Chapter 6 - THE SECRET MY MOTHER KEPT
Alessandro drove me home himself.
Victor followed in another car.
My mother was sitting in her recliner when we arrived.
Her oxygen tubing rested beneath her nose.
She looked smaller than I remembered.
But when she saw Alessandro, her expression hardened.
“Romanos.”
He stopped.
“Mrs. Carter.”
She looked at him.
“You have your father's eyes.”
Alessandro went still.
“My father died twelve years ago.”
“I know.”
My mother pointed toward the sofa.
“Sit.”
I stared.
“Mom?”
She ignored me.
Alessandro sat.
Then my mother began speaking.
Six years earlier, Nora Romano had come to Mercy General Hospital with serious injuries.
She claimed someone had tried to kill her.
She was terrified.
And she refused to contact her family.
My mother was working the night shift.
She recognized Nora from newspaper photographs.
But instead of calling Alessandro, she helped Nora contact a trusted attorney and enter a protected relocation arrangement.
“Why?” Alessandro asked quietly.
My mother looked at him.
“Because she believed someone inside your family wanted her dead.”
His face tightened.
“Who?”
My mother hesitated.
Then said:
“Your uncle.”
Alessandro stared.
“Dominic?”
May you like
She nodded.
“Dominic Romano.”
