Chapter 7
The phone was old.
White case.
Cracked corner.
Sofia’s.
Alessandro had searched for it after her death.
Hospital staff believed it had been misplaced during one of her final transfers.
Bianca stared at the device.
Matteo went completely still.
Alessandro noticed both.
He picked it up.
The battery was dead.
“Where did you get this?”
Bianca swallowed.
“Sofia gave it to me.”
Rosalie’s voice cut through the room.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
Rosalie’s hands were trembling.
“Mrs. Rizzano asked me for that phone the morning she lost consciousness.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“What?”
“She said she needed to send something.”
Bianca’s face tightened.
Rosalie continued.
“I went home that night. When I came back, they told me the phone had disappeared.”
Alessandro’s breathing slowed.
Matteo stepped forward.
“Be careful.”
Rosalie looked at him.
That warning changed her fear into anger.
“Why?”
“Because grief changes memory.”
Rosalie’s eyes widened.
Alessandro looked at Matteo.
He had heard enough people use uncertainty as a weapon.
“Stop.”
Matteo did.
Alessandro handed the phone to his security chief.
“Preserve it. Don't open anything until it can be copied.”
Bianca laughed bitterly.
“Now Sofia gets another investigation too?”
Alessandro stared at her.
“You brought a dead woman’s phone to your wedding.”
Her smile disappeared.
The phone became the new center of gravity.
Two hours later, the ceremony had been formally canceled.
Guests were told only that a private family emergency had occurred.
Bianca remained in a secured guest suite with her attorney on the way.
Matteo was told not to leave the property.
He did not like it.
“You're treating me like an enemy.”
Alessandro looked at him.
“I’m trying to determine whether you are one.”
Matteo’s jaw clenched.
Then he said:
“If you open that phone, be ready for things you don't want to know.”
Alessandro stopped.
“What things?”
Matteo looked toward the corridor.
His voice became quieter.
“Sofia wasn't happy before she died.”
Alessandro stared at him.
“I know.”
“No.”
Matteo’s eyes met his.
“You knew she was tired.”
May you like
A pause.
“You didn't know she was planning to leave you.”
