The Maid Knew Where His Mother Was Buried—And His Fiancée Knew Why

Alessandro put the call on speaker.

Mara stepped closer. “Where is she?”

Enzo ignored her. “Bring me the ledger.”

“You told me Isabella was dead,” Alessandro said.

“She was supposed to stay away.”

“You buried someone under her name.”

A long silence followed.

“Meet me at the old packing plant,” Enzo said. “Come alone.”

“No,” Mara said.

Enzo heard her. “That must be the daughter she hid.”

The line disconnected.

Naomi urged them to wait for the detectives. Alessandro agreed, though it cost him effort. They gave the officers the call recording, the cemetery notes, and the storage receipt. Then they followed them to Helen Vale’s unit.

Inside were three cardboard boxes, a riding saddle, and a locked metal case. The brass key opened the case.

It held copies of medical records, photographs, and a letter written by Helen shortly before her death.

Helen admitted helping Enzo arrange Isabella’s disappearance. She claimed she had been told it would protect Isabella and her children. By the time Helen understood that Enzo meant to keep Isabella away from Alessandro permanently, she was too frightened to speak.

Mara reached the last page.

“Victoria found these records last year. She said she wanted to return them to the family. I believed her. Three days later, my original files were gone.”

“She knew,” Alessandro said. “Before she moved into my house.”

A detective lifted a photograph from the case. It showed the two cemetery plots before the stones were installed. A third grave lay between them, unmarked.

On the back, Helen had written one name: DANIEL MERCER.

The detective made a call to request the burial records.

Mara studied the photograph. Daniel had stood outside the gate that morning. He had driven Victoria and Isabella to the cemetery. For years, Mrs. Bell had believed he was Isabella’s loyal driver.

“Is he helping my mother or helping Enzo?” she asked.

Nobody could answer.

Then Luca called.

“Teresa’s safe,” he said. “She made it to a police station outside the city. She says Daniel helped her get away.”

Mara shut her eyes in relief.

“There’s more,” Luca said. “Isabella called Teresa from Daniel’s car. Victoria was listening, so she couldn’t say much. But Teresa understood where they were headed.”

“Where?” Alessandro asked.

Luca gave them the address.