Chapter 4: The Call from a Lost Sister
Matteo seized Marcus by the jacket.
“Where is Leah?”
Marcus removed Matteo’s hand one finger at a time.
“I said she may be in danger.
I didn’t say the danger came from me.”
“You said she wouldn’t be alive.”
“A frightened woman with stolen medical files makes reckless choices.”
Liana’s voice cracked.
“What files?”
Marcus looked directly at her.
“Ask what happened to your son’s surgery money.”
The room tilted beneath Liana.
Nico began to whimper as her grip tightened.
Matteo took the baby carefully.
“Liana, look at me.”
“Elias was approved for assistance,” she said.
“The hospital told me the foundation withdrew it.”
“My foundation never withdraws approved care,” Matteo said.
Marcus gave a soft laugh.
“You sign papers.
Other people decide where the money goes.”
Jonas stepped into the corridor.
“Mr.
Varric, Marcus’s access has been suspended.”
Marcus touched the scanner beside the stairwell.
The light flashed green.
“No, it hasn’t.”
A steel fire door dropped between the nursery and the corridor.
Marcus vanished behind it.
“Override it,” Matteo ordered.
“I’m trying.” Jonas struck commands into the wall panel.
“He changed the master code.”
Liana’s phone rang inside her apron.
UNKNOWN CALLER glowed across the screen.
She answered.
“Hello?”
A woman breathed her name.
“Liana?”
Liana gripped the windowsill.
“Leah?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Where have you been?
Why was Elias’s band under Nico’s mattress?”
“He was never supposed to pay for what I discovered.”
Liana’s knees buckled.
Matteo caught her elbow while balancing Nico against his chest.
“What did you discover?” Liana demanded.
“The Varric Children’s Fund paid for Elias’s operation.
I saw the authorization myself.”
“Then why didn’t he receive it?”
“Marcus rerouted the payment through a security company.
Dr.
Adrian Cole changed the hospital record and told you the application had failed.”
Liana struck the wall with the heel of her hand.
“You knew?”
“I learned two days before Elias was gone.”
“Two days?” Liana’s voice rose.
“You could have called me!”
“Marcus sent me a photograph of you leaving the hospital.
He said if I spoke, you would be next.”
“You let me sit beside my son and beg strangers for help.”
“I was trying to keep you breathing.”
“You don’t get to call that protection!”
Leah sobbed into the phone.
“You’re right.”
Those two words took the strength from Liana’s legs.
She slid to the floor, covering her mouth.
Nico reached for her from Matteo’s arms.
“Take him,” Matteo said softly.
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“What if Marcus is right?
What if I brought danger to him?”
Matteo crouched beside her.
“Marcus lied to both of us.
That shame belongs to him.”
Liana accepted Nico.
The baby pressed his palm against her wet cheek.
On the phone, Leah whispered, “I used your application to get you into the house.
I needed Matteo to meet the one person who would never stop asking about Elias.”
“Why did Nico recognize me?”
“I cared for him after his mother’s accident.
I sang him the lullaby Mama sang to us.
You sound like me, Liana.
You even smell like the lavender soap I used at the hospital.”
Nico made a small, sleepy sound.
Matteo stared at the phone.
“What did my wife know?”
A loud crash came from Leah’s end.
“Leah?” Liana stood.
“What was that?”
“I have Sofia’s recording,” Leah whispered.
“Marcus knows where I am.”
May you like
The line went silent.
Then every light in the mansion went out.
