Chapter 11 - The Woman Behind the Curtain
Red Hook looked different at sunrise.
Warehouses stood beside old brick buildings.
Delivery trucks rolled along narrow streets.
The East River reflected a pale orange sky.
It should have felt peaceful.
Instead, I kept watching every car behind us.
Rico sat beside me.
Dante drove.
Two other vehicles followed at a distance.
I looked at Rico.
“Are you sure you should be here?”
“No.”
I blinked.
He glanced at me.
“But if there's even a chance Elena is alive, I'm going to find out.”
I couldn't argue with that.
The clinic stood between a shuttered bakery and a small pharmacy.
A faded blue sign hung above the entrance.
There were no luxury cars.
No armed guards.
No indication that a woman connected to one of Brooklyn's most dangerous families had ever been there.
Rico reached for the door handle.
I caught his sleeve.
“Wait.”
He looked back.
“What?”
“Don't go in like Rico Moretti.”
His eyebrows rose.
“How else am I supposed to go in?”
“Like Leo's father.”
Something in his face softened.
I continued.
“If somebody here helped Elena hide, they're probably terrified of you.”
He considered that.
Then nodded.
“Okay.”
We entered together.
A receptionist sat behind a glass partition.
She looked up.
“Can I help you?”
Rico opened his mouth.
I gently touched his arm.
He stopped.
I stepped forward.
“We're looking for someone who may have received treatment here.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“Then I'm sorry, but—”
“Her name is Elena Moretti.”
The receptionist's expression changed.
Only slightly.
But I noticed.
Rico did too.
She looked toward a hallway.
“I don't recognize that name.”
I nodded.
“Okay. Could you tell us how to contact the clinic administrator?”
“I don't think—”
A door opened behind her.
A woman in blue scrubs stepped out.
She looked about fifty.
Her hair was pulled into a practical bun.
Her expression was calm until she saw Rico.
Then she stopped.
“Mr. Moretti.”
He stared at her.
“Do I know you?”
“No.”
She swallowed.
“But I knew your wife.”
His face changed.
“Where is she?”
The woman glanced toward the receptionist.
“Please come with me.”
We followed her into a small office.
She closed the door.
“My name is Dr. Hannah Ellis.”
Rico stood motionless.
“Tell me she's alive.”
Dr. Ellis looked at him.
Then slowly sat down.
“I can't tell you that.”
I felt hope collapse inside me.
Rico's jaw tightened.
“Then tell me what you can.”
She folded her hands.
“Your wife was brought here six months ago with injuries from a violent incident. She was conscious, frightened, and determined not to be transferred to the hospital Vincent had arranged.”
Rico stared.
“Vincent knew she was here?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he take her?”
“Because she had a lawyer.”
I blinked.
“A lawyer?”
Dr. Ellis nodded.
“She contacted an attorney who helped arrange protected accommodation.”
Rico's voice shook.
“Elena was alive.”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
The doctor hesitated.
“She recovered enough to leave the clinic.”
Rico turned away.
His shoulders rose and fell.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
I asked the question he couldn't.
“Why didn't she come home?”
Dr. Ellis looked sad.
“Because someone told her that returning would put Leo in immediate danger.”
Rico turned.
“Who?”
“I don't know.”
“Where did she go?”
“I can't disclose a patient's location or records without authorization.”
Rico took a step forward.
Dante stiffened.
I moved between them.
“Rico.”
He looked at me.
“She could be alive.”
“I know.”
“She could be somewhere right now believing I abandoned her.”
“I know.”
His face crumpled.
And for one terrible second, I thought the grief might destroy him.
Then Dr. Ellis spoke.
“There is something I can give you.”
We both turned.
She opened a drawer and removed a sealed envelope.
“Elena left this with instructions that it be delivered if Rico arrived with someone named Clara Vance.”
My mouth went dry.
“What?”
The doctor held it toward me.
“Elena said you'd come.”
I stared at the envelope.
My name was written across the front.
In handwriting I'd never seen before.
I opened it carefully.
Inside was a single photograph.
A little boy playing beside a garden fence.
Leo.
And a handwritten message.
Clara, if you're reading this, your mother was right about you.
Please protect my son.
And whatever happens, don't let Rico see the video until you know who the second man is.
I looked up.
“What video?”
Dr. Ellis's face changed.
“The video Elena recorded the night she disappeared.”
Rico stepped closer.
“Where is it?”
The doctor opened a cabinet.
Then stopped.
The small storage drive she'd expected to find was gone.
In its place sat a folded note.
May you like
Four words were written across the paper.
THE WRONG WOMAN KNOWS.
