Chapter 3 - WHAT MY MOTHER HAD SEEN
Mama did not speak for a long time.
The surveillance room seemed too small.
Alejandro stood on one side of the table.
Mama stood on the other.
I stayed between them because neither had noticed that I had moved there.
Finally Alejandro said, “Clara.”
That was Mama’s name.
Clara Bennett.
People at the mansion mostly called her Ms. Bennett.
Alejandro had never called her Clara before.
“What did you see?”
Mama stared at the photograph of us.
“Nothing.”
His jaw tightened.
“That photograph was taken outside Emma’s preschool.”
“I can see that.”
“Someone associated with the woman who just tried to murder me was watching your daughter.”
Mama’s face changed.
“I understand.”
“Then stop protecting whoever you’re protecting.”
“I’m not protecting anyone.”
“You’re lying.”
The words hit the room hard.
My stomach twisted.
Mama looked at him.
Alejandro looked at her.
Then I stepped between them.
“You called my mama a liar?”
Everyone froze.
Alejandro stared down at me.
For one second, nobody seemed sure whether to be frightened or amused.
Alejandro exhaled slowly.
“No.”
“You did.”
“I said she was lying.”
“That means liar.”
Mama whispered, “Emma.”
“But he did.”
Alejandro rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“I believe your mother is frightened.”
I crossed my arms.
“She’s not scared of you.”
Mama immediately said, “Emma.”
“She said you’re scary but not stupid.”
Mateo turned away so I could not see him laughing.
Alejandro looked at Mama.
Mama looked like she wanted the floor to open.
“Did she?”
Alejandro asked.
“No.”
I said, “Yes.”
Mama closed her eyes.
Alejandro’s mouth almost curved.
Then his attention returned to her.
“Clara.”
The softness left.
“Whatever you saw is now connected to Emma.”
Mama’s face broke.
She sat.
I had seen Mama tired.
Angry.
Sick.
Hungry.
I had never seen her look defeated.
“Three weeks ago,” she whispered, “Vivienne asked me to clean the blue guest room.”
Alejandro frowned.
“That room hasn’t been used in months.”
“I know.”
“What happened?”
“I found papers.”
“What papers?”
“Bank statements. Shipping manifests. Copies of property deeds.”
Mateo stepped forward.
“Whose?”
“I didn’t know. I didn’t read them closely.”
Alejandro’s voice sharpened.
“Why not tell me?”
“Because Vivienne walked in.”
Mama rubbed her palms together.
“She saw the papers in my hand. I said I was organizing them because they were scattered across the desk.”
“What did she do?”
“She smiled.”
Mama looked at me.
“That frightened me more than if she had yelled.”
I understood that.
Some smiles are meaner than shouting.
“She told me I had made a mistake.”
Alejandro’s jaw tightened.
“What kind of mistake?”
“Seeing something that didn’t concern me.”
“And?”
“She gave me five hundred dollars.”
His face darkened.
“You took it?”
Mama looked offended.
“No.”
“Where is it?”
“I left it on the table.”
Mateo nodded slowly.
“That was probably when they decided she couldn’t be bought.”
Mama continued.
“Two days later, Rafael started asking questions.”
“What questions?”
“Where Emma went to school. What time I finished work. Whether I had family nearby.”
Alejandro’s expression went murderous.
“You didn’t report this?”
“To whom?”
“Me.”
Mama laughed once.
Bitterly.
“You?”
Alejandro looked stunned.
“Yes. Me.”
“You are surrounded by men with guns. Rafael was one of your guards. Vivienne was your fiancée. I am a live-in maid who sleeps in the basement with her daughter because I can’t afford New York rent.”
Her voice shook now.
“If I accused the wrong person, we would lose everything.”
Alejandro did not interrupt.
“We came here after Emma’s father died. Medical bills destroyed us. I had nowhere else. Your housekeeper gave me this job and let Emma stay because she knew me from church.”
Mama’s eyes filled.
“I was not going to gamble my daughter’s bed on whether the most powerful man in the house believed a maid over the woman he planned to marry.”
Silence.
Alejandro’s face changed.
Not anger.
Shame.
I knew shame too.
