Chapter 13 - THE LEDGER THAT COULD DESTROY A FAMILY|
The hallway seemed to shrink around us.
Sofia was clinging to Claire, her face buried against the woman's coat. I could feel her trembling.
Giovanni stood between us and Rossi.
"Let the child go."
Rossi laughed.
"You still think you can give orders?"
"I can make you regret ignoring them."
"Your father said the same thing."
Giovanni's expression changed.
Rossi took a step backward.
"Do you know what your father did to Isabella? He made her believe her daughter was dead. He arranged the papers. He paid the hospital. He even paid the man who drove her away."
"Who drove her away?"
"Your father."
Giovanni's face went pale.
Rossi continued.
"He wanted control of you. A wife and child would have made you difficult to manage. He wanted an heir he could use, not a family you could love."
I watched Giovanni absorb the words.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I have the ledger. It contains every payment your father made. Every bribe. Every name. And it proves that the Fioraldi family was built on more lies than you can imagine."
"Then why do you want it?"
"Because I want what your father promised me."
"Money?"
"Power."
Rossi looked at me.
"And I want the woman who has become your weakness to understand that she is not special."
I felt Giovanni tense.
"Don't."
Rossi smiled.
"Or what? You'll kill me in front of the child?"
I looked at the man's gun.
Then I looked at the small emergency alarm mounted near the stairwell.
The estate's old fire system had been upgraded, but the manual alarm remained.
If I could reach it, the noise would distract him long enough for the officers to act.
I whispered to Claire.
"When I move, take Sofia behind the wall."
She nodded.
I stepped forward.
"Rossi."
His eyes shifted toward me.
"You want the ledger?"
"Of course."
"Then you should know Giovanni doesn't have it."
Rossi's smile disappeared.
"What?"
I continued.
"He's been looking for it, but he doesn't know where it is. You kidnapped a child for something he can't give you."
Giovanni glanced at me.
He understood what I was doing.
Rossi's attention remained on me.
"You're lying."
"Then prove it. Search him."
The man hesitated.
That was enough.
I reached toward the alarm.
Rossi shouted.
"Stop!"
Giovanni moved.
A security officer struck Rossi's arm, sending the weapon skidding across the floor. Two others tackled him. The hallway erupted in movement.
Claire pulled Sofia behind the wall.
I hit the alarm.
A piercing sound filled the estate.
Rossi fought against the officers, shouting threats.
Giovanni stood over him.
"Where is Isabella?"
Rossi laughed through clenched teeth.
"Ask Richard Moretti."
Giovanni froze.
"Who?"
"Your father's lawyer. He handled the payments. He knows where she went."
Then Rossi was dragged away.
Sofia began crying.
I knelt beside her.
"You're safe now."
She looked at me with wet eyes.
"Are you my daddy's friend?"
I glanced toward Giovanni.
He stood several feet away, unable to approach.
"Yes," I said. "I am."
Sofia looked at him.
"Is he my daddy?"
Giovanni's face crumpled.
He slowly crouched.
"My name is Giovanni."
She studied him.
"You're the man in Mommy's pictures."
He nodded.
"Yes."
"Why didn't you come?"
The question was simple.
It was also the cruelest thing anyone could have asked him.
Giovanni swallowed.
"I didn't know where you were."
"Mommy said you were looking for me."
He looked at her.
"I was. Every day."
Sofia held out her hand.
He reached for it, but stopped before touching her.
"May I?"
She nodded.
He took her small hand in his.
And for the first time since I had met him, the powerful mafia boss began to cry.
But the rescue had revealed another mystery.
May you like
Rossi had mentioned Richard Moretti, the lawyer who had handled Giovanni's father's secret payments.
And according to Marco, Moretti had been invited to Sophia's wedding.
