Chapter 8 Dante
DANTE
It's been a long night and an even busier day.
Tracking down the shit that's happening all over Italy concerning my operations is exhausting, but the only way to get ahead of the attacks on my organization is to put boots to the ground and see things for myself.
Enzo drove me here, and he's been napping in the car as I have one secret meeting after another, but on this one, I need his help.
One of my private sources understands things no one else can because he has ears to the ground in every organization in Italy, mine included.
But I pay him handsomely to keep my information quiet.
This time, I have him looking into Antonelli Gerard and I'm about to find out just how far the man's reach goes.
He never wants me to forget the night I stole something that he thought was his.
And I'll never let him walk for the things he's doing now.
"Stay alert," I tell Enzo, who rubs sleep from his eyes. "Anything could happen, and we have to be ready."
"Always, Boss," comes his reply as he chambers a round in his gun and slides it into his waistband. "Ready when you are."
We get out of the car and walk toward the warehouse.
The door is unlocked and creaks when we open it, welcoming us to a stench of burnt transmission fluid.
A man stands near the back wall with his hands in his pockets.
He wears a heavy coat despite the mild temperature and when he sees me, he nods.
"I told you to come alone," he says gruffly, and I shake my head at him.
He knows better than to question my actions, but I let it slide.
I don't have energy for petty fault finding and my hair-trigger temper might detonate at any time.
"My man stays with me," I reply. "Now show me what you have."
He reaches into his coat and pulls out a manila envelope, walking forward, and hands it to me.
I open it and pull out several sheets of paper.
They're copies of ledgers showing shipment records and financial transactions.
My name appears multiple times alongside dates and amounts that don't match my actual operations.
"These are forged," I say, confused as I pore over every line.
I know my operational expenses and incomes like the back of my hand.
Whoever's done this just made things up and it makes me look like I’m the one who took the Turk's shipment.
If these got sent to Kemal, I'm in deep shit.
"I know," he says, "but they look real enough to fool your suppliers. Antonelli is planning to leak them within the next two weeks. Once your allies see proof that you've been skimming and stealing, they'll cut ties. Antonelli moves in and takes over while you're dealing with the fallout."
I fold the papers and slip them back into the envelope. "What else?"
My job just got harder, but if there’s something worse to hear, then I can't just pussy foot around.
"Antonelli was the one who dropped the woman and child at your gate."
His eyes narrow on me.
I haven’t told anyone about Angelica and Sofia except the men closest to me at my home and my personal family doctor.
If my source knows it, it means he really does have an ear to the ground with Gerard.
I go still while I weigh the consequences of this. "You're certain?" I had suspected it, but having it confirmed only makes things feel heavier.
"Completely. My source confirmed it. Antonelli found out about them and used them to send you a message. He wants you distracted and vulnerable. He's stirring up trouble so when the war starts, you're already weakened."
My gaze hardens into a cold glare.
Gerard didn't just steal my shipment.
He orchestrated an entire campaign to destroy me.
He forged documents to frame me.
He sent Angelica and Sofia to my door to expose my weakness.
He’s preparing for a war he expects to win.
"Anything else?" I ask, hating the fact that I have to ask.
"That's everything."
I pull an envelope from my jacket and hand it to him.
He opens it and counts the cash inside.
When he's satisfied, he nods and walks toward the side exit.
Within seconds, he disappears through the door.
I turn to Enzo. "We need to move faster. Gerard is two steps ahead."
"What do you want to do?"
"I'll figure it out on the drive back. Let's go."
We leave the warehouse and return to our car for the return trip.
The drive to Rome feels longer than the drive down, but it's always that way, especially more so now that I have this damning evidence.
I spend most of it staring out the window and thinking through options.
Gerard has forged documents that will destroy my reputation.
He has my enemies circling closer.
He knows about Angelica and Sofia.
He's building toward something big, and I’m running out of time to stop him.
By the time we reach the villa, it's late afternoon.
The sun sits low in the sky and I notice the faint glow of lights on in the front room.
We park and walk inside, and I immediately hear the voices coming down the hall to greet me.
Any normal day in a normal home, this would be a welcome sound.
A father returns home from work to his adoring family and happy child.
The feeling tugs at my heart strings and I realize how much I long for that warm greeting, but it will never come.
At least not as long as Angelica is furious with me for something completely out of my control.
I walk down the hallway and stop in the doorway.
Sofia sits on the floor in front of the Christmas tree with a pile of ornaments beside her.
She's humming a song I don't recognize.
Angelica sits on the couch with a book in her lap, but she's not reading.
