Chapter 7: The Father I Was Never Told About
I stared at the photograph until my eyes burned.
My mother.
Dante.
Me as a baby.
And the man standing beside us.
A man I had never seen.
But somehow, my entire life had been shaped by his absence.
“Who is he?”” I whispered.
Dante didn’t answer.
That terrified me more than anything else.
Because Dante Rosselli always had answers.
He knew enemies.
He knew secrets.
He knew the hidden parts of people’s lives.
But now he looked at that photograph like it had dragged him back to a memory he hated.
“Dante.””
His jaw tightened.
“His name was Rafael Valdez.””
My breath stopped.
The last name hit me first.
Valdez.
My last name.
“My father?””
Dante nodded slowly.
I laughed.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
“My mother told me he was gone.””
“He was.””
I looked at him.
“What does that mean?””
Dante looked toward the window.
“Your father died protecting you.””
The words should have brought comfort.
Instead, they created more questions.
“Then why did my mother never tell me about him?””
“Because she was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Dante looked at me.
“Of what would happen if you knew who he really was.””
I folded my arms.
“You keep saying that everyone around me was dangerous. But nobody will tell me why.””
Dante stayed silent.
That silence made me angry.
“No.””
I shook my head.
“I spent my entire life believing I had no family. I watched my mother struggle alone. I watched her work until she couldn’t stand anymore. And now you’re telling me there was a whole world hidden from me?””
My voice cracked.
“You don’t get to protect me from the truth anymore.””
Dante studied me.
Then he nodded.
“You’re right.””
The agreement surprised me.
He walked to the table and placed another folder down.
“Rafael Valdez was not just your father.””
I opened it.
Inside were newspaper articles.
Photographs.
Documents.
My eyes moved quickly.
Rafael had been a security expert.
A man who worked with powerful families.
Including Dante’s.
“He knew too much,” Dante said.
“About what?””
“About Marco Vieri.””
The name again.
The man who had returned from the shadows.
The man who wanted Leo.
I looked at the documents.
“What did my father discover?””
Dante’s expression darkened.
“Marco wasn’t trying to destroy my family.””
I frowned.
“Then what?””
“He was trying to replace it.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
Dante continued.
“Twenty-eight years ago, Marco discovered a weakness.””
“What weakness?””
Dante looked at me.
“Trust.””
I didn’t understand.
Then he pointed at the photograph.
“Your father was one of the few people I trusted completely.””
A pause.
“And Marco knew that.””
I looked down at the picture.
My mother.
My father.
Dante.
A strange group of people who somehow formed the center of a secret I had never known existed.
“Did my father know about me?””
Dante’s eyes softened.
“Yes.””
“Did he love me?””
The question escaped before I could stop it.
Dante didn’t hesitate.
“He loved you more than anything.””
My throat tightened.
“Then why wasn’t he there?””
Dante looked away.
“Because someone made sure he couldn’t be.””
The room went silent.
I slowly looked up.
“What do you mean?””
Before Dante could answer, the security alarm sounded.
Every person in the room froze.
A guard rushed in.
“Boss, we found movement near the east gate.””
Dante immediately stood.
“Lock everything down.””
The guard nodded.
Then he looked at me.
“Boss…”
Dante noticed.
“What?””
The guard swallowed.
“The person at the gate isn’t trying to get inside.””
“Then what are they doing?””
The guard looked at me.
“They’re waiting for Alina.””
My heart stopped.
Dante’s face became unreadable.
“Show me.””
The security monitor switched on.
A man stood outside the gate.
Older.
Gray hair.
Calm.
Not holding a weapon.
Not hiding.
Just standing there.
Waiting.
Then he looked directly into the camera.
And smiled.
Dante stepped closer.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“You know him?””
Dante’s voice dropped.
“Yes.””
A pause.
“That’s Rafael Valdez.””
My entire body went numb.
“But you said he was dead.””
Dante stared at the screen.
“I thought he was.””
Then the man outside lifted a handwritten note toward the camera.
May you like
Three words.
*Ask your mother.*
