Chapter 15 - THE MURDER THAT NEVER MADE THE NEWS|
Nora felt as though the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“My mother died in a car accident.”
Aurelio shook his head.
“That is what the family was told.”
Salvatore's men tightened their grip on him.
“Enough.”
But Nora could not stop looking at Aurelio.
“Who killed her?”
Aurelio's eyes filled with shame.
“Your mother discovered that Vittorio had helped hide the ledger. She wanted to expose the family. Someone sabotaged her car before she could leave New York.”
“Who?”
Aurelio swallowed.
“Paolo Greco.”
The man from the harbor.
Nora's hands began to shake.
“Why?”
“Because he believed the truth would destroy the organization. Salvatore ordered him to frighten your mother into silence. Greco went too far.”
Salvatore's face darkened.
“Lies.”
Aurelio looked at him.
“You gave the order.”
“I gave an order to retrieve the ledger.”
“You knew what Greco was capable of.”
“I never asked him to kill her!”
Nora's grief turned into something sharper.
“You both knew my mother was in danger. You both let it happen.”
Neither man answered.
Dante stepped toward Salvatore.
“Let my grandfather go.”
“Bring me the letter.”
Dante reached inside his coat and removed a sealed envelope.
Nora stared at him.
“You have it?”
“I found it in the chapel after we left.”
“You told me nothing.”
“I wanted to verify it before we brought it here.”
Salvatore extended his hand.
Dante held the envelope above a small metal bin.
“Let him go first.”
Salvatore hesitated.
Then he nodded to his men.
They released Aurelio.
The old man stumbled toward Nora, and she caught his arm.
Dante placed the envelope on the table.
Salvatore seized it and tore it open.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
He read the first line.
Then his face changed.
“What is this?”
“A copy,” Dante said. “The original is with the investigators.”
Salvatore looked up.
For the first time, he seemed genuinely afraid.
Dante continued.
“The film, the financial records, and the letter have already been delivered to an independent prosecutor. You can destroy this copy, but you can't erase the evidence.”
Salvatore drew his gun.
Nora moved toward Aurelio.
A shot rang out.
Dante staggered.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Nora screamed his name.
Salvatore ran toward the exit, but Marcus and the security team flooded the terminal. Two men tackled him to the ground.
Nora dropped beside Dante.
“Look at me. Stay with me.”
He tried to smile.
“You're giving orders now?”
“Someone has to. You're terrible at following them.”
His eyes fluttered.
Marcus pressed a cloth against the wound while calling for medical help.
Dante caught Nora's wrist.
“Don't let him escape.”
“He won't.”
Dante looked at her, his face pale.
Then he whispered the words she had feared most.
“Nora, the DNA results came back.”
She stared at him.
“What?”
He swallowed.
“Vittorio isn't your father.”
May you like
A pause.
“Your father was Paolo Greco.”