She's watching Sofia but her mind looks lost elsewhere.
I step into the room and Sofia notices me immediately.
She looks up and smiles.
"You're back," she says.
"I am."
"Where did you go?"
"I had business to take care of."
She nods like this makes perfect sense.
Then she stands and walks over to me, holding up a book with a Christmas tree on the cover.
"Marta gave me a story," she says. "Will you read it to me?"
I glance at Angelica.
She doesn't say anything but her lips purse and her eyes darken, which I ignore because this is my child asking to bond with me.
Of course I'll do anything for her.
I'd rein the moon and bring it to Earth if it made her smile.
I look back at Sofia. "Alright."
I walk to the couch and sit down, and Sofia climbs up beside me and hands me the book.
She leans against my side, making herself comfortable.
Her small body is warm and trusting.
I open the book and begin to read, and as I do, Angelica huffs and walks out.
I don’t even bother to ask where she's going.
The story is about a poor family in a small Italian village who can't afford to buy a Christmas tree.
A kind stranger gives them a tree and decorates it with candles and stars.
On Christmas Eve, the tree lights up and brings joy to the entire village.
Sofia listens without interrupting.
When I finish, she looks up at me.
"That was a good story," she says.
"It was."
"Do you like Christmas?"
I think about my answer for a moment because I want to always be honest with her.
"I used to. When I was younger."
"Why did you stop?"
"Because the people I celebrated with aren't here anymore."
She's quiet for a moment.
Then she asks, "Who are you?"
What a hard question to answer.
I'm a killer.
I'm a man who takes what he wants and leaves little in return.
I'm a hard man, a criminal, a man who would destroy the world to keep her safe, and a man whose heart is a lonely chasm of anger and pain, unable to be controlled.
But most of all, I am a man who will fight to make this world a place worthy of my little girl.
"I'm your father," I say.
She blinks. "My father?"
"Yes," I tell her calmly, and she smiles.
"But Mama said I don't have a father."
"She said that because she didn't know where I was. But I'm here now."
She processes this slowly.
Her expression shifts from confusion to curiosity. "Are you going to stay?"
"Yes."
"Forever?" she asks, leaning closer, pressing her head to my side.
"For as long as you need me."
Sofia nods and curls against my side, whispering, "Read it again?" I smile at the request.
She's come so far in such a short time toward liking me.
I thought she'd be scared of me forever, but now she's coming to me for simple things and I enjoy that.
What I don’t enjoy is the glare on Angelica's face when I look up and see her in the doorway with a cup of tea.
After a few minutes, she walks over to the couch, but her nasty expression doesn't shift so long as she's looking at me.
"Sofia, it's almost dinner time," she says. "You should go wash your hands."
Sofia slides off the couch and runs toward the bathroom and Angelica stands there for a moment without speaking.
Then she turns and follows Sofia out of the room.
I sit alone on the couch and think about what just happened.
Sofia asked me who I was, and I told her the truth.
I told her I'm her father.
And she accepted it without fear or hesitation.
It’s a good feeling.
I stand and walk to my den.
I pull the forged documents from the envelope and carry them to the fireplace.
I light a match and hold it to the corner of the first page.
The paper catches immediately, and I drop it into the fireplace and watch it burn.
Then I add the rest of the documents one by one until they're all reduced to ash.
At least one copy of them, anyway.
I can't control the other copies floating around out there any more than I can control Angelica's distaste for me or the fire in her eyes every time she sees me.
I never wanted a family.
I never thought I needed one.
I told myself that being alone was safer.
That caring about people made you weak.
But standing here thinking about Sofia leaning against my side while I read her a story, I realize I was wrong.
Having a family doesn't make me weak.
It gives me something to fight for.
But I think about what my enemies will do if they win.
If Gerard leaks those forged documents and my alliances collapse.
If Kemal refuses to accept my explanation and turns the Sicilians against me.
If my organization falls apart and I lose everything I've built.
What happens to Angelica and Sofia then?
They become targets, and I can't let that happen.
I turn away from the fireplace and walk to my desk, pulling out my phone to start making calls.
I call my contacts in Sicily and warn them about the forged documents, call my suppliers and reassure them that I’m handling the situation.
Then I call Enzo and tell him to double the guards at the villa because if Gerard’s being this bold, who knows what will happen next.
Then I sit down and start planning my next move.
Gerard’s building toward something, gathering allies and weapons and preparing for a confrontation.
I need to strike first and eliminate him before he has a chance to leak those documents or move against me directly.
But I also need to keep my family safe and make sure that no matter what happens, Angelica and Sofia are protected.