Chapter 15 - The Father Who Never Came Home|
My mother told me the truth in a quiet room at Rebecca's office.
Gabriel had survived the boat sabotage, but the injuries he suffered had left him unable to return to New York immediately. He had been rescued by a fisherman and taken to a small coastal hospital under a false name.
When he recovered, he discovered that Adrian had announced his death and begun searching for Elena and their daughter.
Gabriel believed that returning would put us in greater danger.
"He should have come for me," I said.
My mother held my hand.
"He tried."
"Then why didn't he?"
"Because Adrian threatened to kill you if Gabriel ever contacted us. He sent photographs of your childhood home. He knew where you went to school. He knew the names of your teachers."
I looked away.
The explanation did not erase the pain.
I had spent my life wondering why my father had never returned. I had imagined that he was dead, selfish, ashamed, or simply unwilling to love me.
Now I knew he had been alive for years.
Some part of me wanted to forgive him immediately.
Another part wanted to ask why protecting me had required leaving me alone.
"Where is he now?"
My mother shook her head.
"I haven't seen him in fourteen years. He used to send letters through Margaret. Then the letters stopped."
Dante entered carrying a folder.
"We found a trace."
He placed a photograph on the table.
It showed an elderly man standing outside a small bookstore in coastal Maine.
His hair had turned gray. His shoulders were stooped. But the eyes were unmistakable.
My eyes.
"Who is he?" I whispered.
"Gabriel Moretti, living under the name Thomas Reed. He disappeared from his last known address six months ago."
"Six months ago?"
"The same month my grandfather died," Dante said.
My mother went pale.
"He knew the old man was dead."
Rebecca opened a document.
"Gabriel's last letter mentioned an appointment with someone who claimed to possess proof that Adrian had ordered the sabotage. The appointment was scheduled at a private medical facility in Connecticut."
I stared at the photograph.
"Could Adrian have taken him?"
"It's possible," Dante said.
I rose.
"Then we find him."
Dante nodded.
"We will."
The investigation led us to an abandoned rehabilitation center outside Hartford. Records showed that a patient using the name Thomas Reed had been admitted there under a private arrangement.
He had left three weeks later.
The facility's director initially refused to cooperate, but when Rebecca presented evidence of fraudulent payments, he gave us access to the patient's room.
Inside, we found a stack of books, an empty medicine bottle, and a handwritten note hidden beneath the mattress.
The note was addressed to me.
Clara,
If you have found this, then the Black Rose has awakened, and I have failed to reach you before the family discovered your identity.
I have spent years believing that distance was the only way to protect you. I was wrong. I should have trusted you with the truth.
Your uncle has always feared the archive, but he fears something more than the ledger. He fears the original family charter, which proves that the Moretti empire was never intended to belong to one man.
The charter is hidden where our family first learned the meaning of loyalty.
Find the bell that never rings.
Your father.
I read the letter until the words blurred.
Dante examined the final line.
"The bell that never rings."
My mother looked up sharply.
"St. Agnes."
"What is that?" I asked.
"The church where Gabriel and I were married. There was an old bell tower, but the bell was removed after it cracked. Gabriel used to joke that the church had a voice nobody could hear."
Rebecca checked the location.
"The building was converted into a private foundation years ago."
Dante called his security team.
"We leave in twenty minutes."
Before we could move, a new message arrived from an unknown number.
It contained a photograph of Gabriel sitting in a chair, his hands tied behind his back.
May you like
Beneath it were seven words.
Bring Clara to the Black Rose ceremony. Alone.
