Chapter 4 - THE WOMAN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
Dante returned to his father's estate the following morning.
Vittorio Rizzo sat in the library beneath a portrait of Dante's grandfather.
At seventy-one, he remained imposing.
Silver hair.
Sharp eyes.
A cane resting beside his chair.
For decades, he had been the man everyone in Chicago's criminal underworld feared.
Dante had spent his life trying to earn his approval.
“Father.”
Vittorio looked up.
“You look tired.”
“Enzo is dead.”
His father's expression tightened.
“I know.”
Dante placed the birth certificate on the table.
“Who is Gabriel Mercer?”
Vittorio didn't move.
Then slowly, he looked at the paper.
“Where did you get that?”
“Who is he?”
His father sighed.
“An old mistake.”
Dante felt something inside him crack.
“A child is not a mistake.”
Vittorio's eyes hardened.
“Watch your tone.”
Dante stepped closer.
“Did Enzo know?”
Silence.
“Did he come to you?”
Vittorio looked toward the window.
“Your brother asked questions he didn't understand.”
Dante stared.
“What happened to Isabella?”
His father gripped the cane.
“She died.”
“How?”
“Complications.”
“The certificate says undetermined.”
Vittorio stood.
“Enough.”
Dante didn't move.
“Did you kill her?”
His father's face changed.
For the first time in Dante's life, Vittorio looked frightened.
Then he said something Dante would never forget.
“Your mother knew everything.”
Dante's stomach tightened.
“What?”
“Lucia knew about Isabella. She knew about Gabriel. She agreed the boy should be raised elsewhere.”
Dante shook his head.
“My mother would never abandon a child.”
Vittorio's expression turned bitter.
“Your mother was not the saint you remember.”
Dante left without another word.
But before he reached his car, his phone rang.
Marisol.
“Dante, you need to come back.”
His heart stopped.
“What's wrong?”
“Sofia found something in Enzo's notebook.”
“What?”
Marisol hesitated.
“She says the man who visited Enzo wasn't your father.”
Dante froze.
“Then who was it?”
“Sofia says he wore your father's watch.”
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A pause.
“But he walked without a cane.”
