Chapter 4 - THE GIRL WHO DISAPPEARED TWENTY YEARS AGO
Dante told me the story slowly.
Twenty-seven years earlier, his father, Lorenzo Moretti, had controlled several shipping businesses along the New York waterfront.
Some were legitimate.
Others weren't.
Isabella Romano had worked in the accounting department.
She was brilliant.
Quiet.
And trusted by Dante's mother, Elena Moretti.
Then Lorenzo was murdered.
The official explanation was a rival-family attack.
But Isabella had discovered irregularities in the company's financial records.
Payments to unknown accounts.
Missing shipments.
False invoices.
She believed someone inside the Moretti family had arranged the murder.
Before she could reveal what she'd found, she disappeared.
Dante's mother searched for her.
Then died several years later.
The investigation was never completed.
I listened in silence.
Then asked, “Why are you telling me this?”
Dante looked at me.
“Because your mother may have known who killed my father.”
I swallowed.
“And you think she told me?”
“I don't know.”
I stared at him.
“My mother died fourteen years ago.”
His expression softened.
“I understand.”
“No.”
My voice broke.
“You don't.”
I looked down.
“She worked two jobs. She barely slept. She spent years trying to keep us afloat.”
Dante said nothing.
I continued.
“She wasn't part of some criminal conspiracy.”
“I didn't say she was.”
I looked up.
“Then what are you saying?”
He hesitated.
May you like
Then answered.
“I think she was trying to escape one.”
