Chapter 6 - The Question Isabella Feared Most
Dominic Moretti had perfected the appearance of harmless wealth.
He wore soft gray suits instead of black.
Cashmere instead of leather.
Thin gold glasses.
He collected antique clocks and donated to children's hospitals.
Newspapers photographed him opening libraries.
Politicians invited him to dinners Alejandro avoided.
To the public, Dominic was the respectable Moretti.
Which was precisely why Alejandro had never entirely trusted him.
Dominic entered the house at six twenty-three.
He carried no visible weapon.
Security searched him anyway.
His expression remained amused.
“My nephew has become cautious.”
Marco answered, “Your nephew almost died three nights ago.”
Dominic's smile disappeared appropriately.
“Which is why I came the moment he called.”
He stepped into the drawing room.
Then stopped.
Emma was sitting on the carpet.
Maria had given her colored pencils.
Isabella sat nearby.
Alejandro stood at the windows.
Dominic's eyes moved from Isabella to Emma.
Only for one second.
But Alejandro saw everything inside that second.
Recognition?
Surprise?
Fear?
Dominic recovered instantly.
“Isabella.”
She stood.
“Dominic.”
“My God. How many years?”
“Six.”
Dominic looked at Emma.
“And this must be…”
Alejandro waited.
Dominic smiled.
“Your daughter.”
Not Alejandro's daughter.
Your daughter.
Careful.
Very careful.
Emma looked up.
“I'm Emma.”
Dominic crouched.
“A beautiful name.”
“Thank you.”
He reached into his pocket.
Marco moved slightly.
Dominic laughed.
“Relax.”
He produced a small wrapped candy.
Emma looked at Isabella before taking it.
Her mother shook her head.
“After dinner.”
Dominic placed it on the table.
“Well trained.”
Alejandro's voice came from behind him.
“She's not a dog.”
Dominic slowly stood.
“Of course.”
“Study.”
The men entered.
Isabella followed.
Emma stayed with Maria and two guards.
Dominic noticed.
“Two armed men for a child?”
Alejandro closed the door.
“My child.”
Silence.
Dominic's expression changed beautifully.
Shock.
Then warmth.
Then something resembling happiness.
If Alejandro had not spent his entire adult life studying liars, he might have believed it.
“Your daughter?”
“Yes.”
Dominic embraced him.
Alejandro did not return it.
“This is wonderful.”
“Is it?”
Dominic stepped back.
“Why wouldn't it be?”
Alejandro placed a photograph on the desk.
Emma beside the lake.
Taken from a distance.
Dominic stared.
“What is this?”
“You tell me.”
“I've never seen it.”
“Father Gabriel's car.”
Dominic looked genuinely startled.
“Gabriel?”
“Missing.”
“Since when?”
“Today.”
Alejandro placed another paper down.
The old inheritance document.
Dominic's expression remained neutral.
“You know what that is?”
“Yes.”
“You knew Emma's existence changes succession.”
Dominic looked up.
“Is that what you think this is about?”
“I haven't told you what I think.”
“You didn't need to.”
Marco stood near the door.
Isabella watched Dominic.
Alejandro continued.
“Six years ago, somebody threatened Isabella while she was pregnant.”
Dominic's gaze moved toward her.
“What?”
“They knew before I did.”
“That is disturbing.”
“Father Gabriel helped her disappear the next day.”
Dominic slowly removed his glasses.
“You think Gabriel was involved?”
“I think somebody was.”
“And you think that somebody was me.”
“I think you had motive.”
Dominic shook his head.
“You're grieving.”
Alejandro's eyes sharpened.
“Be careful.”
“Eleven men died. You nearly died. Now Isabella suddenly returns with your child and you want the world to connect neatly.”
“She didn't return. I found her by accident.”
“Exactly.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means perhaps somebody wanted you to find her now.”
The room became still.
Alejandro had considered threats.
Manipulation.
Inheritance.
But not that.
Dominic continued.
“Think. Six years hidden successfully. Then within days of an attempt on your life, Isabella appears at a public lake where you happen to be sitting.”
Isabella's face hardened.
“I didn't know he would be there.”
“I believe you.”
Alejandro asked, “Then who?”
Dominic looked at the photograph.
“Maybe whoever attacked you.”
Marco crossed his arms.
“Why?”
“To divide attention.”
Dominic looked toward the door.
“You have moved half your security around one little girl.”
Alejandro did not like how he said one little girl.
Dominic noticed.
“I don't mean disrespect.”
“You do.”
“Fine. Your daughter.”
He turned to Isabella.
“Did Gabriel ever tell you why you were threatened?”
