Chapter 7 - The Girl Nobody Was Supposed to Find
The photograph had been taken eleven minutes earlier.
Nia knew because Sophie's phone displayed the time on the community college sign behind her.
Elena was shaking so badly she could barely hold her phone.
"He found her."
Enzo entered the waiting room.
One look at Elena's face told him something was wrong.
"What happened?"
She showed him the photograph.
He immediately contacted the investigators.
Within minutes, detectives were working with local authorities to locate Sophie.
Nia sat beside Elena.
"Call her."
"I tried."
"Again."
Elena pressed the number.
Voicemail.
Again.
Nothing.
On the fourth attempt, Sophie answered.
"Mom?"
Elena almost collapsed.
"Baby, where are you?"
"At school. Why?"
"Are you alone?"
"Yes. Mom, what's happening?"
Elena looked at the detectives.
One of them quietly explained what she should do.
"Sophie, stay somewhere public. We're arranging for officers to meet you. Don't leave with anyone."
There was a pause.
"Is this about him?"
Elena closed her eyes.
"Yes, sweetheart."
Sophie's voice grew small.
"Did he find us?"
Elena couldn't answer.
Then Sophie whispered something that made Nia's stomach turn.
"Mom, a man came to my class yesterday."
Elena gripped the phone.
"What man?"
"He said he knew Grandma Evelyn."
Nia leaned forward.
"What did he look like?"
Sophie described a tall man with silver hair, a dark suit, and a scar near his chin.
Enzo immediately recognized the description.
"Victor Hale."
Nia turned.
"Who?"
"Carlo's former security chief."
The detective spoke into his radio.
Elena began crying.
"Please find my daughter."
They located Sophie twenty-three minutes later.
She was inside the campus library.
Safe.
But Victor Hale had already disappeared.
When Sophie arrived at a secure location with investigators, she asked to speak with Nia.
"Grandma Evelyn told me about you," she said over a video call.
Nia's eyes filled.
"She did?"
"All the time."
Sophie smiled faintly.
"She said you were stubborn."
Nia laughed through her tears.
"That sounds right."
"She said you wouldn't let anybody push you around once you got angry enough."
Nia looked toward Enzo.
"She was probably right about that too."
Sophie's smile faded.
"I have something you need."
"What?"
"A letter."
"From Grandma?"
Sophie nodded.
"She told me not to open it unless somebody came looking for us."
Nia's heart began beating faster.
"What's inside?"
"I don't know."
The detectives arranged for the letter to be examined and shared appropriately.
Inside was a handwritten account of Evelyn's final meeting with Carlo.
She had confronted him with evidence that he was diverting charitable money and using the Costa businesses to conceal illicit transactions.
Carlo threatened her.
Then he offered her money.
She refused.
According to the letter, he warned that if she continued investigating, Nia would suffer.
Nia read those words three times.
Her grandmother had been protecting her.
Even while dying.
But the letter contained one more revelation.
Evelyn had copied a document showing that Carlo planned to seize Matteo's businesses through an emergency succession agreement.
The agreement would become effective if Matteo was declared permanently incapacitated.
And it required the signature of one particular person.
Enzo.
Nia looked at him.
"Did you know?"
He read the document.
His face went rigid.
"No."
"That's your signature."
"It's a forgery."
She studied him.
"Are you sure?"
Enzo looked straight at her.
"I never signed this."
The investigators began examining the document.
Before they could reach a conclusion, Carlo made his next move.
He released a statement through an attorney.
Matteo Costa, he claimed, was mentally unfit to manage the family businesses.
Carlo announced that he would seek emergency control of the companies to protect employees and creditors.
He also claimed that Nia Lewis had improperly influenced Matteo while he was seriously ill.
The story spread across local news outlets.
A photograph of Nia appeared on television.
The headline called her a mysterious housekeeper.
One commentator speculated about why she'd been allowed into Matteo's hospital room.
Nia stared at the screen.
"He wants people to think I'm manipulating him."
Enzo nodded.
"He's trying to discredit you."
Then Nia's phone rang.
Her mortgage lender.
She answered.
"Miss Lewis? We're calling about the property in Oregon."
Nia closed her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
"Your outstanding balance has been paid."
She sat upright.
"What?"
"Someone submitted the full amount this morning."
Nia glanced at Enzo.
"Who?"
"The payment came from a corporate account. We're reviewing the transaction."
A second message arrived.
This one was from Carlo.
You're welcome.
Nia felt sick.
He was trying to buy her silence.
She immediately informed the investigators and asked the lender not to treat the unexplained payment as an accepted gift.
Then she went to Matteo's room.
He was sitting upright for the first time in days.
The color had begun returning to his face.
"Nia?"
She placed her phone in front of him.
"Your cousin just paid off my grandmother's house."
Matteo stared at the message.
"Without asking you?"
"Yes."
His expression hardened.
"What does he want?"
Nia looked him directly in the eyes.
"He wants me to stop talking."
Matteo reached for his phone.
"Then let's give him something else to worry about."
Nia shook her head.
"No threats."
He paused.
"No violence."
He looked at her.
She continued.
"No private revenge. If we're going to expose him, we do it with evidence."
For a long moment, Matteo said nothing.
Then he put the phone down.
"All right."
Nia blinked.
"All right?"
He nodded.
"We do it your way."
At that exact moment, Enzo entered.
He was holding a laboratory report.
His face was pale.
"Matteo."
"What?"
"The investigators received new forensic results from the preserved tea."
Matteo sat forward.
Enzo swallowed.
"They found evidence consistent with the suspected poison."
Nia closed her eyes.
Then Enzo added:
"And they found something else."
He placed a photograph on the bed.
A fingerprint comparison had identified another person who had handled the tea container.
It wasn't Carlo.
It wasn't Mercer.
May you like
It was someone who still worked inside the Costa estate.
Someone Nia had trusted.
