“You let me think you were dead.”
“I know.”
“I was alone.”
“I know.”
I slapped her.
Not hard.
But enough.
Enzo looked away.
Alessandro did not move.
Sofia touched her cheek.
“I deserved that.”
I started crying.
Then I hated myself for it.
She reached for me.
I resisted for half a second.
Then I collapsed into her arms.
She smelled exactly the same.
Lavender soap.
Time folded.
For one impossible moment, I was eight years old again.
Then Alessandro spoke.
“Where is my mother?”
Sofia looked over my shoulder.
Her face changed.
“Alessandro.”
“You knew I was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Matteo was alive.”
“Yes.”
“You knew my mother survived.”
“Yes.”
His voice shook.
“Where is she?”
Sofia’s eyes filled.
“She died twelve years ago.”
Alessandro looked as though someone had punched through his chest.
“I was with her.”
“You let me believe she died when I was eleven.”
“I was protecting Matteo.”
“And protecting me required destroying me?”
Sofia lowered her eyes.
“No.”
“It required choosing which child had the better chance of surviving.”
“You were already known.”
“Guarded.”
Powerful.”
“Matteo was hidden.”
“If Vittorio knew you knew, both of you would have been hunted.”
Alessandro turned away.
I understood his fury.
I also understood hers.
That was the worst part.
“Why are they attacking Leo now?” I asked.
Sofia looked at me.
“Because Vittorio is dying.”
My blood chilled.
“He’s alive?”
“Yes.”
“He wants Alessandro’s organization before he dies.”
“He also wants the Green Eye destroyed.”
Alessandro turned back.
“And Adrian Bellandi?”
“Vittorio’s son.”
Silence.
“His son?”
“Charles Bellandi raised him.”
“But Vittorio fathered him.”
Sofia looked toward the house.
“There is something else.”
“Of course there is,” I whispered.
She almost smiled sadly.
“Elena discovered the truth.”
“She contacted me.”
“She planned to expose Vittorio.”
Alessandro’s face tightened.
“Did Vittorio kill her?”
Sofia nodded.
“Yes.”
Alessandro closed his eyes.
The silence became unbearable.
May you like
Then Sofia said the one thing that finally shattered him.
“And he had help from someone you still trust.”
