Chapter 11 - The Man I Once LovedI couldn't move.
Michael smiled.
The same smile that once made me believe I had found safety.
The same face I had cried over when he left.
The same man who had pawned our engagement ring.
The same man who had supposedly disappeared from my life.
He held Matteo's shoulder.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Let him go.”
Michael laughed.
“You still think you give orders?”
“You have one chance.”
“I already had my chance.”
Michael looked at me.
“And she ruined everything.”
I stepped forward.
“You killed my mother.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That your mother wasn't the only one who wanted out.”
Dante stared.
“What are you talking about?”
Michael looked at him.
“Your family was never united.”
He smiled.
“Your father built an empire. Your mother wanted to escape it. Luca wanted revenge. And you…”
He turned to Dante.
“You wanted to be loved.”
Dante's face became stone.
Michael continued.
“She trusted me.”
I remembered.
My mother's hand.
Her whisper.
“Don't trust the boy.”
I had misunderstood.
She wasn't warning me about Luca.
She was warning me about Michael.
He killed her.
Then he manipulated me.
Then he erased my memory.
“You…”
I could barely speak.
“You made me forget.”
Michael smiled.
“Not entirely.”
My hands shook.
“How?”
“Trauma.”
He pointed toward my head.
“The mind protects itself.”
Dante slowly shifted position.
His men were moving around the room.
Michael noticed.
“Don't.”
He pressed a gun to Matteo's head.
Everything stopped.
Dante's face shattered.
“Please.”
One word.
I had never heard him say it before.
Michael smiled.
“There he is.”
He turned toward me.
“You know what the funny part is?”
I said nothing.
“You were never supposed to save Matteo.”
“What?”
“You were supposed to die.”
The room fell silent.
“The glass.”
Michael nodded.
“My men planted it.”
Dante's eyes became murderous.
“You used my son.”
“I used the right opportunity.”
“You nearly killed Matteo.”
Michael shrugged.
“Collateral.”
Dante took one step forward.
Michael cocked the gun.
“Don't.”
Then Michael looked at me.
“You were the witness.”
My stomach twisted.
“You remembered everything.”
“I didn't.”
“You will.”
He stepped closer.
“You know why I kept your memories buried?”
I shook my head.
“Because you remembered one thing.”
“What?”
Michael smiled.
“You saw who hired me.”
The room went silent.
Dante looked at me.
“Who?”
I closed my eyes.
Fragments.
A ring.
A voice.
A smell.
Then one detail surfaced.
The ring had a black stone.
I opened my eyes.
And looked at Dante's hand.
The ring he wore every day.
A black stone.
My blood froze.
“Dante.”
He looked at me.
“What?”
May you like
I whispered:
“You were there.”
