Chapter 4 - THE PROMISE MADE AT THE DOCKS
Dante did not answer immediately.
He gestured toward the sitting room.
Rosie shook her head.
"Here."
He nodded.
"Your father worked with my family."
"I know that now."
"He was a mechanic. One of the best."
Rosie's eyes filled.
"He died in a warehouse accident."
Dante looked away.
"That's what the report said."
Her stomach dropped.
"What does that mean?"
"It means I never believed it."
Rosie stared.
"Why?"
Dante exhaled.
"Because your father discovered something he wasn't supposed to."
"What?"
"A shipping operation my father was involved in."
Rosie's grip tightened around the crutch.
"Illegal?"
Dante met her eyes.
"Yes."
She looked sick.
"My father would never—"
"He didn't."
Dante stepped closer, then stopped.
"He tried to stop it."
Rosie stared at him.
"Then why didn't you help him?"
The question struck harder than any accusation Dante had faced in years.
He looked down.
"Because I was afraid of what it would cost."
Rosie's eyes filled.
"My father died."
"I know."
"You knew he was in danger?"
"I knew he was worried. I didn't understand how far it had gone until afterward."
Rosie shook her head.
"You should have done something."
Dante's voice was quiet.
"Yes."
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Rosie turned toward the front door.
"I want to leave."
Dante stepped aside.
"All right."
He called Tomas.
The driver arrived within minutes.
Before Rosie entered the car, Dante handed her a folded piece of paper.
She stared.
"What is this?"
"An address."
"Whose?"
"A lawyer who investigated your father's death."
Rosie looked up.
"Why?"
"Because you deserve the truth."
She studied him.
Then took the paper.
"Don't contact me."
Dante nodded.
"I won't."
She climbed into the car.
May you like
And as it disappeared down the snowy driveway, Dante stood alone beneath the gray morning sky.
For the first time in years, he understood that money could not buy forgiveness.
