Questions for Answers

Chapter Sixteen

"You?" I asked surprised as I faced the woman who had posed as our tour guide. Tristen joined me as we took our seats facing her.

She sat with her hands out on the table, "I didn't think you'd actually show up. If it means anything, I didn't know that it was you who I was supposed to be meeting here."

I shook my head in confusion, "Wait, what's going on? Who are you?"

"I guess I should formally introduce myself. My name is Natalia Bonetti. I was born and raised here in Italy. My parents were Dario and Gia Bonetti. I know you're probably really confused, but so am I. I got a letter in the mail a while back telling me to meet someone named River Ashton at Saint Peter's, so I'm assuming you received the same thing?"

"Well, I got the invite but it didn't have your name anywhere on the card. Wait, so you didn't send me the invitation?" I questioned.

She shook her head, "No. I should probably tell you what I know. Fair warning, it's...a lot to take in."

Tristen grabbed my hand and I gave her a stern look, "I'm ready."

She sat back in her chair, "Okay, let's start from the beginning. When I was about seven years old, my parents died. Police said that on their way home from work, they had been involved in a terrible accident that left no survivors. Because I was so young, I accepted that as the truth, but as I got older, I started to wonder what really happened that night. Upon research, I learned that when they found my parents, it was said that all ten of my father's fingers were missing and his feet were tied down to the gas pedal. As for my mom, she had multiple stab wounds in her chest and had her tongue cut out from her mouth. So, they were both already dead before they were placed inside the car. The Italian police hid that fact from me, but my parents were smarter than them. When I turned fifteen, a random woman who I had never met before came to me with a bunch of books. She told me that I should start learning how to speak English and that my mother had left behind a book for me."

I was immediately captivated by her story because it was so similar to mine. The fact that her mother had left behind a book for her as well only confirmed my suspicions. I interrupted her story, "Sorry, you said she left a book for you? What kind of book was it?"

She put her hand out, "I'm getting there. Anyway, my mother left a book behind for me to read. There wasn't much inside, it seemed like a bunch of gibberish to me at first. But the more I read, the more I realized that she was trying to send me a message. In the book, she talked about a couple named Richard and Vivian Ashton. She vaguely mentioned them and their connection to each other, but I later learned that they worked together. I'm aware that that's still unknown knowledge to you, so I hope you're prepared for what I'm about to tell you. It took me a while to come to terms with it."

My heart began to race as I weighed all the possibilities of what their jobs might've been. It was true that I had no idea what they actually did for work, and now that I was about to learn, I didn't know if I was truly prepared to hear it. But I needed to. Maybe it would put my mind at ease and my questions to rest. I hesitated to look over at Tristen because I knew that he didn't like where this conversation was going. If I had known it would go in the direction that it did, I would've had him wait by the steps. But he was with me, so we faced it together.

I motioned for her to continue with her story and she did, "Okay, before I tell you, I just want to let you know that it may not be all the way accurate."

I scrunched up my face, "What do you mean?"

She sighed, "Well, I'm going off of memory. A couple of months ago, a box arrived at my door. I was cautious about bringing it in because I had no idea what it was, but I brought it inside of my house anyway. When I opened it, the only thing inside was a cassette tape. I had to go out and purchase a cassette player, and when I played the tape, it was your mother explaining everything to me. By this time, I was already fluent in English, so it wasn't difficult for me to understand. But I just wanted you to know that fact before I told you the truth about everything."