Chapter 5
Dante arrived the next morning wearing mourning black for a grief that was not his.
He always dressed like betrayal had manners.
“Cousin,” he said, stepping into my study. “I heard about Helena. Horrible woman.”
I said nothing.
He poured himself espresso without asking.
That annoyed me more than it should have.
Then again, murderers often reveal themselves through small ownership.
I placed Sofia’s letter on the desk.
Dante’s hand stopped.
Only for half a second.
But I saw it.
“Where did you get that?”
“From my dead wife.”
His smile returned too late.
“Sofia was emotional near the end.”
I stood.
“She was pregnant when she died.”
Dante blinked.
He had not known I knew that.
No one had known except Sofia, Alessia, and me.
The pregnancy had ended with her in the wreckage.
The child never took a breath.
Dante looked away.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
He frowned.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry belongs to people who did not plan the crash.”
His face hardened.
“You are grieving again. It makes you reckless.”
I pressed a button on my desk.
The wall screen lit up.
Luca appeared on video with Detective Voss and a federal prosecutor.
Dante’s expression cracked.
I lifted Sofia’s letter.
“We are reopening my wife’s death.”
Dante laughed.
“You brought police into family business again?”
“My family is buried because I kept things inside family business.”
Before he could answer, Enzo entered with two guards.
Not to protect me.
To watch Dante.
Luca spoke through the screen.
“Mr. Bellucci, we have secured court orders for financial records tied to the Leo Bellucci trust.”
Dante turned to me.
“You gave outsiders access to our accounts?”
“I gave my son a chance to survive us.”
His mouth twisted.
“Your son?”
The words came sharp.
Too sharp.
I stepped closer.
“What does that mean?”
Dante smiled.
“Ask Helena why she hated the boy.”
My pulse slowed.
Dangerously.
“Say it.”
May you like
He leaned in.
“Because Sofia made sure your bloodline would never be simple.”
