“I understand,” Mario responded, his voice barely a whisper.
“I need your absolute assurance, Mario. You will not expose us or this information to the world.”
Mario held Dominic’s gaze. “I promise.”
With that, Dominic turned and left Mario alone with his tumultuous thoughts.
After half an hour, Mario rose and walked down the aisle to return the book Dominic had given him. As he scanned the ledgers on the shelves, a smaller book caught his eye. He pulled it out and opened it to find the handwriting inside had been signed by none other than Hannah Goldstein. With the book in hand, he returned to the sitting area to delve into its entries.
Chapter 81
21 September 1941
I’ve been stuck in this basement for a month now. I don’t know if I can trust these men.
Everything I thought I knew, I’m doubting now.
The Templars’ leader told me it was the pope who tried to kill me. The plane with the other Jewish refugees was rigged to get rid of “evidence” of his transgressions.
I was evidence? I don’t get it.
Who can I trust? Mom and Dad are gone. I’ve got no one to trust but me. I’ve got to grow up fast because I’ve got another life depending on me now. But who is the father? I was careful with the guards when I escaped Treblinka. The pope? He’s the only one I wasn’t careful with, couldn’t be careful with. He wasn’t careful when we . . . .
Being pregnant saved my life. Saved our lives. You’re like a miracle in disguise, my little one. I’m forever grateful to you—and for now, we’re safe.
Hannah Goldstein
20 October 1941
Another new moon.
Tonight, Pope Pius XII is going to make another batch of people disappear. Their plane is going to have an “accident” after takeoff. He is evil. If it wasn’t for my morning sickness, I would’ve been one of those “accidents” two months ago, all because of him.
My baby, you saved my life. You saved us both. I’m forever grateful to you, my little miracle.
Hannah Goldstein
30 October 1941
The Templar say there’s no chance of getting me to the United States right now. They’re saying maybe next month. I guess I’m safe here for the time being.
Hannah Goldstein
19 November 1941
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. The Templar seem pretty sure now’s the safest time for me to make my escape to America.
I’ve packed up the few things they’ve given me. They provided me a new passport, some money, and the guarantee that there will be a safe family there ready to take in me and my baby.
My baby’s going to be born in America.
Hannah Goldstein
Chapter 82
March 12, 2000
Sunday, 12:27 p.m.
Rome, Italy
“She was here,” Mario whispered, the revelation hitting him like a punch to the gut. The young girl who had miraculously escaped the pope’s sinister “destruction of evidence” had stayed here. Dominic had said as much earlier, to which Mario had felt some skepticism, but seeing her words inked on the page, it was undeniable. Hannah Goldstein was real—meaning the rest of what the Templar had told him most likely was too.
“Did you mutter something?” asked Dominic as he rounded the corner, catching Mario in his private musings.
“Hannah Goldstein. She really was here,” Mario affirmed, closing the journal in his hands with a sense of finality, his gaze meeting Dominic’s.
“If it weren’t for her pregnancy, we would’ve remained oblivious to her existence.”
“As you mentioned before.”
“We relocated her to America, a safe haven for her and her unborn child.”
“But how did you know who to entrust her to?”
“We have a global network of protection programs. During the war, many were compromised. But in November of ‘41, the US was still neutral. The Templar leaders felt it was safe to move Hannah there, to join a loving family who would help her raise her son.”
“And she wasn’t afraid of being found out by the Vatican?”
