Chapter 4 - THE MOTHER WHO COULD NOT AFFORD TO DIEMy mother's name was Rosa Cruz.
She was forty-nine, stubborn, funny, and capable of making a complete stranger feel like family within five minutes.
She had also been living with kidney failure for years.
Every treatment appointment came with another bill.
Every bill came with another sleepless night.
And every sleepless night reminded me that I had promised my father, before he died, that I would take care of her.
When Dante arrived at the clinic, I nearly fainted.
He came without an entourage.
Just his attorney and one security driver.
My mother looked up from her hospital bed.
"Elena?"
I stepped forward.
"Mama, this is Mr. Falcone."
She studied him.
Then smiled.
"The man who owns the big house?"
Dante nodded.
"Yes, ma'am."
She looked at his tattooed neck.
Then at his expensive watch.
"Do you eat properly?"
I closed my eyes.
"Mama."
Dante blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"You look tired. Too thin around the eyes."
For one extraordinary second, the most feared man in South Jersey looked completely defenseless.
Then he smiled.
"I'll try to do better."
Dante had arranged for an independent charitable foundation to support the clinic's patient-assistance program.
He had not purchased the clinic in my mother's name, despite his dramatic declaration at dinner.
His attorneys had explained that such an arrangement would create serious legal and medical complications.
Instead, he made sure the clinic could continue treating patients according to medical need, without threats or interference from Bianca.
My mother's care would be determined by her doctors.
Not by a mafia fiancée.
Later, Dante and I stood outside the clinic.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He shook his head.
"You shouldn't have had to beg anyone to keep your mother alive."
I looked at him.
"Neither should Nicole."
His expression softened.
"No."
We stood in silence.
Then he said, "Elena, I owe you an apology."
I frowned.
"For what?"
"For building a household where people were afraid to tell me the truth."
I looked down.
He continued.
"I thought I was protecting everyone by controlling everything."
I smiled sadly.
"That doesn't always work."
"I know that now."
For the first time, he reached for my hand.
Then stopped.
"May I?"
I nodded.
May you like
His fingers closed gently around mine.
And for one quiet moment, neither of us spoke.
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