Chapter 15 - The Woman Behind the Glass
Peter had two men with him, but Rebecca's agents were already positioned along the driveway. He saw the rifles and lifted his hands.
“I'm not here to fight,” he said.
“That's a first,” Lorenzo replied.
Peter looked at Mia. “I only want to speak to my niece.”
“You've had years,” Luca said. “You chose to hunt her.”
Peter's face tightened. “I was trying to protect her.”
“From what?”
“From the truth.”
Grace stepped between them. “Enough. Anna is at the clinic.”
She led them through the house to a small room at the back. A woman sat beside the window, her dark hair streaked with gray, one hand resting on a walking cane.
Mia stopped breathing.
The woman turned.
“Mia?”
The child ran.
Anna caught her in both arms and held her with a sound that was half sob, half laugh. Mia buried her face in her mother's shoulder.
“You're real,” she whispered.
“I'm real, sweetheart.”
“Dad said you were gone.”
“He was trying to keep you safe.”
“You both kept leaving.”
Anna closed her eyes. “I know. I'm sorry.”
Lorenzo stood in the doorway. Anna looked up at him.
“You got old,” she said.
“You got stubborn.”
A tired smile crossed her face. For a moment, the years between them fell away. Then she told them what happened after the bombing. Sofia had survived the first attack, but Vale's men moved her to a private clinic. Anna and Grace helped her escape. Sofia later died from her injuries, but before she did, she gave Anna the evidence and begged her to protect Mia.
Lorenzo's grief had been built on a false report, not a false death. It did not make the loss smaller. It made the lie crueler.
Peter lowered his eyes.
“I helped Vale because he promised he could get Anna treatment,” he said. “Then he threatened Mia.”
Anna looked at her brother. “You could have come to me.”
Peter had no answer.
A soft alarm sounded from Rebecca's phone.
May you like
The clinic's security system had detected a breach.
Someone had found them.
