Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 87: Chapter 87

TERZO
“Hey, hey, hey.” It was a good thing I was fast enough to catch her before she fell. I carried her bridal style while Ronan ran outside the office to get water. “Sweetheart, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” She squinted her eyes as she looked at me. “You’re so handsome like a dark fallen angel.”
I smiled and took her to the couch. I sat down and let her stay on my lap. “I take that. Don’t move. Are you dizzy?”
“Kind of. I remember something, and it flashed back at me so fast.”
“Do you need anything, ma’am? Maybe you should rest. I prepared a room for all of you.” Ronan came back with a glass of water.
“Thank you, Ronan. We booked hotel rooms in town, but we’d love to stay for a night, if it’s okay.”
“Are you kidding me, Mr. Siciliano? We’d love it if you stayed here for good,” he said excitedly.
Dani drank the water and thanked the old man. “I remembered having a doll. Sometimes, the arm fell off. I used to grab my mother’s lipstick and put it on my doll’s face.”
“I think it’s still there in your old room,” said Ronan.
She had me worried when she stood up eagerly. “Take it easy. We have all day, sweetheart.”
“We’ll be outside,” Gio said, leaving the office with Marco. Except Tristan, who stayed in the corner.
The two-story manor had been in the MacLynch family for generations. When Cillian’s parents died, he inherited the property, which reason it remained under the MacLynch’s name even if no one lived there anymore. Unfortunately, Dani’s grandparents from her mother’s side died before she could remember anything about her parents.
As we headed upstairs, I looked around, it was well-maintained for twenty years.
“How are you still taking care of the house even if they’re gone?”
“I made a promise to myself to take care of this house, and they left some properties that I sold to maintain the house. It had some issues, but nothing that couldn’t be fixed. I know, and I never lose hope that their daughter isn’t gone. I could feel it for two decades. I knew she was out there safe.”
“That’s my parents’ bedroom.” Dani pointed at the room across the hallway.
“Yes.”
“Do you wanna see it?”
“Maybe later.” Her voice cracked.
“If this is too much, you can take a break.”
“No.” As stubborn as she was, she went to the other room and pushed the door open. She stood there for several seconds before stepping inside.
I remained outside, watching her closely. I wanted to remind her to start therapy because her memory flashes were happening more often now, and I couldn’t help but worry about her health.
I promised her I wouldn’t bring it up until this trip was over, but I might have to break that promise.
She sat on the twin-sized bed covered in pink My Little Pony sheets, filled with stuffed toys and pillows. She picked up a picture framed on the nightstand, tracing the image of her family.
My heart bled for her that she didn’t get a chance to attend the funeral of her parents. I didn’t think I could ever do what she was doing right now.
“She’s such a brave woman.”
I looked at Ronan. “She is. She’s been through hell for the past few months. She almost died, fighting the evil monster that she thought was her father. That’s how she remembered who she was. Her memory came back in bits and pieces.”
“Is he dead?”
I saw the instant fear flicker in the old man’s eyes. “Yes. Do you know who I am talking about?”
A few months ago, I got visitors. I instantly knew they were bad people. They started asking about the book, Medea, but I didn’t know what that was.” He showed me his pinky finger. “That cost me this.”
Dani sucked in a breath. “They did that to you?”
“Yeah. Because the cut was too short, the doctor didn’t put it back. It healed properly.”
“I’m so sorry, Ronan, that you got dragged into this. Who were they? What did they look like?” Dani asked.
He looked at me. “Italian, which reminded me of a man who once worked for your father.”
“Dante Costa.”
“Yes. I didn’t trust that man. There was just darkness in his eyes, but Sir Cillian did trust him.”
“You don’t have to worry about him. He’s dead. He changed his name to Francesco Giordani and pretended to be my father.”
“Jesus Christ. Why did he do that?” The old man looked so terrified.
“Because he was a psychopath.”
Dani showed him the picture of Allison on her phone. “Do you know her?”
He grabbed her phone and held it away so he could see through his glasses. “I may be old, but yeah. It was a long time ago, but those eyes are familiar. The singer. She visited the family often. You can’t remember her? She didn’t like kids. I never saw her talk to you.”
“Well, she’s my mother.”
“What?” Ronan blinked. “I’m confused, child.”
“I believed Dante and this woman worked together. She took Dani and raised her as her own. For what reason? I don’t know.”
“And knowing that I couldn’t remember them, it was a perfect cover story when she moved to the U.S, that she had a child while in Ireland.”
“Did they hurt you while you were a kid?” His voice was laced with deep concern.
“Not exactly, but we never had the same kind of connection with Mommy.” She smiled. “I never said that out loud. Right now, I can even remember her smell, the smell of her perfume, like she’s just right here in the house.”
“Is she still alive? Does she know you remember all this?”
“Yes, she’s alive. She’s living with her ambitious husband, who might not have any idea who she really is. And no, she doesn’t know, yet, but I’m going to pay her a visit.”
“Okay, Nikita. Take it slow.”
After she toured herself around the house, the old man prepared us meal. He was a widower. His sons were living in the city and visited him every weekend.
“You stayed here alone?”
“Yes. I was worried that I might die and I wouldn’t get a chance to see you again, Danielle.”
She smiled at him and squeezed the old man’s hand. “I bet you were nice to me when I was a kid. I wish I could remember you, Ronan.”
“You called me Rowan.”
“Rowan, Mr. Bean?” She laughed. “I might have had a hard time pronouncing your name.”
“That’s right.”
“Please, stay in this house. You belong here. I don’t think I could ever repay you for everything you’ve done for my family, even if my parents were long gone. Your loyalty and love to them are as strong as this house. Indestructible. Thank you.”
“You don’t have a plan on selling this?”
“No. Let’s keep this. As much as my family may own this house, you’ve been its soul for two decades.”
He stood and grabbed something from the drawer. “I have something for you.” He gave Dani a gift wrapped in craft paper.
“You don’t have to give me anything.”
“I believe that belongs to your father. I wrapped it for twenty years, hoping I could give that to you one day.”
Dani and I shared a look. My hope rose as I noticed the shape and the size, that it might be what we were looking for.
“Open it.”
She smiled at Ronan and tore off the wrapper excitedly. It was indeed a book, but not the same book that we were looking for. “By the Bogs of Cats by Marina Carr.”
“The book was released a few months before your birthday, and I believe that’s what those men were looking for.”
“I thought it was my father’s writing.”
“That’s the Irish version of Medea.”
Dani stared at him in disbelief and opened the book. “It’s nothing in here but a book.”
“Look closely. Maybe you’ll find something.”
“How did you have it?”
“You and your parents were about to travel that day. I think their first trip was to Türkiye.” Türkiye? “He came to me in the garage and said, Ronan, I entrust this to you. Guard this with your life. He never came back to take it from me.”