Chapter 6 - THE FATHER WHO HAD BEEN LIED TO
My father arrived at the Romano estate the next morning.
Thomas Bennett was sixty-one.
His hair had turned silver.
His hands were rough from decades of construction work.
When he saw my bandages, his face changed.
“Catherine.”
I hugged him.
“I'm okay, Dad.”
He held me tightly.
Then looked at Gabriel.
“What happened?”
Gabriel didn't hide anything.
He explained the silver.
The threats.
The investigation.
And the document bearing my grandfather's name.
My father sat slowly.
“Daniel never trusted Vittorio.”
Gabriel leaned forward.
“Why?”
My father looked at the floor.
“Because of a property deal in 1989.”
He explained that my grandfather had owned a small construction company with two partners.
One was a developer named Samuel Romano.
The other was Vittorio.
A valuable parcel of land had been transferred through a complicated agreement.
My grandfather believed the paperwork had been manipulated.
But he couldn't prove it.
“He spent years trying to recover what he lost,” my father said.
I stared.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
He smiled sadly.
“Because I didn't want you carrying another family burden.”
Gabriel looked at the document.
“Did Daniel keep records?”
My father nodded.
“Some.”
“Where?”
“In the old office.”
We drove to Bennett Construction that afternoon.
The building was modest.
Brick walls.
Metal desks.
Photographs of completed projects.
My father opened a storage room.
Inside were filing cabinets filled with decades of paperwork.
After hours of searching, we found a folder marked:
RIVERFRONT PARCEL – 1989.
Inside were copies of contracts.
Letters.
And a handwritten note from my grandfather.
Vittorio changed the terms after Samuel died. Find the original agreement.
Gabriel read it twice.
Then looked at me.
“Catherine.”
I swallowed.
“Yes?”
“Your grandfather may have been telling the truth.”
For the first time, I saw my father cry.
May you like
Not because he was afraid.
Because someone finally believed him.
