Chapter 7 - My Mother Confessed Why She Let Emma Suffer
One year after my return, we reopened the mansion.
Not as a mafia headquarters.
As a legitimate business foundation.
Emma managed the charitable side.
She created scholarships for nurses, restaurant workers, and children from families affected by organized crime.
I focused on legal businesses.
Our lives became almost normal.
Then my mother requested a private meeting.
I went alone.
She sat in the library.
“The reason I treated Emma badly wasn't because I hated her.”
I said nothing.
“It was because I was testing her.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“Your father had a plan.”
“What plan?”
“To see whether she would leave you when the money disappeared.”
I stared at her.
“You made her suffer to test her loyalty?”
She lowered her eyes.
“Yes.”
“That's monstrous.”
“I know.”
“You could have killed her.”
“I know.”
“You almost destroyed my marriage.”
“I know.”
I stood.
“I don't forgive you.”
She nodded.
“I don't expect you to.”
Then she revealed one final secret.
“There was another person involved.”
“Who?”
“Your father.”
I froze.
“No.”
“He suspected everyone.”
“That doesn't excuse you.”
“No.”
She handed me a letter.
My father's handwriting.
Daniel,
Your mother will make mistakes.
She always has.
But there is one thing I want you to understand.
If Emma stays beside you when everything is taken away, she is your family.
If she leaves, let her go.
Do not force love.
Choose it.
Every day.
I read the letter twice.
My anger remained.
But something shifted.
My father had believed in Emma.
He had believed in us.
I brought the letter home.
Emma read it.
Then she cried.
“Your father loved you.”
“I think he did.”
“And he trusted me.”
“Yes.”
She took my hand.
“I wish he were here.”
“So do I.”
Later that evening, we sat outside.
She leaned against me.
“I don't miss the old mansion anymore.”
“Neither do I.”
“Do you miss being feared?”
“No.”
“Good.”
“I prefer being loved.”
She looked at me.
“By me?”
“Especially by you.”
We kissed.
Then someone knocked on the gate.
Thomas appeared.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“We have a problem.”
A man stood outside.
He claimed to be one of my father's former associates.
He carried a final document.
Inside was a list of names.
Some were familiar.
Some were not.
At the bottom was one sentence.
There is still a traitor inside the family.
I looked at Emma.
She whispered, “Who?”
I didn't know.
May you like
But for the first time, I wasn't afraid.
Because we had survived worse.
