Chapter 8 - The Brother Who Should Have Been DeadDante met his own ghost
The stranger didn't speak.
He simply looked at Dante.
Two identical faces.
Two pairs of gray eyes.
Same height.
Same scar along the jaw.
Except one looked controlled.
The other looked broken by anger.
Dante whispered:
"Matteo."
The man smiled.
"Hello, brother."
Sophia buried herself against Dante.
He stared at her.
"You were dead."
"That's what he wanted."
"Who?"
"Our father."
I couldn't understand what I was hearing.
Matteo looked at me.
"You're Elena."
"Yes."
He nodded slowly.
"I've heard about you."
"From who?"
"Lucia."
My heart jumped.
"Where is she?"
He looked at Dante.
"Ask him."
Dante's expression hardened.
"You know where she is?"
Matteo nodded.
"She's close."
"Where?"
"Not yet."
Dante aimed his gun.
Matteo laughed.
"You won't shoot me."
"Try me."
"Because you finally realize what our father did."
Matteo pulled out a small envelope.
He tossed it toward me.
Inside was a letter.
My mother's handwriting.
Elina,
There are truths I wanted you to know before I died, but fear kept winning.
Dante is not the man you were told he was.
He is the man I trusted.
The man I hated.
The man I loved.
And the man I needed to protect Sophia from.
I read the sentence twice.
Dante watched silently.
"Why would your wife write that?"
"Because she was confused."
Matteo interrupted.
"Because she knew you had been lied to."
Dante turned toward him.
"What did our father do?"
Matteo's expression darkened.
"He arranged the deaths of anyone who knew about the ledger."
"Lucia?"
"Escaped."
"Elena?"
"Escaped."
"My father?"
"Not escaped."
Dante stared.
"You said he died."
"He did."
"How?"
Matteo looked at me.
"Because he tried to help your mother."
My blood went cold.
"My father died because of Elena?"
"No."
Matteo shook his head.
"Because of Dante."
I looked at Dante.
He said nothing.
Matteo continued.
"Your father made a deal. Lucia would be spared if Elena disappeared."
"And Sophia?"
"Later."
Dante's face changed.
"You were the one who warned Lucia."
Matteo nodded.
"I was the one who helped her disappear."
"Damn you."
"She asked me to."
Dante stepped forward.
"What happened three days ago?"
Matteo looked toward Sophia.
"Lucia discovered that someone had opened the old records."
"Who?"
"Tony."
Dante looked stunned.
"But Tony worked for the restaurant."
"Tony worked for your uncle."
I remembered the basement.
The key.
The photographs.
Everything.
Matteo lowered his voice.
"Someone has been rebuilding the old organization."
"Who?"
Matteo looked at me.
"Your mother knows."
A noise came from the hallway.
Everyone froze.
Then the house alarm screamed.
Guards shouted outside.
Matteo pulled me toward a hidden door.
"We have thirty seconds."
"Where are we going?"
"To Lucia."
Dante grabbed Sophia.
"You're coming with us."
We ran.
Down a tunnel beneath the house.
The walls were covered in old brick.
Then we emerged into an underground garage.
A black car waited.
Matteo opened the door.
My mother was inside.
And beside her was Lucia.
Alive.
Pale.
Older.
But unmistakably the woman from the photographs.
Dante stopped breathing.
Lucia looked at him.
"I never abandoned Sophia."
Sophia looked up.
"Mommy?"
Lucia broke.
She fell to her knees.
"My baby."
Sophia ran into her arms.
I watched them reunite.
Then my mother grabbed my hand.
"Elina."
I turned.
"There's one thing you still don't know."
"What?"
She looked toward Matteo.
"You're not the reason Lucia was chosen."
My heart stopped.
"Then who was?"
May you like
My mother's voice barely rose above a whisper.
"Sophia."
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