Why Cry When You Made Me Leave? novel · Chapter 20 of 24
Chapter 20: The Council
The old harbor council hall stood at the foot of the Quay, with a ship's lantern hung from every beam.
Five oak chairs formed a half circle on the stone floor, one for each family.
Behind them rose three tiers of benches, and every bench was full.
Dock captains, wives, stevedores with their caps in their laps, boys sent to hold seats.
The Quay had come to see the Cardinale house stand trial.
I sat on a bench to the left of the chairs with Corrado beside me and the old lawyer on my other side.
My father walked in last, in a black suit, and took the chair nearest the door.
He nodded to the families as if he had been sitting there for thirty years, which he had.
The white-haired elder struck his cane on the stone.
"The first night of the harbor council is open," he said.
"The guardian of the Sabbadin trust has asked to speak first."
"Speak, Baldassare."
My father rose, and I watched him put the whole of himself into it.
He talked for ten minutes about a faithful house and a grieving father.
He called me a girl who had been turned by a man with a grudge.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Why Cry When You Made Me Leave? are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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