Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN WHO KNEW THE TRUTH
On the third morning, someone tried to enter the clinic.
I heard the lock click while I was carrying Gabriel's breakfast upstairs.
Then came a soft knock.
"Dr. Rossi? It's delivery."
Elena had gone to collect medicine from a nearby pharmacy.
Gabriel was asleep.
I approached the door but didn't open it.
"Leave it outside."
A pause.
Then a man's voice.
"Ms. Higgins, we know you're in there."
My hands went cold.
I backed away.
The handle turned.
Someone tried the door again.
I ran into Gabriel's room.
"Wake up."
His eyes opened instantly.
"What happened?"
"Someone's outside."
He pushed himself upright, wincing.
"How many?"
"I don't know."
He reached for the bedside table, then remembered his phone was gone.
"Get behind me."
"You're injured!"
"Matilda."
His voice sharpened.
"Now."
I moved behind him.
The door downstairs rattled.
Then the sound of a key entering the lock.
Gabriel grabbed a metal walking stick Elena had left beside his bed.
The door opened.
A man in a dark jacket entered the hallway.
He carried a small pistol.
Gabriel moved before I could scream.
He struck the man's wrist with the walking stick, sending the weapon skidding across the floor.
The man lunged.
Gabriel stumbled under the impact, but he managed to drive him against the wall.
I grabbed a heavy ceramic lamp and struck the intruder across the shoulder.
He collapsed.
Gabriel stared at me.
I stared back.
"You're welcome," I said breathlessly.
Then my knees nearly gave way.
He caught my arm.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Are you?"
He glanced at the wound beneath his shirt.
"That's a complicated question."
We heard footsteps outside.
A second man was approaching.
Gabriel pulled me toward the rear staircase.
"Go."
"What about you?"
"Go!"
We descended into the basement just as the front door crashed open.
Elena emerged from the rear entrance seconds later, carrying a bag of medicine.
She found us crouched behind a stack of old boxes.
"What happened?"
"Someone tried to kill us," I whispered.
She looked at Gabriel's face.
"Of course they did."
She led us through a narrow passage into the neighboring building, where an elderly couple ran a bakery.
The couple had known Elena for years.
They let us hide in the storage room while she called a trusted security contact.
For the next hour, we listened to the distant wail of police sirens.
Gabriel sat on an overturned crate, breathing carefully.
I knelt beside him.
"You're bleeding."
"It's superficial."
"You're a terrible liar."
He looked at me.
"You hit a man with a lamp."
"He was trying to kill us."
"You didn't hesitate."
"Neither did you."
Something changed in his expression.
He reached toward me, then stopped before touching my cheek.
"Are you afraid of me?"
I considered the question.
"Yes."
His hand fell.
"But I'm also afraid for you," I continued. "And I don't think those are the same thing."
He looked away.
Before he could respond, Elena entered the room.
"I've reached Luca. He can get us to a secure location, but there's something else you need to know."
She held up a folded newspaper.
The headline read:
FALCONE'S FORMER MAID LINKED TO MISSING MILLIONS.
Beneath it was my photograph.
I felt sick.
"They're saying I stole money?"
"They claim you took a ledger from the mansion," Elena said. "Carmine has filed a complaint, and several news outlets are repeating it."
"I've never seen a ledger."
Gabriel's expression darkened.
"He's creating a reason to hunt you."
"Why me?"
"Because you were the last person seen near my body. If he believes you know I'm alive, he'll do anything to silence you."
I stared at him.
"But I don't know anything."
"Not yet."
Elena pulled up a chair.
"There may be a way to expose him. Before Gabriel's father died, he placed a number of financial records in a private archive. Only three people knew it existed: Gabriel, Carmine, and a lawyer named Thomas Bell."
Gabriel frowned.
"Thomas died six years ago."
"His daughter is still alive," Elena replied. "Her name is Sofia Bell. She's a forensic accountant. She contacted me last month after discovering irregular transfers involving the Falcone businesses."
Gabriel looked at her sharply.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you were too busy protecting Carmine."
The words landed hard.
Elena continued.
"Sofia believes someone has been moving money through shell companies and using the warehouse operation to hide the transfers. She thinks the records could prove who ordered the poisoning."
"Where is she?" Gabriel asked.
"She's staying in Milwaukee under a different name."
He started to stand.
Elena pushed him back down.
"You're not going anywhere."
"We need those records."
"You need to recover enough to survive the trip."
I looked at Gabriel.
"She's right."
He sighed.
"Is there anyone in this city who doesn't want to give me orders?"
"Apparently not," I said.
He glanced at me.
Then, to my surprise, he smiled.
A small, tired smile.
But real.
That night, while Gabriel slept, I sat beside the window and watched the rain.
I thought about my brother Thomas, who had called me every Sunday since I started working at the mansion.
I hadn't answered his last three calls.
I took out my phone and sent him a message.
I'm safe. I'm sorry I disappeared. I can't explain everything yet, but I love you.
His reply came almost immediately.
Matilda, Mom says the police came asking about you. What happened? Please call me.
My heart broke.
I wanted to tell him everything.
Instead, I typed:
I'm going to fix this. I promise.
Then I looked toward Gabriel's room.
He was asleep, one hand resting over the bandage on his chest.
A man who had spent his life making other people afraid had become someone I couldn't bear to lose.
And that frightened me more than Carmine's threats.
May you like
Because I was beginning to care about Gabriel Falcone in a way I didn't understand.
And if he died this time, I wasn't sure what would remain of me.
