Chapter 11 - THE HOUSE IN MAINE
The private jet tore through the night sky, hurtling toward the coast of Maine.
Leonardo sat across from me in the leather seat, staring out the window into the blackness. He hadn't spoken a word since we left Chicago.
I held my sleeping son against my chest. Lily was safely tucked away at the mansion, guarded by forty of Carmine's best men.
“We'll find her, Leo,” I said softly.
He turned to look at me. The vulnerability in his eyes broke my heart.
“Matteo knew,” Leonardo whispered. “He knew there was a second child. That's why he was investigating Thorne. He bought Evelyn Vance that train ticket to hide her, so Thorne couldn't kill her before she testified.”
“But Thorne got to Matteo first.”
“And Evelyn has been hiding in Maine for five years.”
The plane touched down at a small, private airstrip near Portland just as the sun began to rise.
Two black SUVs were waiting for us.
We drove for an hour into the deep, heavily wooded coastal hills.
The address tied to Evelyn Vance was a small, weathered cabin overlooking the crashing waves of the Atlantic.
Leonardo didn't wait for his guards.
He stepped out of the car and walked up the wooden porch steps.
He knocked heavily on the door.
For a long moment, there was no answer.
He knocked again.
“Evelyn Vance!” Leonardo called out. “My name is Leonardo Moretti. I am Matteo's brother. I know what you did for him.”
I stood behind Leonardo, clutching my baby.
Slowly, the locks clicked.
The door opened a fraction.
An older woman with graying hair and terrified eyes peered out.
She looked at Leonardo. Then she looked at me.
She opened the door completely.
“I knew you would come eventually,” Evelyn whispered, her voice trembling. “Matteo told me if he didn't make it, you would find the ticket.”
“Where is the child?” Leonardo demanded, stepping into the cabin.
Evelyn closed the door behind us.
“Thorne didn't just sell the babies, Mr. Moretti. He kept the second twin to use as a blood match for wealthy clients needing illegal pediatric organ transplants.”
I felt physically sick.
“But he didn't get her,” Evelyn continued, tears falling down her weathered cheeks.
She pointed toward the back bedroom of the cabin.
“I couldn't let him do it. I took her the night she was born. I faked the records. That's why Matteo sent me here to hide.”
The bedroom door slowly creaked open.
A little girl stepped out.
She was five years old. She had dark curly hair. And she had bright, piercing green eyes.
She was the exact mirror image of Lily.
Leonardo dropped to his knees.
The feared Mafia boss covered his mouth, sobbing openly as he looked at the identical twin of the niece he loved so fiercely.
“Hi,” the little girl said shyly, holding a wooden toy boat.
“Hi, sweetheart,” Leonardo choked out.
He looked at Evelyn.
“You protected my brother's blood. For five years, you gave up your life to keep her safe.”
Evelyn wiped her eyes.
“Matteo was a good man, Mr. Moretti. He deserved better than what the world gave him.”
Leonardo stood up.
May you like
He looked at the little girl, then at me.
“We're going home,” he said. “All of us.”
