Chapter 4 - The Debt Nobody PaidBy midnight, Vincent had Lily hidden in an apartment owned by one of his father's old associates.
She was asleep on a couch, clutching a blanket around herself.
Sal stood in the kitchen.
Marco watched the hallway.
Vincent sat at the table, reading the birth certificate again.
Daniel Romano.
Father.
The words seemed impossible.
“Why did my family lie?”
Sal did not answer.
Vincent looked up.
“You knew.”
Sal's silence was enough.
Vincent stood.
“How long?”
“Not everything.”
“That isn't what I asked.”
Sal sighed.
“I knew Daniel had a daughter.”
“Does my mother know?”
“Yes.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
“Who else?”
Sal looked away.
“Your uncle.”
Vincent's face hardened.
“Which uncle?”
“Carlo.”
The room went quiet.
Carlo Romano.
Vincent's father's younger brother.
The family's fixer.
A man Vincent had not spoken to in years.
“Why hide her?”
“Because Daniel wanted out.”
“Out of what?”
“Everything.”
Vincent laughed bitterly.
“Nobody gets out.”
Sal looked at him.
“Daniel tried.”
“What did Elena steal?”
“A book.”
“The ledger.”
Sal nodded.
“Daniel kept records.”
“Of what?”
“Payments.”
“To whom?”
Sal hesitated.
“Judges. Police officers. Politicians. Businessmen.”
Vincent stared at him.
“And Carlo wanted it.”
“He wasn't the only one.”
Vincent turned toward the sleeping girl.
“So Elena ran.”
“Yes.”
“And Daniel?”
Sal looked down.
“Daniel was supposed to disappear.”
Vincent's jaw tightened.
“But he didn't.”
“No.”
“What happened?”
Sal stared at the floor.
“Your father ordered him killed.”
Vincent's chair scraped back.
“What?”
“Your father believed Daniel had betrayed the family.”
“And did he?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
Vincent froze.
Sal's voice dropped.
“There was no car crash.”
The world narrowed to a single point.
Vincent barely heard him.
“Your father sent three men.”
“Three?”
“Daniel escaped.”
Vincent stared.
“How?”
“Someone warned him.”
“Who?”
Sal looked toward the sleeping girl.
“Elena.”
Vincent sat down slowly.
“Then why did everyone believe Daniel died?”
“Because Carlo needed him to disappear.”
“And the funeral?”
“An empty coffin.”
Vincent closed his eyes.
A lifetime of grief built on a lie.
He looked at Sal.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father threatened to kill anyone who did.”
“Now he's dead.”
“Carlo isn't.”
That mattered.
Vincent looked toward Lily.
“What does the wolf coin mean?”
Sal's expression changed.
“That isn't Vale's symbol.”
Vincent frowned.
“What?”
“The silver wolf belonged to someone before Vale.”
“Who?”
Sal swallowed.
“Daniel.”
Vincent went still.
“My brother's?”
“Yes.”
“Then why does Vale use it?”
Sal shook his head.
“He doesn't.”
Vincent understood.
He grabbed the coin from the table.
The carving was old.
Careful.
Personal.
Not a gang marker.
A signature.
“What if Vale isn't hunting us?”
Sal looked at him.
“What are you saying?”
“What if he's protecting something?”
Before Sal could answer, Lily woke up.
She sat upright.
Her face was pale.
“Vincent?”
He immediately crossed the room.
“What happened?”
“I had a dream.”
“About what?”
She pointed toward the window.
“The man with the red tie.”
Vincent looked outside.
No one was there.
“What did he say?”
Lily's voice trembled.
“He said my dad was alive.”
Vincent went motionless.
Sal's face drained of color.
Lily continued.
“He said…”
She took a shaky breath.
May you like
“He said my dad is coming home.”
Three seconds later, the apartment's front door exploded inward.
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