“No.”
“Did he ever mention me?”
“No.”
“Any Moretti?”
“No.”
Dominic looked at Alejandro.
“There.”
“That proves nothing.”
“No. But neither does your suspicion.”
Alejandro remained unconvinced.
Dominic put on his glasses.
“You asked me here. I came.”
He spread his hands.
“Search my house. Accounts. Phones.”
“I already am.”
Dominic stared.
Then laughed softly.
“There you are.”
“Where?”
“The nephew I remember.”
Alejandro's expression remained cold.
Dominic walked toward the door, then stopped.
“I'm glad you found her.”
Alejandro said nothing.
“I mean that.”
“Do you?”
Dominic looked toward the room where Emma waited.
“For all our sins, Alejandro, family matters.”
He left.
Marco waited until footsteps disappeared.
“He's too calm.”
“Dominic is always calm.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No.”
Isabella said, “He made one point.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“The timing.”
“I know.”
“I didn't plan the lake.”
“I know.”
“But maybe Gabriel did.”
“How would Gabriel know I'd be there?”
“You dismissed security. Drove alone. Somebody could have followed you.”
Marco said, “We checked traffic cameras.”
“And?”
“Your car was followed for twelve miles.”
Alejandro turned.
“By whom?”
“Gray sedan. Plates cloned.”
“Where did it go?”
“Lost near the park.”
Isabella whispered, “So somebody knew.”
Alejandro looked toward the door.
A realization formed.
“Emma approached me.”
Isabella frowned.
“Yes.”
“She sat beside me.”
“What are you saying?”
“If somebody wanted us to meet, they only needed to put Emma near me.”
Isabella's face changed.
“No.”
“Who told you to shop near that lake?”
“Nobody.”
“Why were you there?”
“I always shop there.”
“Same day?”
“Tuesdays.”
“Same time?”
“Usually.”
That meant predictable.
Alejandro hated predictable.
Marco's phone buzzed.
He checked the screen.
His expression tightened.
“What?”
“We searched Dominic's accounts.”
“And?”
“Nothing unusual.”
Alejandro waited.
“But we found something in Father Gabriel's records.”
“What?”
“A recurring payment.”
“To whom?”
Marco looked at Isabella.
“For six years, somebody has transferred money into an account under the name Emma Delgado.”
Isabella shook her head.
“I don't have an account for her.”
Marco continued.
“The money was never withdrawn.”
“How much?” Alejandro asked.
“Four million dollars.”
Nobody spoke.
Isabella sat slowly.
“That isn't possible.”
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
“Who funded it?”
“We're tracing.”
“Do it faster.”
Marco nodded.
Then his phone buzzed again.
He read the message.
His face lost color.
“Alejandro.”
“What?”
“We found Father Gabriel.”
“Alive?”
Marco hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“He walked into St. Vincent's Hospital twenty minutes ago.”
“Condition?”
“Badly beaten. Dehydrated.”
“Conscious?”
“For a minute.”
“What did he say?”
Marco looked at Isabella.
Then Alejandro.
“Only one sentence.”
Alejandro waited.
Marco spoke quietly.
“He said, ‘Tell Alejandro the girl was never the target.’”
Isabella's hand covered her mouth.
Alejandro felt the room tighten around him.
If Emma had never been the target, then six years of threats had served another purpose.
Someone had used the child to move Isabella.
To isolate Alejandro.
To control both of them.
But why?
The answer might lie with one man.
Alejandro reached for his coat.
“Hospital.”
Marco nodded.
Isabella stood.
“I'm coming.”
“No.”
“You do not get to keep making that decision.”
Alejandro stopped.
She was right.
He hated that too.
Finally, he nodded.
They turned toward the door.
Emma was standing there.
Nobody had heard her enter.
Her face was pale.
“What does target mean?”
The adults froze.
Emma looked at Alejandro.
“Am I in trouble?”
Alejandro crossed the room.
He knelt and took both her hands.
“No.”
“Are you?”
Alejandro hesitated.
Emma's small fingers tightened.
“Tell me the truth.”
He looked into those blue-gray eyes.
“Yes.”
Emma swallowed.
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Alejandro froze.
Only for an instant.
Then he held her.
Behind him, every man in the room looked away.
Giving their boss a privacy he had never asked for before.
Emma whispered against his shoulder.
“Then come back.”
Alejandro closed his eyes.
“I will.”
It was his third promise to her.
May you like
And this one might be the hardest to keep.
Because Father Gabriel was finally ready to reveal why Isabella had been forced to disappear—and the truth had begun with Alejandro's own father.
