THE MAFIA'S OBSESSION

THE MAN I CALLED MY FATHER

"No."

The word escaped my lips before I could stop it.

My father's signature stared back at me from the page.

Neat.

Deliberate.

Undeniable.

"There has to be another explanation."

Marco lowered his gaze.

"I spent years hoping there was."

I shook my head.

"My father would never work with people who murdered my mother."

"He didn't know they were going to kill her," Marco said quietly.

The room fell silent.

I looked up sharply.

"What?"

Marco took a slow breath.

"Your father believed he was making a deal that would protect the Russo family."

"And instead?"

"He made a deal with monsters."

I couldn't accept it.

"No."

"He loved my mother."

"He did."

Marco's voice softened.

"That's why he never forgave himself."

I felt my chest tighten.

"If that's true..."

"Why lie to me?"

"Because guilt makes cowards out of powerful men."

Before I could answer, Dante gently closed the ledger.

"This changes everything."

"It changes nothing," I whispered.

"My mother is still dead."

"And someone still ordered her murder."

Dante nodded.

"Which means we stop looking at your father..."

"...and start looking at whoever manipulated him."

For the first time that day...

I looked at Dante with gratitude.

He wasn't trying to turn me against my father.

He was trying to find the truth.

---

That evening, we returned to the Marchetti estate.

The drive home was quiet.

I watched the city lights blur past the window, unable to stop replaying Marco's words.

Your father believed he was protecting your family.

If that was true...

Then who had deceived him?

Dante broke the silence.

"What are you thinking?"

"That I don't know who my father is anymore."

"You don't have to figure it out tonight."

"I do."

"You don't."

His voice was gentle.

"You've had your world turned upside down."

I laughed bitterly.

"That seems to happen every other day now."

A small smile touched his lips.

"I'll ask them to slow down."

Despite everything...

I laughed.

A real laugh this time.

His smile lingered.

"There she is."

"What?"

"I've been waiting to hear that."

My cheeks warmed.

I looked away before he could notice.

---

When we reached the estate, Lorenzo was already waiting.

"You'll want to see this."

He led us into the study.

A large map covered the table.

Red pins marked cities across Italy.

"What am I looking at?" I asked.

"The ledger."

Lorenzo pointed to the map.

"Every payment corresponds to one of these locations."

Dante studied it carefully.

"They're not random."

"No."

"They're recruitment points."

I frowned.

"For Vitale?"

Lorenzo nodded.

"They've been planting people inside mafia families for years."

"Sleeping agents."

The words left my mouth before I realized it.

Lorenzo looked impressed.

"Exactly."

Dante's eyes met mine.

"They don't need armies."

"They already have them."

A heavy silence settled over the room.

If Vitale had people inside both families...

Then anyone could be the enemy.

A guard.

A servant.

A trusted advisor.

Even...

Family.

---

Later that night, I couldn't sleep.

Again.

I wandered into the estate gardens, wrapping a shawl tightly around my shoulders.

The moon reflected across the fountain.

For a brief moment...

Everything looked peaceful.

"I knew I'd find you here."

I turned.

Dante walked toward me with two steaming cups of coffee.

"You've started bringing me coffee a lot."

"You keep forgetting to sleep."

He handed me a cup.

Our fingers brushed.

Neither of us pulled away immediately.

"I've been thinking," he said.

"That's dangerous."

He chuckled softly.

"I walked right into that."

"You did."

We stood beside the fountain in comfortable silence.

"I owe you an apology," he said suddenly.

I looked at him.

"For what?"

"For the day we married."

I blinked.

"I treated you like an obligation."

"You were one."

"I know."

His eyes searched mine.

"But somewhere between protecting you..."

"...and arguing with you..."

"...you stopped feeling like one."

My heartbeat quickened.

"Dante..."

"I don't expect you to feel the same."

"You barely know me."

"I know enough."

He took one careful step closer.

"I know you're brave."

"I know you're stubborn."

"I know you pretend not to care when you're terrified."

"And I know..."

He smiled softly.

"...I've never met anyone who makes silence feel this easy."

The world seemed to stop.

Every instinct told me to step back.

Instead...

I stayed exactly where I was.

Our eyes held.

Neither of us noticed the figure watching from the shadows beyond the garden wall.

A camera shutter clicked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The masked figure slipped away into the darkness, already sending the photographs to an unknown number.

A message appeared seconds later.

MISSION UPDATED.

Do not kill Elena Russo.

Use her to destroy Dante Marchetti.

End of Chapter Thirteen.