Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WHO STOLE A CHILD
Vanessa was arrested forty-eight hours later.
Not in Chicago.
In a private airport terminal outside Miami.
She had been preparing to board a flight to Switzerland.
When investigators searched her luggage, they found three passports, a large amount of cash, and a flash drive hidden inside a cosmetic case.
The drive contained photographs from the warehouse.
Shipping records.
And a video.
Luca insisted I shouldn't watch it.
But I needed to know.
My attorney arranged for us to review the relevant footage with investigators.
The video showed Isabella entering a warehouse office.
She was carrying a baby.
Leo.
A younger Vanessa stood near the door.
They argued.
The audio was distorted, but one sentence was clear.
"You were supposed to hand him over."
Isabella backed away.
Then the camera shook.
Someone entered from behind.
The recording ended.
I covered my mouth.
"Did they kill her?"
The investigator shook his head.
"We don't know."
Another photograph showed Isabella being placed inside a vehicle.
Alive.
Luca stared at the screen.
For eighteen months, he had believed she was dead.
Now there was a possibility she had survived.
The revelation shattered him.
That night, I found him alone in his study.
He was holding the photograph.
"I failed her," he said.
"You protected Leo."
"I should have found her."
"You didn't know she was alive."
He looked at me.
"Everything I touch becomes dangerous."
I moved closer.
"Then stop trying to carry everything alone."
He laughed bitterly.
"Do you know what kind of man I am?"
"Yes."
"You should be afraid of me."
I thought about Sebastian.
About the nights I'd spent begging for kindness.
About how Luca had never once made me feel ashamed of needing help.
"I'm afraid of what your enemies might do," I said. "But I'm not afraid of you."
He looked at me for a long moment.
Then he whispered, "Nora, I love you."
The words settled between us.
I had imagined hearing them.
But now that I did, I felt something more complicated than happiness.
Fear.
Hope.
And the terrible knowledge that I might finally have something worth losing.
"Luca..."
"You don't have to answer."
"I know."
He stepped closer.
"I've wanted to tell you for months."
I touched his hand.
"Then give me time to believe it."
He nodded.
"All the time you need."
The next morning, the federal investigators made another discovery.
The flash drive contained a list of people who had helped conceal Leo's identity.
One name appeared repeatedly.
EVELYN BENNETT.
My mother.
And beside her name was a payment record.
Two hundred thousand dollars.
Dated three days after Leo's kidnapping.
I stared at the screen.
"My mother never had that kind of money."
The investigator looked uncomfortable.
"Mrs. Castellano, we need to ask you something."
May you like
"What?"
"Did your mother ever tell you that you had a sister?"
