“Stop Calling This Number,” She Said—Then the Mafia Boss Whispered, “My Mother Is Dead.”
Chapter 6
Marco struck the wall again.
Metal screamed.
Clara coughed.
The smoke became unbearable.
Then the wall cracked.
“Move!”
Marco grabbed Clara and pulled her through the opening.
They tumbled into an alley behind the storage facility.
Fire consumed the unit behind them.
Marco immediately turned back.
“The box!”
Clara shook her head.
“You can’t go back.”
“My mother—”
“We have the letter!”
Marco stopped.
Clara held it tightly.
They ran.
The city police arrived minutes later.
Too quickly.
Clara looked at Marco.
“They knew.”
“Of course.”
“You think Hayes ordered this?”
“Yes.”
“How do we prove it?”
“We find Evelyn.”
“How?”
Marco thought of the number.
“The phone.”
Clara pulled it out.
“What about it?”
“My mother called your number for three years.”
“Maybe she was trying to reach me.”
“No.”
Marco shook his head.
“She was trying to leave a trail.”
Clara stared.
“Then why did my mother hear her voice?”
“Because Evelyn may have used the number.”
Clara’s heart raced.
“You think someone kept calling from a safe location?”
“Or someone wanted us to think she was calling.”
They returned to the stone house.
Sofia was waiting.
She looked at Clara.
“You found the letter.”
“Yes.”
Sofia closed her eyes.
“I prayed you would.”
“You knew Evelyn was alive?”
“I suspected.”
“How?”
“Because your mother told me.”
“When?”
“Before she died.”
Clara froze.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I was watched.”
Marco stepped forward.
“By whom?”
Sofia looked at him.
“Your father.”
Marco’s expression changed.
“My father?”
“He wasn’t the enemy.”
“Then who?”
“His brother.”
Marco went still.
“My uncle?”
Sofia nodded.
“Anthony Romano.”
Marco stared at her.
“He’s dead.”
“No.”
Sofia’s voice was barely audible.
“He isn’t.”
Marco looked furious.
“Why would everyone lie about this?”
“Because Anthony controls the people who control the lies.”
Clara asked:
“What does he want?”
Sofia answered:
“The women.”
“Why?”
“Because the women Evelyn helped disappear knew things.”
“About what?”
“Money.”
Marco’s face tightened.
Sofia continued.
“Anthony used shell companies to move money through legitimate charities.”
Clara understood.
“The shelters.”
“Yes.”
“He was stealing from them.”
“And using the women as leverage.”
Marco shook his head.
“Where is he?”
Sofia looked toward the river.
“Under another name.”
“What name?”
“Adrian Cole.”
Marco stared.
A man named Adrian Cole owned several security companies.
“He’s a businessman.”
Sofia shook her head.
“He’s your uncle.”
Marco immediately called one of his men.
“Find Adrian Cole.”
Then he stopped.
“No.”
He looked at Clara.
“If Anthony knows we’re coming, he’ll move Evelyn.”
Clara looked at the old photograph.
“What if Evelyn is already gone?”
Marco’s voice softened.
“Then we follow the trail.”
That was when Clara noticed something.
A tiny mark on the back of her mother’s letter.
Four numbers.
11-7-3-9
She showed Marco.
He frowned.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
Sofia saw it.
Her face went pale.
“The safe.”
“What safe?”
“Evelyn’s.”
“Where?”
Sofia pointed toward the river.
“Under the old church.”
Marco looked at Clara.
“Then we go tonight.”
But neither of them saw the small camera hidden in the ceiling.
The red light blinked.
Someone was watching.
And whoever it was had already heard every word.
