Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
Nobody spoke.
Hospital sounds continued around us—wheels against tile, distant intercom announcements, an elevator chiming somewhere down the hall.
But inside our small circle, 12 years had just opened like a grave.
I stared at Gabriel.
“You knew my mother?”
He did not answer immediately.
My father did.
“This is ridiculous.”
Gabriel's eyes moved to him.
Richard stopped talking.
I had never seen my father frightened of anyone.
I saw it now.
Gabriel took the photograph from me.
“When I was 18, my father owned several warehouses along the river. Bennett Development wanted the property. Richard handled negotiations.”
“What does that have to do with Mom?”
“Margaret worked in accounting.”
I remembered.
Before my father left us, my mother had been an accountant.
“She discovered money moving through shell companies,” Gabriel continued. “Millions disappeared during the acquisition.”
Richard stepped forward.
“Old accusations from dead men.”
Gabriel ignored him.
“My father believed Margaret had stolen it. Richard provided documents proving it.”
My stomach tightened.
“Did she?”
“No.”
The answer came instantly.
“How do you know?”
“Because three months later, I found evidence that the documents were forged.”
I turned toward Richard.
He looked furious now.
Not guilty.
Cornered.
“You framed Mom?”
“Emily, you have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Then explain it.”
“I don't owe explanations to a child who storms into private events begging for money.”
Gabriel moved before I could respond.
Not violently.
He simply stepped between us.
Yet Richard recoiled.
“You denied your own daughter in front of 200 people,” Gabriel said. “Choose your next sentence carefully.”
Richard's mouth closed.
Celeste stared at her father.
The superiority she had carried inside the ballroom was gone.
“What money?” she asked.
Richard turned on her.
“You should never have opened that safe.”
“You told me Mom kept my passport there.”
“Go home.”
“No.”
Her voice trembled.
But she remained.
For the first time, I saw something familiar in my half sister.
Fear of disappointing Richard Bennett.
I had once lived inside that fear too.
A nurse appeared.
“Miss Bennett? Your mother is awake.”
Everything else stopped mattering.
I went to her room.
Gabriel remained outside.
When I entered, Mom looked pale but alert.
“Hey, baby.”
I sat beside her.
“There’s something I need to ask.”
Her eyes changed when she saw the photograph.
“Where did you find that?”
“Celeste.”
Mom closed her eyes.
“Of course.”
“Richard told Gabriel you were dead.”
Her eyes opened.
She looked toward the door.
“Gabriel Romano is here?”
“You know him?”
“I knew his mother.”
That surprised me.
“She was kind to me when your father wasn't.”
“Mom, what happened?”
She stared at the ceiling.
“Your father stole $11 million.”
The number made my breath catch.
“He used accounts connected to Romano businesses. When I discovered it, he told me to keep quiet. I refused.”
“What happened?”
“He forged records using my credentials.”
“Why weren't you arrested?”
“Because someone inside Romano's organization discovered inconsistencies before the evidence reached police.”
“Gabriel?”
“I never knew.”
She breathed carefully through the pain.
“Richard came home one night and told me we were leaving Chicago. I refused. The next morning, he disappeared.”
“With Vivien.”
Mom nodded.
“He later threatened to expose the forged records if I pursued him for money or custody support.”
My stomach turned.
“He made you look like a criminal so he wouldn't have to support us?”
“It was bigger than support.”
Mom looked toward the photograph.
“The missing money never disappeared. Richard built Bennett Development with it.”
The hospital room seemed colder.
“That means his company—”
“Was built partly with stolen Romano money.”
I thought about the ballroom.
Bennett Development Welcomes Romano Holdings.
“Oh my God.”
Mom nodded.
“Richard invited Gabriel into his company.”
“He doesn't know.”
“Then Richard is planning something.”
A knock sounded.
Gabriel entered alone.
My mother's expression softened with recognition.
“You have Elena's eyes.”
Gabriel stopped.
Nobody had mentioned his mother.
“You knew her.”
“She saved me once.”
He moved closer.
“And you disappeared before I could save you.”
“You were 18.”
“I could have tried.”
“So could my husband.”
She looked at me.
“I learned not to measure men by what they promise when life is easy.”
Gabriel absorbed that quietly.
Then Mom looked at him.
“Richard is going to steal from you again.”
Gabriel's expression hardened.
“How?”
“I don't know. But he never invites anyone to dinner unless he intends to eat first.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled.
Gabriel did.
Mom noticed.
So did I.
Something strange passed through her tired eyes.
Later, after she slept, Gabriel and I walked toward the elevators.
“I need to return to the hotel,” he said.
“To confront Richard?”
“To finish what I came there to do.”
“What transaction?”
He looked at me.
“Romano Holdings was supposed to purchase 40% of Bennett Development tonight.”
My heart dropped.
“Don't.”
“I wasn't planning to.”
“Because of Mom?”
“Because Richard moved $17 million from an escrow account 2 hours before the signing.”
I stared.
“You already knew?”
“I knew money was missing. I didn't know this was the second time.”
The elevator opened.
Neither of us entered.
“What happens to him?”
“That depends on what we find.”
There was something frightening in the sentence.
“Gabriel.”
His eyes met mine.
“Don't kill my father.”
Luca, standing several feet away, suddenly found the wall fascinating.
Gabriel's expression did not change.
“Would you care?”
I thought of Richard denying me.
Then I thought of being 8 years old, sitting on his shoulders at the lake before money turned him into someone else.
“Yes.”
Gabriel studied me.
“Why?”
“Because if he deserves punishment, I want him alive to understand it.”
Something like approval entered Gabriel's eyes.
“Good answer.”
He stepped into the elevator.
I followed.
“You're staying here.”
“No.”
“Emily.”
“You've known me approximately 5 hours. You don't get to order me around.”
Luca coughed suspiciously.
Gabriel looked at him.
Luca stopped.
Then Gabriel looked back at me.
“You're exhausted.”
“My father destroyed my mother's life.”
“Yes.”
“He may be stealing millions again.”
“Yes.”
“And you think I'm going to sleep?”
“Yes.”
I folded my arms.
The elevator doors closed.
Gabriel stared at me.
I stared back.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then he pressed the button for the garage.
Luca sighed.
“Boss?”
“She’s coming.”
I smiled despite myself.
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Do not look pleased. This is not a victory.”
“It feels like one.”
His eyes dropped briefly toward my mouth.
That tiny movement changed the air.
Then his phone rang.
Whatever had almost happened vanished.
He answered.
Luca watched his face.
Gabriel's expression turned lethal.
“When?”
Silence.
“Lock the building.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
Gabriel looked at me.
“Richard is gone.”
My stomach dropped.
“He left the ballroom?”
“No.”
Gabriel held up his phone.
“Security footage shows him entering the executive office 14 minutes ago.”
May you like
“And?”
“He never came out.”
