Chapter 4 - The Man in CanadaSamuel Kovatch lived under another name.
He looked older than Marin remembered.
She had been sixteen when he vanished.
Now he was sixty.
Gray hair.
Thin face.
Tired eyes.
When he saw her, he cried.
“Marin.”
She couldn't move.
Then she ran.
He caught her.
“You're alive.”
“So are you.”
She hit his chest.
“You left me.”
“I had to.”
“You let Mom think you were dead.”
“I was trying to keep you alive.”
“I hated you.”
“I know.”
She cried.
“I hated you for years.”
He held her tighter.
“I know.”
Raphael stood outside.
Samuel looked at him.
“Bruno's son.”
“Yes.”
“You became him.”
“No.”
Raphael glanced at Marin.
“I'm trying not to.”
Samuel smiled sadly.
“Then you're already better.”
Inside the cabin, Samuel told them everything.
Bruno had discovered Lucian's betrayal.
Lucian was laundering money through the family's legitimate companies.
Samuel and Bruno planned to expose him.
But Lucian found out.
Bruno was killed.
Samuel disappeared.
The watch became the key to the evidence.
Then Lucian began hunting everyone involved.
“What about my father?”
Samuel looked at Marin.
“Your mother knew.”
Marin froze.
“What?”
“Your mother helped me escape.”
“But she said you abandoned us.”
“She had to.”
Marin cried.
All those years.
All that anger.
Built on a lie meant to save her.
“What about the ledger?”
Samuel looked at Raphael.
“There's another one.”
“Where?”
“Inside Boston.”
“Where?”
“The Santoro restaurant.”
Raphael frowned.
“The old one?”
“Yes.”
Samuel continued.
“Bruno hid the final evidence beneath the kitchen floor.”
Marin looked at Raphael.
“That restaurant was where your father died.”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't anyone find it?”
“Because everyone was looking for money.”
“What is it?”
Samuel smiled.
“The names.”
“The names of everyone involved.”
They returned to Boston.
The old restaurant had been closed for years.
Dust covered the tables.
Raphael walked into the kitchen.
His expression changed.
“I remember this.”
Marin looked at him.
“You were here?”
“My father was murdered here.”
She touched his hand.
“I'm sorry.”
He looked down.
“Don't.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't want pity.”
“It's not pity.”
He stared at her.
“What is it?”
She didn't answer.
He did.
“Love?”
The word slipped out.
Both froze.
Raphael immediately stepped back.
“I didn't mean—”
Marin touched his hand.
“You did.”
He looked at her.
Then kissed her.
It was gentle.
Unexpected.
Almost painful.
When they separated, he rested his forehead against hers.
“This is a terrible idea.”
“Yes.”
“I shouldn't.”
“No.”
“But I can't stop.”
Marin smiled.
“Neither can I.”
Then the floor beneath them clicked.
They stepped apart.
Marin looked down.
A hidden panel.
The ledger.
Raphael opened it.
Inside were names.
One stood out.
Lucian Santoro.
Another.
Victor D'Angelo.
Raphael's own lieutenant.
Then one more.
Sienna Valli.
A name Marin recognized.
The woman Raphael had once been expected to marry.
She stared.
“She's involved.”
Raphael nodded.
“She used me.”
“Maybe.”
Then the restaurant door opened.
Sienna entered.
She looked at them.
Then at the ledger.
Her expression broke.
“I can explain.”
Raphael raised his weapon.
“Start.”
Sienna cried.
“I wasn't working for Lucian.”
“Then who?”
She whispered:
“Your grandmother.”
Raphael froze.
His grandmother had died twenty years earlier.
May you like
Sienna continued:
“She never died.”
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