Chapter 4 – SINS OF THE FATHER

Giovanni didn’t speak for a long time. The echoing announcements of the train station faded into background noise.

“My sister?” he finally choked out.

Elena nodded, wiping her face with a frayed sleeve. “Your father, Enzo… he had an affair with my older sister, Sofia. When Sofia died in childbirth, Enzo refused to take the baby. He paid Marcus to make us disappear.”

The pieces clicked together in my mind. The red patch. The dates.

“But my mother knew,” Giovanni said, staring at the sleeping five-year-old. “Teresa knew about her.”

“Your mother found out two years ago,” Elena explained. “She came to me. She was furious with Enzo, but she loved Mia. She secretly paid for Mia’s schooling. She took that photograph with me so she’d have proof. She wanted to bring Mia into the family.”

“And Bianca?” I asked, realizing the fiancée’s role.

Elena scoffed bitterly. “Bianca discovered your mother’s secret visits. She told Marcus. Marcus convinced Bianca that if a bastard sister appeared, your inheritance—and Bianca’s future fortune—would be split. So Bianca helped Marcus keep your mother isolated until she died.”

Giovanni stood up. His face was a mask of cold, terrifying fury.

He looked at the little girl. Mia stirred, opening her eyes. They were the exact, piercing gray of the Vitale family. She looked at Giovanni, rubbing her eyes.

“Are you the man from the pictures?” Mia asked in a small, sleepy voice. “The one Auntie Elena says is my brother?”

Giovanni’s rigid posture broke. He knelt back down, tears finally spilling over his lashes. “Yes. I’m your brother.”

He carefully reached out and took Mia’s small hand. Then he looked at Elena. “You’re coming home with me. Both of you. Nobody will ever threaten you again.”

We hurried back to the SUV. I sat in the back with Mia, who immediately leaned against my side and fell back asleep. I wrapped my coat around her.

But as we pulled up to the estate gates, something was terribly wrong.

The heavy iron gates were wide open.

The security guards were missing.

Giovanni drew his weapon, stopping the car halfway up the driveway. “Stay here. Lock the doors.”

He slipped out into the darkness.

Ten minutes passed. My heart pounded in my ears. I held Mia tight, praying.

Suddenly, a tap on the glass made me jump.

It was Giovanni. He opened the door, his face pale.

“Marcus escaped,” he said grimly. “He took three guards with him. And Bianca is gone.”

Before I could process the relief of Bianca leaving, Giovanni reached into his pocket and pulled out a delicate pearl rosary.

“I found this on the driveway,” he said softly.

I recognized it immediately. It was Teresa’s rosary.

“I thought she was buried with this,” I whispered.

Giovanni shook his head, looking toward the dark mansion. “No. Bianca took it from my mother’s room. And she left a note attached to it.”

He held up a small, torn piece of paper.

“If you want the rest of your mother’s secrets to stay buried, bring the girl to the old warehouse on 5th Street. Come alone.”

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