Micah had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. “Who was she?”
“Your father’s mistress.”
“Bullshit. My father was a complete asshole, but the only good thing about him was he loved my mother.”
“I’m not saying he didn’t. What I am saying is for about seven years of their marriage, he also had a mistress. Is it really that hard to believe? You know how my dad was, and the uncles. None of them were faithful to the women in their lives. Your father was just like the rest of them. Sure, he may not have carried a gun or run drugs, but he washed the money. You know money laundering is a crime don’t you?”
“Seriously Dante, fuck off right now.”
“Fine, but listen, you need the whole story because you're the one who is going to have to tell Luca. He won’t let me near him now that he has Bella and Jenny is back in his life.”
“Can you blame him?”
“No.”
“If it makes you feel any better, she is the only one I could find. I gathered intel, trying to figure out what happened back then. Hell, it was thirty years ago, so it was harder than you’d think. Most of those guys are dead or dying, not many people would talk.”
“It doesn’t make me feel better to know that my father spent years of his marriage cheating on my mother, and if it was thirty years ago, then that means it was while she was battling cancer. None of it makes me feel better, Dante.”
“She’s dead if that helps.”
Micah threw his napkin over his plate. There was no way he could eat another bite. He raised his hand, motioning for the server, and ordered a double scotch on the rocks. He needed something stronger for this conversation. Dante sat quietly while they waited for his drink. When she returned with it, he took a huge sip and placed it on the table, looking his cousin in the eye.
“Fine, the man was a fucker in every aspect of his life, but why the hell did you fly all the way to Miami to tell me about this?”
“You have a sister.”
Micah leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face in his hands. He had the start of a terrible headache and wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He wished he had never left the house tonight. If he had just stayed at home, he’d be in bed with Izzy’s sweet naked body draped around him rather than listening to this load of shit from his cousin.
“She’s twenty-nine. It took me a while to find her and even longer to convince her to meet you. When her mother got pregnant, she moved out of state. It’s clear she knew having a baby with her boyfriend wasn’t on the cards. She gave birth here in Miami and never named a father on the birth certificate. Two days after they discharged her, she died in her sleep. The coroner wrote it up as complications from birth, but my father’s records indicated he used a fixer from another family to clean everything up. Sofia was put into foster care but was never adopted. She had a fiduciary trust that was paid for by the family business. Her guardians received payments and kept their mouth shut. My father had them listed as employees under a corporation we had here in Miami. I never thought twice about it until I started looking into everything. When she turned eighteen, they were relieved of their duties.”
“You mean killed.”
Dante tilted his head to the side, but didn’t answer Micah’s question. “They sent her off to a college in Italy where she attended University, until she disappeared one day.”
“How did you find her?”
“I tracked the money as long as I could. Her bills were paid by us up until that point, but then she was gone. I had investigators working for me in Italy, but I was looking in the wrong place. She was here, in Miami, looking for her mother.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah, fuck. I know you think I’m a heartless piece of shit, but she deserves more than what our family gave her.”
“So now what?”
“I flew her to New York, and she was staying with me for a few months. I made my role in this and our family business clear to her. I didn’t tell her about her mom, though. I figured it wasn’t really the right time.”
“I don’t think it’s ever the right time to tell a woman your father had your mother killed.”
“The truth is Micah, I don’t know if my dad put the hit out on her because your dad asked him too, or simply because it complicated things for everyone. Now with both of them dead, we’ll never know, but Sofia, she has no one, and I thought maybe having a couple of brothers in her corner wouldn’t hurt. Her life has been difficult. She could use a break.”
“Sofia? That was Nona’s name.”
“I know.”
“Man, this is a load of shit... like more than I expected, even from you.”
“I get it, but smile, because that’s her walking in now.”