“Stop Calling This Number,” She Said—Then the Mafia Boss Whispered, “My Mother Is Dead.”
Chapter 4
Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Clara looked from the photograph to Marco.
“You knew me.”
Marco shook his head.
“I don’t remember this.”
“You were there.”
“I was six.”
“I was five.”
He looked at her.
“Why would our mothers have us together?”
Sofia answered.
“Because they were friends.”
Clara frowned.
“My mother never mentioned her.”
“Because your mother wanted you to forget.”
“Forget what?”
Sofia sat down.
“Your mothers were helping women escape abusive men.”
Clara blinked.
“Women?”
“Women whose husbands were dangerous.”
Marco’s expression hardened.
“My mother?”
“Yes.”
He looked at Clara.
“Your mother helped her.”
Sofia continued.
“Evelyn used her connections. Margaret handled safe houses.”
Clara felt tears in her eyes.
“My mother worked with her?”
“For years.”
“And my father?”
Sofia looked down.
“Your father found out.”
“What did he do?”
“He tried to stop them.”
“Why?”
“Because he was involved with men who didn’t want those women to disappear.”
Marco’s jaw tightened.
“Who?”
Sofia hesitated.
“People your father owed.”
Clara swallowed.
“Was he a criminal?”
“No.”
Sofia looked at Marco.
“But he was close to them.”
Clara stared at the photograph.
“And me?”
“You were the reason your mother became brave.”
Sofia reached into the metal box again.
She removed a cassette tape.
“Your mother left this.”
Marco looked at it.
“Do you have a player?”
Sofia nodded.
They found an old cassette machine in the basement.
Clara pressed play.
Static.
Then her mother’s voice.
“Clara, if you’re hearing this, something has happened to me.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“Don’t trust anyone who tells you your father abandoned us.”
Marco looked at her.
The recording continued.
“He didn’t leave because he stopped loving you.”
Static.
“He left because he was trying to keep you alive.”
Clara began crying.
“Someone inside the Romano family has been selling information.”
Marco froze.
His mother’s family.
The voice continued.
“We discovered women were disappearing after they were moved.”
Marco looked furious.
“We thought we had a leak.”
Static.
“We were wrong.”
Clara leaned closer.
“The leak was bigger than one person.”
The recording crackled.
“It was connected to the police.”
Marco’s eyes darkened.
Clara stared at him.
Then her mother’s voice said:
“If I die, Evelyn will try to protect Clara.”
The tape skipped.
“And if Evelyn dies, Marco must find her.”
The recording ended.
Silence.
Marco slowly sat down.
“My mother knew about you.”
Clara wiped her tears.
“She knew me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she die?”
“I don’t know.”
Sofia stepped forward.
“Because someone wanted both women silenced.”
Clara looked at the old photograph.
“Who?”
Sofia shook her head.
“Your mothers never found the name.”
Marco stood.
“Then we will.”
He walked toward the door.
Clara followed.
“Where are you going?”
“To find the person who sent me the photograph.”
“And me?”
“You stay here.”
“No.”
Marco turned.
“This isn’t your fight.”
“My mother is in it.”
“So is my mother.”
“Then we’re doing this together.”
Marco stared at her.
“You could die.”
Clara’s voice trembled.
“I’ve already lost my mother.”
A long silence.
Marco looked away.
Finally, he said:
“Fine.”
But before they could leave, Sofia shouted.
“Wait.”
She held up the photograph again.
On the back was a number.
Not a phone number.
An account number.
Marco read it.
His expression changed.
“That’s a bank account.”
Clara looked at him.
“Whose?”
Marco’s voice became very quiet.
“My father’s.”
