Chapter 7
“Yes,” I said, my voice rough. “I’m your uncle.”
Lily considered this carefully.
“Do uncles give hugs?”
Before I could answer, she climbed down from her chair and walked around the table.
I opened my arms.
She hugged me again.
This time, I did not cry.
But I closed my eyes and held her as if the last eight years could be undone by refusing to let go.
When Lily returned to her seat, Isabella’s expression remained troubled.
“You haven’t told me how Elena died,” I said.
“She was being hunted.”
“By my father?”
“I don’t know.”
“You said she wanted Lily protected from the Morettis.”
“She believed someone inside your family had discovered she was alive. She came to me because she knew I had saved you. She thought that meant I was the only person in New York who might protect her child without handing her over.”
“What documents did she steal?”
Isabella hesitated.
“Elena said your father had been building alliances with people far more dangerous than rival families.”
“What people?”
“Officials. Judges. Men inside federal agencies. She found records showing that the Moretti organization was being used to move money for a private network.”
May you like
I stared at her.
My father had always kept separate books.
