Chapter 10 - THE FATHER WHO BUILT HIS EMPIRE ON SECRETS
Salvatore Gallo summoned Dante to his estate.
Dante didn't go alone.
He informed his attorney and the investigators reviewing the evidence.
The meeting took place in Salvatore's library.
I wasn't there.
But Dante told me what happened afterward.
Salvatore sat behind a massive desk.
He looked at his son.
"You've been asking questions."
Dante nodded.
"Yes."
"About your mother."
"And Isabella."
Salvatore went still.
Dante watched him.
"You knew."
The old man's face hardened.
"That girl was supposed to be dead."
Dante stared.
"Your daughter?"
Salvatore looked away.
"Lucia made her choice."
Dante stepped closer.
"She was protecting a baby."
Salvatore's expression darkened.
"She betrayed me."
Dante shook his head.
"No."
He looked at his father.
"She was afraid of you."
Salvatore said nothing.
Then Dante asked about my parents.
Salvatore's eyes narrowed.
"The Rossis?"
Dante nodded.
"Did you order their deaths?"
A long silence followed.
Finally, Salvatore said:
"Your father-in-law would have understood."
Dante stared.
"I don't have a father-in-law."
Salvatore smiled bitterly.
"Not yet."
Dante's expression changed.
"What does that mean?"
Salvatore leaned back.
"It means you should stop asking questions about that waitress."
Dante left the estate furious.
He called me immediately.
"Nora."
"Yes?"
"I need you to listen."
His voice trembled.
"My father knows more than he's admitting."
I closed my eyes.
"And?"
Dante swallowed.
"He threatened you."
I looked toward the window.
May you like
Then whispered:
"Then it's time we stop being afraid."
