Chapter 3 - My Mother Was Supposed to Be Dead, Yet Someone Sent Me Proof She Was AliveI didn't sleep.
At 2:00 a.m., I found the kitchen.
At 2:17, I heard footsteps.
At 2:31, Dante entered.
He wasn't wearing a jacket.
His sleeves were rolled.
He looked less like the city's most feared boss and more like a tired man carrying too many ghosts.
"You should sleep."
"So should you."
He smiled.
"You don't follow instructions."
"Neither do you."
He leaned against the counter.
"What are you afraid of?"
I looked at him.
"Being found."
"By Vale?"
"Yes."
"Because of the ledger."
I froze.
He noticed.
"You don't have to answer."
"Then why ask?"
"To see if you would lie."
I exhaled.
"I'm tired of lying."
"Good."
I took out my phone.
Showed him the photograph.
He studied it.
"Your mother."
"Yes."
"She's dead."
"That's what I was told."
He looked at me.
"When was she buried?"
"Eight years ago."
"Body recovered?"
I stared.
"No."
He nodded.
"Then she's not necessarily dead."
"You think she's alive."
"I think someone wants you to believe she is."
"Why?"
"Leverage."
He took the phone.
"Who sent this?"
"I don't know."
"Have you shown anyone?"
"No."
"Good."
He looked at the photograph again.
"Your father knew this."
"What?"
"He knew your mother was alive."
I stared.
"How?"
"My father told me once."
"When?"
"Years ago."
"Why didn't he tell me?"
"Because he was protecting you."
Everyone kept saying that.
I was beginning to hate the phrase.
"Everyone says they protect me."
Dante looked at me.
"Sometimes protection is another word for control."
I stared.
He understood.
Maybe more than I wanted him to.
He returned the phone.
"What is the ledger?"
I hesitated.
"A record."
"Of what?"
"My father worked for Vale."
"Yes."
"He discovered they were moving money."
Dante's face changed.
"How much?"
"I don't know."
"Then why risk your life?"
"Because the money wasn't the worst part."
"What was?"
"Names."
He waited.
"Judges."
"Police."
"Politicians."
"Doctors."
"People inside banks."
"People in your organization."
His eyes hardened.
"Mine?"
"I don't know."
"Your father was working for Vale."
"Yes."
"But he wanted to expose him."
"Yes."
"Then where is the ledger?"
I looked away.
"I don't know."
Dante smiled faintly.
"You're getting better."
"At what?"
"Lying."
I almost laughed.
Then an alarm sounded.
Security rushed through the hallway.
Dante's body changed instantly.
"Stay here."
"No."
He looked at me.
"Stay."
I followed anyway.
We reached the security room.
One of the exterior cameras was down.
Another showed a black SUV outside the gates.
Dante picked up a rifle.
"How many?"
"Six."
"Armed?"
"Yes."
He turned to me.
"Are they Vale's?"
I looked at the vehicle.
Then remembered the license plate.
"Yes."
Dante's eyes became cold.
"How did they find us?"
I didn't answer.
He understood.
"They tracked you."
"I'm sorry."
"No."
He stepped closer.
"They tracked you because you're valuable."
Gunfire erupted.
The guards opened fire.
Dante pulled me behind a wall.
"Stay here."
"Where are you going?"
"To end it."
He disappeared.
I waited.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Then silence.
Dante returned.
Blood on his shirt.
Not his.
He looked at me.
"You okay?"
I nodded.
Then he noticed my hands.
Shaking again.
He took them gently.
"You don't have to be afraid here."
I looked at him.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"I don't know how to stop being afraid."
He was silent.
Then:
"Neither do I."
That was the first honest thing he had told me.
I looked at him differently.
May you like
Then he said:
"Tomorrow, we're finding your mother."
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