Chapter 6
The wedding guests were still in the chapel when police arrived.
They came expecting vows.
They saw handcuffs.
Carlo was taken first.
He shouted my name all the way down the stairs.
Not sorry.
Not ashamed.
Angry that I had chosen Elena’s truth over blood.
Donatella refused to move until officers threatened obstruction.
Bianca stood silent.
Her cheek was red from her mother’s slap.
Her wedding dress hung open at the back.
For one second, she looked young.
Then I remembered Livia’s hair falling to the floor.
I felt nothing.
Detective Mara Vale took command of the house.
No relation to Dr. Vale, our pediatrician.
She was sharp-eyed, calm, and deeply unimpressed by both the Rizzano and Moretti names.
“I understand there are memory cards,” she said.
“They’re secured off-site.”
“Good. Keep them that way until my tech team arrives.”
My mother held Livia in the library while Dr. Vale checked her again.
I sat on the floor beside them.
Not in a chair.
Not above her.
Beside her.
Livia touched the shaved patch.
“Am I ugly?”
My heart shattered.
“No.”
“Bianca said girls with ugly hair don’t get picked.”
My mother sobbed quietly.
I took Livia’s hands.
“You are beautiful because you are kind, brave, and mine. Hair grows. Love stays.”
She looked at me seriously.
“Can I have Mommy’s flower?”
I held up the broken barrette.
“We’ll fix it.”
“Not Bianca?”
“Never Bianca.”
She nodded and leaned against me.
Detective Vale entered softly.
“I need to ask about the night your wife died.”
Livia tensed.
I said, “Not her.”
The detective raised both hands.
“Not without a child specialist. Not today.”
I respected her for that.
She turned to me.
“Elena’s first video is enough for arrests. But the second card appears encrypted. We need the key.”
I looked at the broken flower.
“We have it.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“Good.”
The second card opened at midnight in Father Luca’s office.
I watched with Detective Vale, Nico, Rosalie, and a federal prosecutor on video.
Elena appeared on screen.
Alive.
Tired.
Beautiful.
I stopped breathing.
“If you are seeing this,” she said, “then they reached Livia.”
Rosalie covered her mouth.
Elena continued.
“Alessandro, I am sorry I did not tell you everything. I was afraid you would protect me with violence, and violence is exactly what they wanted.”
I closed my eyes.
She knew me.
Even then.
She named accounts.
Dates.
Shipments disguised through children’s charities.
Adoptions that were not adoptions.
Medical transports carrying cash.
Dr. Ferri falsifying deaths.
Donatella laundering money.
Carlo opening security gates.
And Bianca.
Elena’s voice softened with sadness.
“Bianca is not the mind behind this. She is the bait. Donatella raised her to believe love is earned by obedience. But do not confuse damage with innocence. She knows enough.”
Then the screen changed.
Security footage appeared.
Our driveway.
The night before Elena died.
Carlo opening the back gate.
A black car entering.
Bianca stepping out.
Holding Livia’s pink barrette.
My hands curled.
May you like
Elena’s voice returned.
“She came for the flower once. She will come again.”
