Chapter 10 - THE PHOTOGRAPH THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING|
The next forty-eight hours were spent searching for the photograph Eleanor remembered.
Dante's legal team obtained warrants for records connected to the abandoned hospital. Independent forensic specialists examined the documents recovered from the archive. Adrian met with a lawyer who had no connection to the Ferrara organization, while Sofia returned to the hospital to make sure Mateo's treatment continued without interruption.
She refused to let the investigation consume her entire life.
That evening, she sat beside Mateo as he finished a bowl of soup.
“You're doing that thing again,” he said.
“What thing?”
“Thinking about dangerous men instead of eating.”
“I can do both.”
“Not successfully.”
She took a spoonful to prove him wrong.
Mateo studied her.
“Do you like him?”
Sofia nearly choked.
“Who?”
“The mafia boss.”
“Don't call him that.”
“Is he not a mafia boss?”
“That's not the point.”
Mateo smiled weakly.
“Then you do like him.”
Sofia set down the spoon.
“I don't know what I feel. He's complicated, and his family is terrifying, and every time I think I've understood something, another secret appears.”
“That sounds like a no.”
“It sounds like I have other things to worry about.”
Mateo's expression softened.
“You spent years making sure I survived. Maybe you can let someone help you for once.”
“I am letting people help me.”
“You're letting people pay bills. That's not the same thing.”
She looked away because he had found the truth too easily.
When Sofia returned to Dante's townhouse, she discovered him in the library with Marcus and a private investigator. A photograph lay beneath a magnifying lamp.
It showed Michael Ferrara's black sedan on a rain-slick road. The image had been taken from a security camera near the highway, several hours before the official time of the crash.
The investigator pointed to a detail near the rear wheel.
“The tire was already damaged. There are signs of a deliberate cut.”
Dante's face hardened.
“Can you prove it?”
“Not from this image alone. But the timestamp places the car at a private garage owned by a company associated with Vittorio Ferrara. The maintenance records for that night are missing.”
Sofia leaned closer.
“What's that reflection in the window?”
The investigator adjusted the magnification.
A second vehicle appeared in the glass behind the sedan. Its license plate was partly obscured, but the final three characters were visible.
The investigator compared them with an old registration database.
“The vehicle belonged to Ashford Medical Holdings.”
Dante looked at Marcus.
“Find out who drove it.”
Before Marcus could respond, the library door opened.
Vivienne Ashford stood in the doorway wearing a dark coat and an expression that suggested she had never needed permission to enter a room.
“I believe you have something that belongs to my family.”
Dante moved between her and the desk.
“You're not welcome here.”
“I came to prevent a mistake. That photograph is part of a confidential legal archive.”
“It shows my father's car before he died.”
“It shows a car on a public road. You are drawing conclusions from an image you don't understand.”
Sofia watched Vivienne carefully.
“You knew about the photograph before you came here.”
Vivienne's gaze shifted toward her.
“You have an unfortunate habit of confusing suspicion with intelligence.”
“And you have an unfortunate habit of answering questions no one asked.”
Marcus stepped toward the door.
“Ms. Ashford, you need to leave.”
Vivienne ignored him.
“Dante, your father was a difficult man. He made enemies. If you continue this investigation, you may discover things about him that you would prefer not to know.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the fact that he wasn't the hero your mother remembers.”
Dante's expression did not change.
“Then show me the evidence.”
Vivienne hesitated.
It lasted less than a second, but Sofia saw it.
“You don't have any,” Sofia said.
Vivienne turned on her.
“You think this is a game because you have nothing to lose.”
“My brother is sick. I lost my job defending an elderly woman. Someone is threatening me because I asked questions. Don't tell me I have nothing to lose.”
For the first time, Vivienne seemed unable to find a polished response.
Dante opened the front door.
“Leave.”
She straightened her coat.
“You will regret humiliating me.”
“Perhaps. But not tonight.”
Vivienne walked out.
The investigator waited until the door closed before speaking.
“There's something else. The Ashford vehicle was registered to a company that no longer exists, but its final financial statement lists a beneficiary.”
“Who?” Dante asked.
The investigator turned the page.
“Leonard Graff.”
Sofia thought of the senator's laughter at the gala.
The same man who had watched Eleanor being humiliated had been connected to the car that preceded Michael Ferrara's death.
Dante stared at the photograph for a long moment.
Then he said, “We're going to find the original maintenance records.”
Sofia looked at him.
“And if the records prove your uncle was involved?”
Dante's answer came without hesitation.
“Then I'll make sure he can never do it again.”
Outside, a camera flashed from across the street.
May you like
Someone had been watching the townhouse.
And this time, they wanted Dante to know it.
