Chương 8 - ARTHUR'S FATHER
Arthur walked out.
Nico followed him.
I didn't.
Some betrayals belong to the person receiving them.
Twenty minutes later, Nico returned alone.
“Where is he?”
“Driving.”
“Is that safe?”
“For everyone else? Probably not.”
Arthur's father, Gabriel Russo, had been Alessandro's closest lieutenant.
The story everyone knew was heroic.
Gabriel died intercepting an attack meant for Alessandro.
His son Arthur inherited his place beside the Bellandis.
But Alessandro finally admitted the truth.
Gabriel had spent years feeding information to Salvatore.
When Alessandro planned retaliation after Isabella's murder, Gabriel warned him.
The attempted hit failed.
Weeks later, Gabriel himself died.
Not saving Alessandro.
Killed by Salvatore because he'd become inconvenient.
Arthur had devoted half his life to a family based on a lie about his father.
I understood why he needed to drive.
At noon, he returned.
Calmer.
Dangerously calm.
“I want in.”
Nico looked at him.
“You're already in.”
“No. I want Salvatore.”
“We're not starting a war.”
“He killed my father.”
“And possibly both our mothers.”
Arthur's jaw worked.
Nico lowered his voice.
“If we act like them, we become them.”
That surprised me.
The Nico I'd met three years earlier would have solved this with blood.
Maybe losing me for twelve hours had changed nothing.
Maybe years of carrying his family's violence already had.
Either way, he chose evidence.
We contacted federal prosecutors through an attorney Nico trusted.
The confession tape wasn't enough by itself after so many years.
But it opened doors.
Cold cases.
Financial crimes.
Corruption.
Dennis Rizzi was still alive.
Retired in Arizona.
By evening, agents were preparing to question him.
Then Salvatore called me directly.
Nico wanted to take the phone.
I stopped him.
“Hello?”
“Elena.”
His voice sounded almost gentle.
I hated that.
“My daughter.”
“Don't call me that.”
“You've been lied to your whole life.”
“Mostly by men like you.”
A pause.
“You have my temperament.”
“I'd rather have the flu.”
Nico almost smiled.
Salvatore didn't.
“I want to meet you.”
“No.”
“I have Valentina.”
“Then release her.”
“I will when you come home.”
Home.
The word made my stomach turn.
“I have a home.”
“With Bellandi?”
“No. With myself.”
Silence.
Then his tone changed.
“Your mother said things she didn't understand.”
“She understood enough to record you.”
Another silence.
Good.
He hadn't known we found the tape.
I continued.
“Dennis is about to be questioned.”
That was a gamble.
It worked.
Salvatore breathed in sharply.
Then disconnected.
Nico stared at me.
“You shouldn't have told him.”
“Why?”
“Because now he'll move.”
He was right.
Twenty-seven minutes later, federal agents called.
Dennis Rizzi's house was empty.
His car abandoned.
Phone gone.
Then Arthur received an encrypted message.
One sentence.
I can give you Salvatore, but only if Nico doesn't know.
May you like
Sender:
Dennis Rizzi.
