Chapter 19 - The Last Door
Sofia did not run far.
She went home.
Of course she did.
The Rossi estate was the only place she had ever loved more than power.
Police surrounded the property while Grace, Nicholas, and Elena remained at a secure location.
I went inside with Helen Ward.
We found Sofia in the nursery.
She sat beside the empty crib where I had found Grace's ring.
The ring itself was gone, sealed in evidence.
Sofia looked smaller without the house moving around her like an army.
"You always were stubborn," she said.
"Where were you going to take Nicholas?"
"Somewhere safe."
"From his parents?"
"From this family."
I almost laughed.
"You are this family. That was the problem."
Her eyes flashed.
"I held everything together after your father died. Men twice my age waited for me to fail. I survived because I never gave them weakness."
"Grace wasn't weakness."
"She made you choose love over duty."
"No. You made me realize duty without love is just obedience."
For a moment, she looked tired instead of dangerous.
"I never meant for Dario to hurt the child."
"You created the situation that let him believe he could."
She looked toward the crib.
"I did take Grace's ring."
"Why the blood?"
"Matteo cut his hand fighting Dario. I used it. I wanted you to believe Grace had left in fear after a violent scene."
"You built a story before you knew whether she'd survive."
Sofia said nothing.
Helen stepped forward.
"Sofia Rossi, you're under arrest."
My mother stood.
Then she reached beneath the crib mattress.
Every officer raised a weapon.
But Sofia pulled out only a folded piece of paper.
She handed it to me.
It was Grace's first hidden message.
The one Carlo thought Sofia had burned.
Tell Luca I'm still here.
I looked at Sofia.
"Why keep this?"
May you like
Her answer was barely a whisper.
"Because some part of me knew you'd come home."
