Chapter 6 - The Woman In The PhotographDante Discovered The One Person He Was Never Supposed To Trust
We escaped through a tunnel beneath the church.
I didn't ask how Dante knew it existed.
At that point, I was done pretending his world followed ordinary rules.
We emerged behind a cemetery wall.
Snow covered my boots.
My lungs burned.
Dante stopped.
"Show me the photograph."
I handed it to him.
He stared at the woman beside my father.
"You recognize her."
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
"My mother."
I looked at him.
"You never met her."
"I did."
I froze.
"When?"
"Thirty years ago."
"That's impossible."
"Your mother worked for Sofia's family before Sofia married me."
I stared.
"My mother was a housekeeper."
"She was also Sofia's closest confidante."
I looked at the photograph again.
"Then why did Dad write that I must never know?"
Dante didn't answer.
Because he was looking beyond me.
A black sedan was parked across the cemetery.
The driver's door opened.
An elderly woman stepped out.
She wore a dark wool coat.
Her hair was silver.
She walked toward us slowly.
I knew her.
Mrs. Alvarez.
She had worked at my family's farm when I was little.
I ran toward her.
"Maria?"
She started crying.
Dante raised his gun.
Maria stopped.
"I came to tell you the truth."
My heart hammered.
"What truth?"
She looked at Dante.
"Sofia was pregnant."
Dante froze.
"What?"
Maria looked at me.
"With twins."
The world seemed to tilt.
I laughed nervously.
"No."
She shook her head.
"One child survived."
I stepped backward.
"No."
Maria approached.
"Your father took you away."
"Why?"
"Because someone wanted both children dead."
Dante stared at her.
"Where is the other child?"
Maria's eyes moved toward him.
"With you."
Silence.
Dante didn't breathe.
"Who?"
Maria swallowed.
"Your niece."
"My niece is twenty-four."
"No."
Maria looked at me.
"Your other daughter."
Dante's face changed.
He turned toward me.
I whispered, "What is she talking about?"
Maria shook her head.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
She opened her handbag.
Inside was a faded birth certificate.
Two names.
Two mothers.
One date.
My name.
And another.
Lily Russo.
Dante stared at it.
"Lily was never my niece."
Maria nodded.
"She was Sofia's daughter."
Dante's voice became almost inaudible.
"Then whose child is Nora?"
Maria looked at me.
"Your father found both babies."
I backed away.
"Both?"
"He raised one."
"Me."
"And the other?"
Maria looked toward the road.
Before she could answer, headlights appeared.
Three SUVs.
Dante immediately pulled me behind a stone monument.
Gunfire erupted.
Maria fell.
I screamed.
Dante fired toward the vehicles.
Marco arrived from the other side of the cemetery.
He dragged us behind a wall.
"Dante!"
"Get her out."
"What about Maria?"
Dante looked at her body.
"She's gone."
I covered my mouth.
Marco pulled me toward the car.
Dante stayed behind.
"Come on!"
"No."
I turned.
Dante stood in the snow surrounded by gunfire.
His face was cold.
His voice carried across the cemetery.
"Lily."
Marco stopped.
Dante shouted again.
"Where is she?"
One of the attackers laughed.
"You finally remembered."
Then they disappeared into the trees.
We reached the SUV.
I turned to Dante.
"Who is Lily?"
He didn't answer.
"Who is she?"
He looked at me.
May you like
And for the first time since I'd met him, Dante Russo looked terrified.
"My daughter."
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