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stammered, unable to say the words.
    “Yes.” Rafael confirmed her worst fear. “Giovanni Albertosi is dead.”
    If Anna wasn’t sitting down she would have fainted.
    “No...” she whispered beginning to shake. “I don’t believe it.” She stared desperately at Rafael. “When did he die?”
    “Six months ago.”
    Anna dropped her head into her hands. It wasn’t fair. She’d come all this way, after all these years only to miss him by six months. Life was so cruel. She’d been orphaned at the age of twelve, then when she finally found out she did have a father, he died six months before she got to him. The bile rose in her throat.
    “Excuse me,” she whispered, rising from the table. “I need to use your bathroom.” Vialli pointed back towards the entrance hall. Anna ran.
    Inside, she leant back against the cold wall, gasping for breath. He was dead. Her father was dead. She shook her head in disbelief. It was hard to believe what was happening. After coming all this way to see him, he wasn’t even here. Oh, the irony! Anna nearly sobbed with despair. She’d so badly wanted to meet her father. Even if she never saw him again, just the fact that she had a dad would have been enough. It would have meant she wasn’t an orphan. She had a family. Now she’d never have that. She’d never know for sure that he sired her, or what happened between her mother and Giovanni that caused them to split up. Her multitude of questions would remain unanswered for eternity.
    With supreme willpower she managed to get her breathing under control. It wouldn’t do to fall apart now. For the last thirteen years she’d survived on her own, knowing , or rather thinking, she was an orphan. She’d learnt to depend on herself, something she was proud of. Look how far she’d come? She had a good job at the hospital, great friends and one day she’d have a husband and lots of kids. Life was good.
    So her father was dead. Big deal. She hadn’t known him anyway. Theoretically she was no worse off than before.
    At that point her legs turned to jelly, so she collapsed on the edge of the toilet seat. That was the problem. She hadn’t known him. If she’d just gone through her mother’s things a year ago... That damn box had been in the attic for years. She would have found the letter and got ten to Giovanni before he’d died. At least then they would have had some time together. Now he’d never know that he had a daughter either.
    A thought struck her. Hang on a minute! What was it Vialli had said about ten million dollars? She stood up and made her way to the wash basin. He’d said Giovanni had left ten million dollars to his unknown heir.
    An unknown heir !
    Could he have meant her? Was it possible that Giovanni had known about her all along?
    Anna splashed her face with cold water and felt better. More questions. Would she ever find the answers to all her questions? Well, there was one way to find out.
    “What was it you said about an inheritance?” she asked him the second she walked back into the kitchen.
    “Oh, so now you’re interested?”
    Anna ignored his jibe. “Please. I’m interested in whether he knew he had an heir. Did he know it was a daughter?” She could scarcely breathe, waiting for him to reply.
    “I believe so,” Rafael said carefully.
    “How?” Anna asked immediately. “How did he know he had an heir?”
    Had he always known, she wondered. Imagine if Giovanni had been aware all this time that her mother had given birth to his child, yet he had chosen not to contact her, not to have anything to do with his child while she was growing up. Was that even a possibility?
    She stared at Rafael with undisguised anticipation.
    “I don’t know,” admitted Rafael. “He never told me the details. I was as surprised as anyone when a few days before he died , he called me into his room and told me he had a daughter. He said he’d made a terrible mistake and wanted me to find her.”
    “Yes?” Anna was