It looked like when I broke Mama’s favorite cup and waited for her to notice.
Alejandro sat across from her.
“You should have been able to tell me.”
Mama looked away.
“But I couldn’t.”
“No.”
He nodded.
“That’s my failure.”
Everyone looked at him.
Powerful men are not supposed to admit failures.
At least, not in houses like that.
Alejandro continued.
“What did the documents show?”
“I remember one company name. Bellmere Holdings.”
Mateo turned sharply.
“Bellmere?”
“You know it?”
“It bought three warehouses from one of our competitors last year.”
Alejandro frowned.
“Using what capital?”
“That’s the problem.”
Mateo looked at him.
“The financing never made sense.”
Alejandro stood.
“Get me everything on Bellmere.”
A security analyst began typing.
Within minutes, information filled the monitors.
Shell companies.
Properties.
Transfers.
Names.
Most meant nothing to me.
Then Mama pointed.
“That.”
A document appeared.
“That logo was on the papers.”
Mateo leaned closer.
A transfer of $3.8 million.
From Bellmere Holdings.
To an account belonging to North Star Consulting.
Alejandro went still.
“North Star.”
Mama looked at him.
“What?”
“My brother owns it.”
The room changed again.
Alejandro had one younger brother.
Luca Moretti.
Thirty-six.
Charming.
Expensive.
Always traveling.
He visited the mansion twice during the months Mama and I lived there.
Both times he brought me candy after Mama said no.
I liked him.
Maybe that was why Mama’s face looked so worried.
“No,” she said. “Maybe his company was used.”
Alejandro’s eyes were cold.
“Maybe.”
Mateo began searching.
The results got worse.
North Star had received seven payments from Bellmere over eighteen months.
Then money moved to accounts in Switzerland, Panama, and the Cayman Islands.
Alejandro stared at the screen.
“What is Bellmere buying?”
A security analyst answered.
“Warehouse properties near Port Newark.”
Alejandro turned.
“Those are adjacent to our logistics routes.”
Mateo swore.
“They’re building a shadow network.”
“For what?”
Nobody answered.
Then one of the guards entered.
“We have Rafael’s phone.”
“Unlocked?”
“Yes.”
He handed it to Mateo.
There were dozens of erased messages.
Most recovered only partially.
One conversation remained.
Vivienne:
THE BOTTLE IS READY.
Rafael:
AND THE KID?
Vivienne:
ONLY IF THE MOTHER TALKS.
Mama covered her mouth.
I did not understand every word.
I understood enough.
Alejandro took the phone.
His face became frighteningly calm.
“What else?”
The guard swallowed.
“A message from Luca.”
Alejandro’s eyes lifted.
“What does it say?”
Mateo read it aloud.
TONIGHT ENDS IT. AFTER ALEJANDRO IS GONE, BURN THE BLUE ROOM AND REMOVE THE MAID.
Mama pulled me against her.
Alejandro did not move.
For several seconds, he looked like the poison had entered his body again.
Not because someone wanted him dead.
Because his own brother apparently did.
Then a phone rang.
Alejandro’s.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“Moretti.”
A familiar male voice came through.
“Brother.”
Alejandro went still.
Luca.
Alejandro put the call on speaker.
“Where are you?”
Luca laughed softly.
“Does it matter?”
“You tried to kill me.”
“I tried to prevent you from destroying everything our father built.”
“You poisoned my wine.”
“Vivienne did.”
“You ordered it.”
A pause.
Then:
“You always were smarter than everyone gave you credit for.”
Alejandro’s voice became low.
“Stay away from Clara Bennett and her daughter.”
Luca laughed again.
“That little girl used the EpiPen?”
My chest tightened.
Alejandro’s face turned white with fury.
“How do you know that?”
“Rafael texted before you locked down the house.”
“Rafael is in custody.”
“For now.”
“You’re finished, Luca.”
“No.”
His voice changed.
“You are.”
Then the call disconnected.
At that exact moment, every light in the mansion went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Someone screamed upstairs.
And in the blackness, Mama reached for me.
Her hand found only empty air.
May you like
Because someone had already grabbed my pink rabbit backpack and pulled me through the open door.
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