His Test Was Fake, But My Death Was Real novel · Chapter 12 of 24
Chapter 12: The Boss at the Lake
Aldo Carrano stood up when he saw me.
He did it slowly, with both hands on the desk, and for a moment his mouth worked without a sound.
"Maeve," he said. "My God."
"Sit down, Aldo."
"Child, I..."
"Sit."
He sat.
Dario stood beside the window with his arms folded, and he did not look at me.
I crossed the room and set the brown file on the green blotter, square in front of my guardian.
"Read the top page," I said.
"I don't need to. I know what it says."
"Then say it."
His hands lay open on the desk.
They were an old man's hands, with the gold ring loose on the finger.
"The car that ran your parents off the highway belonged to Vincent Torrisi," he said.
"And when did you know that?"
"The week it happened."
"You took me in two days after the funeral."
"Yes."
"You gave me a room, and you fed me and you taught me to set your table. You let me thank you."
"Maeve."
"Every Sunday I sat at your right hand, Aldo, and Vincent Torrisi sat at your left, and I passed him the bread."
"I wanted to protect you."
"From what? He'd already killed them."
"From the same thing that would have killed you. A war. The Torrisis had half the lakefront. If I'd moved on Vincent that year, we'd have lost everything and you'd have lost the only home you had."
"You decided that."
"I decided it."
"Without asking me."
"You were twenty-one."
"I was an orphan with a right to know who made me one."
He bowed his head.
I had expected to hate him, and I did.
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