Chapter 14 - THE FERRY TERMINAL|
The abandoned ferry terminal stood at the edge of the river, its windows broken and its old ticket counters covered in dust.
Dante's team secured the surrounding streets while Nora and Dante entered through a side door. Marcus remained in communication with them from a vehicle nearby.
The terminal smelled of wet wood and rust.
A single light burned above the old departure board.
Salvatore stood beneath it.
He was older than Nora expected, with a narrow face and silver hair. He wore an expensive coat and carried a cane with a carved lion's head.
The same design as Aurelio's.
“Your grandmother's granddaughter,” he said. “You have her eyes.”
Nora stopped several feet away.
“Where is my grandmother?”
“Safe.”
“Prove it.”
Salvatore smiled and showed her a live video of Isabella sitting in a room with a window behind her.
“She is comfortable. For now.”
Dante stepped forward.
“You wanted the ledger. Here we are.”
Salvatore's gaze shifted to him.
“You have become very much like your father.”
“I hope not.”
“Your father was a coward.”
“And you are a man who kidnaps elderly women to avoid answering questions.”
Salvatore's smile disappeared.
Nora took a breath.
“You knew my mother.”
“I knew of her.”
“Did you order her to be taken from Isabella?”
“I ordered the family protected.”
“You ordered a child erased.”
Salvatore lifted his cane.
“Children do not understand the consequences of family business.”
“Neither do men who think a family name gives them the right to destroy lives.”
For a moment, the old man's expression revealed pure hatred.
Then he laughed.
“You think your grandmother is innocent? She stole the ledger. She exposed her own family. People died because she believed she was morally superior.”
“People died because you killed them.”
“Prove it.”
Nora reached into her coat and removed the photograph from the chapel.
“We found the film.”
Salvatore's expression changed.
Only slightly, but enough.
“You don't know what you're holding.”
“I know it shows you at the meeting where my mother was taken. I know it shows Vittorio. And I know my grandmother kept a letter naming everyone involved.”
Salvatore's eyes narrowed.
“Where is the letter?”
Nora smiled without warmth.
“You first.”
Dante shifted beside her.
Salvatore noticed.
“You believe he will protect you? He is a Vescari. His blood will always call him home.”
Nora looked at Dante.
“Blood is not a promise.”
“No,” Dante said quietly. “It isn't.”
He moved beside her, not in front of her.
Salvatore seemed to understand that he had lost control of the conversation.
He lifted his cane and struck the floor.
A door opened behind him.
Two armed men appeared, dragging Aurelio between them.
Nora gasped.
Aurelio's face was bruised, but he was conscious.
Salvatore looked at Dante.
“Give me the letter, or your father dies.”
Dante's expression went cold.
Then Aurelio lifted his head and spoke in the old dialect.
“Nora, don't give him anything.”
May you like
He looked directly at her.
“Because Salvatore isn't the one who killed your mother.”
