Chapter 11 - THE DAUGHTER WHO THOUGHT HER FATHER SOLD HER
Sofia Castiglione was fifteen years old.
She had spent ten years believing her father sold her to strangers.
That was what Helen Ward had told her.
That Peter Moretti—no, Peter Castiglione—was a dangerous man who didn't want a daughter.
That her mother had disappeared because she couldn't bear the shame.
Now Sofia was learning that everything she'd been told might be a lie.
Peter sat outside the family services office.
His hands were trembling.
I'd never seen him so nervous.
“Peter?”
He looked at me.
“What if she hates me?”
I took a breath.
“Then you listen.”
His expression changed.
“She has a right to be angry.”
He nodded slowly.
“I know.”
The meeting was arranged through Sofia's advocate.
I stayed in the waiting area.
This moment belonged to Peter and his daughter.
When Sofia entered the room, Peter stood.
She stopped.
For several seconds, they stared at each other.
Then Sofia signed something.
Peter looked confused.
Her advocate interpreted.
“Why did you give me away?”
Peter's face collapsed.
“I didn't.”
Sofia's eyes filled with tears.
“They said you signed the papers.”
“I never did.”
“You're lying.”
He shook his head.
“No.”
She began crying.
“You never came.”
Peter lowered his head.
“I thought you were dead.”
Silence.
Then he looked up.
“I have spent ten years believing I failed you.”
Sofia's expression changed.
He continued.
“I did fail you in some ways. I was living a dangerous life, and I didn't keep the people around us safe.”
His voice broke.
“But I never stopped loving you.”
For a moment, Sofia didn't move.
Then she whispered:
“You remembered me?”
Peter began crying.
“Every day.”
Sofia looked toward the floor.
Then slowly approached him.
He didn't reach for her.
He waited.
Finally, she opened her arms.
Peter embraced his daughter.
And I watched through the glass as ten years of grief broke into one terrible, beautiful moment.
Later, Sofia met her mother.
Adriana began crying the moment she saw her.
Their reunion was quiet.
Fragile.
Full of questions.
But real.
Then Detective Bennett arrived with an update.
Vincent Rinaldi had been located.
He was attempting to leave Illinois under a false identity.
Investigators detained him.
But before he was taken into custody, he provided information about a hidden financial account.
An account worth more than three hundred million dollars.
The money came from assets stolen from Sam and Rose.
And Vincent claimed the true owner wasn't Silvio.
He named someone nobody expected.
May you like
Peter's father.
Samuel Castiglione.
