Chapter 6 - THE EMPTY GRAVE
Dante had spent eight months visiting two graves.
One for Elisa.
One for Lucia.
Now he stood in the cemetery again.
But this time, he wasn't alone.
Tommy stood beside him.
Camilla waited near the gate with Rosie.
Lucia remained safely with Teresa.
A court-authorized exhumation had been arranged as part of the investigation.
Dante watched from a distance.
The small white coffin was opened.
Inside was a weighted bundle wrapped in cloth.
No infant remains.
Nothing that belonged to Lucia.
Dante closed his eyes.
He had carried that coffin himself.
Had pressed his palm against the lid.
Had whispered goodbye.
And all along, his daughter had been alive.
The larger coffin contained remains.
But subsequent forensic testing would establish that the woman buried there was not Elisa.
Dante looked toward the grave.
His grief changed shape.
It was no longer only sorrow.
It was outrage.
Someone had stolen eight months of his daughter's life.
Someone had forced him to mourn a living woman.
And someone had buried an unidentified victim beneath Elisa's name.
Dante turned to Tommy.
“We find out who she was.”
Tommy nodded.
“And Lorenzo?”
May you like
Dante looked toward the gray sky.
“We bring him to justice.”
