Chapter 9 - The Woman Who Died Holding a Secret|
The recovered footage showed a hospital corridor.
White walls.
A nurses' station.
A small clock above the elevator.
The timestamp was from three years earlier.
The night Caroline Moretti died.
I sat beside Luca and his attorney in a private office while a digital-forensics specialist explained what could and couldn't be verified.
The video was incomplete.
Several segments were missing.
The image quality was poor.
But two men were clearly visible entering the restricted corridor.
Michael Moretti.
And my father.
Thomas Sullivan.
My hands trembled.
I hadn't seen him moving.
Walking.
Alive.
Since I was fourteen.
Now he appeared on a grainy screen, older than I remembered but unmistakable.
I covered my mouth.
"Dad."
Luca turned toward me.
His expression softened.
"Claire."
I couldn't answer.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
For years, I'd imagined what my father would look like if he were still alive.
Now I knew.
Gray at the temples.
Slightly thinner.
Still walking with the same slight limp from an old football injury.
I stared.
The footage continued.
Michael entered Caroline's room first.
My father followed.
Several minutes later, Michael came out alone.
He looked agitated.
Then another person appeared.
A woman wearing a white medical coat.
Her face was partly obscured.
She entered Caroline's room.
My heart tightened.
"Who is that?"
The specialist shook his head.
"We haven't identified her."
Luca leaned forward.
"Can you improve the image?"
"Possibly, but we need to preserve the original and avoid overstating what enhancement can establish."
Luca nodded.
"Do it carefully."
The footage skipped.
Then my father appeared again.
He exited the room carrying a small blue notebook.
Caroline's notebook.
The one that vanished from her dressing room.
Luca went still.
"There."
The specialist paused the recording.
My father's face was visible.
He looked frightened.
Then he glanced toward the camera.
Almost as though he knew someone would one day be watching.
My chest tightened.
"What happened after he left?"
The specialist continued.
The footage showed my father entering an elevator.
Then disappeared.
The next available segment showed medical staff rushing toward Caroline's room.
Luca closed his eyes.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he whispered:
"She was still alive when they visited."
The attorney nodded carefully.
"According to the timestamps, yes."
Luca stared at the screen.
His wife.
The woman he had loved.
The mother of his son.
Something happened after Michael and Thomas visited her.
But the video alone didn't establish what.
I looked toward Luca.
His hands were shaking.
For the first time, I wanted to reach for him.
To offer the same quiet comfort he had given me.
But I waited.
Finally, he looked at me.
"Claire, your father may have been trying to help her."
I swallowed.
"Maybe."
He nodded.
"We'll find out."
The following day, Benjamin asked to visit his mother's grave.
Luca agreed.
I accompanied them at Benjamin's request.
The cemetery lay beneath tall maple trees.
Caroline's headstone was simple.
White marble.
Her name.
Her dates.
And a small inscription:
Beloved mother. Beloved wife. Forever remembered.
Benjamin placed yellow flowers beside the stone.
Then sat quietly.
Luca knelt beside him.
For a while, father and son said nothing.
Then Benjamin whispered:
"Daddy?"
"Yes?"
"Would Mommy be happy that you're not marrying Vanessa?"
Luca looked down.
He took a slow breath.
"I think Mommy would want us to be kind to each other and keep each other safe."
Benjamin nodded.
Then said:
"I miss her."
Luca's eyes filled.
"Me too."
Benjamin leaned against him.
For several seconds, they remained together.
I stood a little distance away, giving them privacy.
Then Benjamin looked toward me.
"Miss Claire?"
I stepped closer.
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"Can you put a flower down too?"
My chest tightened.
"Of course."
I knelt.
Placed a yellow rose beside the stone.
Then whispered:
"Thank you for raising such a wonderful boy."
Benjamin smiled.
Luca looked at me.
Something softened in his expression.
For a moment, we weren't thinking about missing money.
False documents.
Or the men who had lied.
We were simply three people standing beside the grave of a woman whose absence had shaped all our lives.
Then Luca's phone rang.
Marco.
He answered.
His expression changed immediately.
"What?"
A pause.
"Where?"
He stood.
I looked at him.
"What happened?"
He swallowed.
"Marco located the woman in the medical coat."
My heart raced.
"Who is she?"
Luca looked toward Caroline's headstone.
Then back at me.
"Her name is Dr. Victoria Bellini."
I froze.
Bellini.
Vanessa's surname.
Luca continued:
"She's Richard Bellini's younger sister."
My stomach tightened.
"And?"
Luca's voice became quiet.
"She signed Caroline's final medical report."
The world seemed to tilt.
Then Marco said something else through the phone.
Luca went completely still.
"What do you mean she changed her statement?"
I stared.
Luca slowly lowered the phone.
His face had gone pale.
"Claire."
"What?"
"Dr. Bellini says Caroline didn't die that night."
I stopped breathing.
Luca looked toward the grave.
May you like
Then whispered:
"She says Caroline was transferred to another facility while she was still alive."
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