Chapter 18
Mara took Norah’s hand.
The door opened wider.
A woman descended the first step.
She was in her late sixties, dressed in a pale wool coat despite the mild morning.
Her silver hair was pinned neatly at the nape of her neck.
She carried no bag, no umbrella, and no visible sign that she had expected to find anyone in the basement.
Nico stared at her.
The woman stopped when she saw him.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then she looked past him toward Norah.
Her face changed.
Not with surprise.
With recognition.
Norah felt Mara’s fingers tighten around hers.
“Who are you?” Nico asked.
The woman did not answer him.
Her eyes remained fixed on Norah.
“You have Sofia’s hands,” she said.
Norah’s throat tightened.
“How do you know my mother?”
The woman descended another step.
Nico moved slightly, blocking her path.
“Answer her.”
The woman looked at him then.
Her expression held an old sadness.
“You have Matteo’s voice.”
Nico’s face went rigid.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Celia Moretti.”
The name seemed to strike the air from the room.
Nico took a step backward.
“That’s impossible.”
Celia’s gaze softened.
“No, Nico.”
She looked at the ledger in Norah’s arms.
“It is simply late.”
Norah could barely hear herself speak.
“Are you his mother?”
Celia nodded.
“I was.”
Nico’s eyes narrowed.
“You died.”
“I was told you believed that.”
“My father held a funeral.”
“For me?”
“For you.”
Celia’s mouth trembled.
“For the child he wanted the world to believe had died.”
Nico looked as though the floor had opened beneath him.
Norah glanced at the ledger.
The page with Lucian’s name lay open.
Guardian: Sofia Raines.
She looked back at Celia.
“Which child was placed with my mother?”
Celia did not answer immediately.
Her gaze moved from Norah to Nico.
Then to the faded photograph on the desk.
When she finally spoke, her voice was barely more than a whisper.
“The boy your mother protected was not Lucian.”
Nico’s breathing stopped.
Celia’s eyes filled with tears.
“Lucian was the name given to the child who vanished.”
Norah felt the ledger slip against her fingers.
Celia stepped closer.
“The child Sofia took away was Nico.”
The silence that followed was absolute.
Nico stared at her.
Norah could not move.
Celia reached into the pocket of her coat and withdrew a small, folded photograph.
She held it out to Norah.