Chapter 6 - THE SIN OF THE FATHERS
Carmine had built his life around one belief.
Whatever his father had done to gain power, he would never allow those mistakes to define him.
Now the ledger threatened to destroy that belief.
He studied the records, searching for a detail that might explain the payment.
The amount was enormous, even by the standards of the men who operated in New Orleans' criminal underworld.
"Could this have been protection money?" Benny asked.
Victor shook his head.
"Anthony was protecting the bakery, not threatening it. He helped Emmett establish the trust."
"Then why did he pay Silas?"
"Because Silas threatened Nell's mother. Anthony may have believed he was buying time."
Carmine wanted to accept that explanation.
But wanting something to be true had never made it true.
Nell closed the ledger.
"My mother never blamed your father in her letters. She blamed someone else."
"Who?"
"She never wrote the name. She said the person was close enough to hear our family secrets."
A sudden noise came from the front of the building.
Benny drew his weapon and moved toward the entrance. Carmine positioned himself between Nell and the open doorway.
A stone shattered against the wall.
Wrapped around it was a piece of paper.
Carmine unfolded it.
Return the ledger, or the girl dies.
Nell went pale.
"They know we're here."
Carmine ordered Benny to get Victor and the documents out through the rear entrance. He remained beside Nell until the others had left.
As they crossed the courtyard, Nell stopped.
"I won't let you fight my battles because of something your father did."
Carmine looked at her.
"I'm not doing this for my father."
"Then why?"
He had no answer ready.
Because the truth was more dangerous than he wanted to admit.
He had spent years believing tenderness made a man vulnerable. Nell had spent years believing trust was a luxury she couldn't afford.
Yet standing beside her in the ruins of her childhood, Carmine felt something stronger than fear.
He wanted her to survive.
He wanted her to laugh again.
And he wanted to know what it would feel like to be the man she chose to trust.
Before he could speak, Benny called from the alley.
"Boss! We found something."
On the pavement lay a dead man's wallet.
Inside was an identification card belonging to a former Orsini security officer.
A man Carmine's father had supposedly dismissed the week before the bakery fire.
May you like
His name was Dominic Bell.
And according to the records, Dominic had died twelve years ago.
