Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO KILLED MY FATHER
My father had been dead for twenty years.
Antonio Mancini.
A powerful man.
A feared man.
But to me, he'd been the father who taught me to ride a bicycle and kissed my forehead before school.
I had spent two decades believing he died in an attack ordered by a rival family.
Now Enzo was telling me my uncle arranged it.
"Who?" I whispered.
Enzo swallowed.
"Victor Salerno."
The name hit me.
Victor had worked for my father.
After Antonio's death, he'd disappeared.
I assumed he fled Chicago.
"Where is he?"
Enzo looked exhausted.
"Living under another name in Wisconsin."
I leaned closer.
"How did you find him?"
"Financial records. Old property transfers. Payments from companies Vittorio controlled."
I felt sick.
Enzo continued.
"Victor agreed to give a statement."
"To you?"
"To a federal investigator."
I stared.
"You contacted the authorities?"
He nodded.
"I couldn't trust anyone inside the organization."
For years, Enzo had lived among dangerous men.
Now he'd chosen the law over revenge.
I looked at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
His eyes filled with tears.
"Because I thought you'd kill Vittorio before we could prove anything."
Silence.
I wanted to deny it.
But I couldn't.
The old Luca Mancini would have done exactly that.
Enzo watched my expression.
"You've changed."
I thought about Elena.
A girl fighting for her life.
My daughter.
A child who deserved a father who didn't solve every problem with violence.
"I'm trying," I whispered.
Enzo nodded.
"Then let the investigators handle it."
I looked down.
For the first time, I understood how much fear my reputation had created.
Even my closest friend had been afraid to tell me the truth.
"Enzo," I said quietly, "I'm sorry."
He frowned.
"For what?"
"For making you believe honesty would get someone killed."
His eyes filled with tears.
We sat in silence.
Then he reached toward the bedside table.
"There's something else."
He handed me a small digital recorder.
"Victor Salerno's statement."
I hesitated.
Then pressed play.
A weak man's voice filled the room.
"My name is Victor Salerno. I worked for Antonio Mancini until the night he died."
A pause.
"Vittorio promised me two million dollars to arrange the attack."
My stomach turned.
The recording continued.
"Antonio had discovered his brother was stealing money through the family's shipping companies."
I stared.
"Antonio planned to remove him and cooperate with investigators."
My hands trembled.
"Vittorio couldn't allow that."
The voice broke.
"So he ordered Antonio killed."
I closed my eyes.
For twenty years, I'd honored my uncle as the man who helped me survive my father's death.
Now I knew he had caused it.
Then Victor's voice continued.
"There's one more thing."
I opened my eyes.
"Antonio wasn't the only person Vittorio wanted dead."
My chest tightened.
Victor swallowed.
"He also ordered the murder of Isabella Mancini."
My mother.
I stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
"She discovered what happened to her husband."
Tears filled my eyes.
"And she was preparing to tell Luca."
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Then came the sentence that destroyed the last piece of my childhood.
"Vittorio arranged the crash that killed her before she could speak."
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