Chapter 5 - Leo's Confession
"Tell me."
Gabriel's voice was calm.
Leo would have preferred shouting.
"My father was there."
"I know."
"No."
Leo swallowed.
"I mean he was there when Michael died."
Gabriel's stare hardened.
Leo continued.
"Antonio drove the car."
Norah stood near the doorway.
Daniel had been moved to a secure location.
Only the three of them remained.
"My father told me before he died," Leo said. "Victor ordered him to drive Michael to the meeting."
"And?"
"He claimed he didn't know it was a setup."
"Did you believe him?"
"I wanted to."
Gabriel approached.
"You've known this entire time?"
"I knew my father drove."
"You knew Victor was there?"
"No."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I was twenty-two when my father confessed. You were already hunting the family you believed killed Michael. If I'd told you my father helped deliver yours to his death, you would've killed him."
Gabriel said nothing.
"And maybe you would've killed me."
Leo's voice broke slightly.
"I was a coward."
Gabriel turned away.
Sixteen years of loyalty suddenly stood beside sixteen years of silence.
Norah spoke quietly.
"Did Antonio say who killed Michael?"
Leo shook his head.
"He said he never saw the shooter."
"Anything else?"
Leo thought.
"One thing."
Gabriel turned.
"My father said Michael wasn't supposed to be alone."
"Who was supposed to meet him?"
"Rosa."
Silence.
Gabriel stared.
"My mother?"
Leo nodded.
Norah understood first.
"Maybe that's why Rosa disappeared."
They returned to the documents.
A receipt from October 17 showed Rosa purchasing two train tickets.
Michael had planned to meet her, take Gabriel, and leave.
He never arrived.
Rosa realized the betrayal reached inside the family.
So she vanished.
But one question remained.
Who had pulled the trigger?
The answer arrived unexpectedly.
Benny called Norah.
"You need to come down here."
"What happened?"
"Someone left something for you."
Gabriel accompanied her.
Benny's diner was closed.
On the counter sat a small wooden box.
Inside was Rosa's rosary.
Norah recognized it immediately.
There was also a photograph.
Rosa.
Older.
The photograph had been taken only three years earlier.
On the back:
She didn't die eleven years ago either.
Norah stared.
"What?"
Benny shifted nervously.
"There's more."
He handed Gabriel an address.
They drove to a small church outside the city.
A priest met them.
"Gabriel Hayes?"
Gabriel nodded.
The priest studied his face.
"She said you'd eventually come."
Gabriel couldn't speak.
The priest led them through the church to a small cemetery.
Gabriel's heart sank.
A simple grave stood beneath an oak tree.
ROSA BELLINI.
1939–2024.
Gabriel touched the stone.
She had lived until two years earlier.
For twenty years, Gabriel had existed in the same city as his mother without knowing.
The priest handed him a sealed envelope.
"She asked me to give you this if you came with a young woman named Norah."
Gabriel opened it.
My son,
You will want revenge.
I know you.
But revenge is how Victor kept this family imprisoned for decades.
If you want to defeat him, don't become him.
Michael's killer was not Leo's father.
It was not Paulie.
It was not a rival family.
Victor arranged the meeting.
But the person who killed your father was someone I loved.
Gabriel read faster.
Someone I trusted.
Someone who believed killing Michael would save you.
Gabriel reached the final line.
His face went completely still.
Norah touched his arm.
"What does it say?"
Gabriel handed her the letter.
Norah read the final sentence.
May you like
I killed your father.
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