Mafia's Redemption: Terzo - Chapter 88: Chapter 88

DANI
I brought flowers to my parents’ graves. Ronan removed the dried flowers he brought the last time he visited.
“I didn’t know what to say because no words can express how much I missed you, even if I just remembered you a few days ago. I wish my memory came sooner. I wish I weren’t taken away. I wish I didn’t lose my accent. I wish I had grown up in that house and finished college so that I could hang my diploma next to our family picture. I hope you are proud of me.” I wiped my tears away. “I’m alive, Mommy, Daddy. I survived. Please, look after me. Look after my husband, the man who never gave up looking for my real family. He should get all the credit for his resilience. Please look after the people I love, including Ronan, who never gave up on me. I love you both, forever and always.”
I still wanted to say something. I still wanted to sit down there and tell them about my life for the past twenty years. I had a lot of stories to tell them. I just wish there were a part of it.
“Aren’t you disappointed that you did not find the book we’re looking for?”
“No. I think finding out the truth about my life, my parents, where I came from, is worth more than that book.” I traced my fingers on his naked chest.
We just made love in my parents’ guest room, and it felt a little weird, but it was my house, too.
“You’re right.” He ran his fingers on my arm, tracing patterns. He was relaxed and thoughtful.
I felt like we became a normal couple, out of danger, just having a good conversation in bed.
“I just can’t believe that this was my home, I was born here, and I lived my life here for four years, but I barely remember anything. So my real birthday is in three months, and I’m turning twenty-five.”
“Do you wanna stay here longer? I can arrange that. There are great places to visit. We both need that break, away from family business for a while.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. We can go somewhere else, too.”
“As much as I’d like to do that, you might have unfinished business to attend to. The house isn’t going anywhere. Our vacation can wait, but we can extend a day or two here before we leave. I have to check the library first. My father spent a lot of time in there.”
“Let’s go.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, cowboy.” I got up and put my clothes on.
Apparently, Ronan was also awake, as were Marco, Gio, and Tristan.
“Why are you guys still up?” I asked them.
“We had Guinness,” Marco said. “Ronan took us to a pub.”
“I don’t drink anymore, but these boys can’t leave here if they haven’t tried our beer.”
“Glad you guys had fun. You can hit the hay, Ronan. You’ve been up all day.”
“I’m old. I’ll sleep when I’m dead.” He tipped his chin at the office door. “Go ahead. Those pigs broke the key of the desk drawer, but they didn’t find anything. I don’t know if your father had a safe, but there must be some place he kept the important documents and land titles.”
I walked in and sat at his desk. “It feels weird. The last time I sat on this chair was on my father’s lap while he was writing something. Can you boys check something under the desk?” I stood up and inspected the book.
“Or maybe a secret door behind these shelves that your father didn’t tell you about?” Marco suggested.
“Or a safe under this carpet,” Tristan conveyed, tapping his boots against the floor that might make a different sound.
“Or just under the desk.” Gio lay under and inspected the desk.
We waited for him to break the good news, but were disappointed when he got up and said nothing.
I looked at those paintings on the wall that I didn’t recognize. “There’s always a safe behind the paintings, right?”
They went to check, including Terzo, but found nothing.
I sat on the couch and opened each page of the book to see maybe a clue, in-circled letters, dent, or folded pages. I sighed. “Damn it. Where do you keep your diary or journal?”
“In my room, under the mattress,” Tristan replied.
“God, I don’t wanna go there. It feels like invading their privacy.” I looked at Terzo flipping some old photo albums.
“Sweetheart, if you wanna find what you’re looking for, we should at least try. And maybe it brings back good memories, not just bad ones.”
“Fine.”
It took me a few deep breaths before I found the courage to enter my parents' room. “Please, be careful.”
My heart broke that I wasn’t given the chance to see him one last time before their funeral. I took a seat in front of my mother’s vanity mirror when I heard Terzo sigh audibly.
“Not even a secret drawer in this closet.”
I grabbed an old bottle of perfume and sniffed it. My mind brought back those wonderful memories. I used to watch my mom brush her hair while talking to my father, and after that, she also brushed my hair.
“Holy shit.”
“What?” Terzo asked.
I pulled the drawer. “I can’t believe these are still here. Her brushes, rollers, makeup brushes, hairties, clamps.” I checked the thickness of the drawer, and it was definitely thicker than the actual depth from the inside. “Probably nothing, but why not?” I removed everything inside and pulled the organizer.
Gasps erupted behind me.
“There’s the Medea.” And at least three big Manila envelopes. “Why did he let you keep By the Bogs of Cats?”
“I have no idea, kiddo. Let’s go, boys,” Ronan called the guys out. “Let’s give her some privacy.”
“Go ahead, check it,” Terzo said.
My hands shook a little as I grabbed Medea. “It’s not even the first edition like the asshole told us.” When I opened the cover, the was a paper inside. I unfolded it. “It’s my father’s handwriting. What do these numbers and letters mean? A code that needs to be deciphered?” I gave it to Terzo.
“No. This one is familiar. A bank account.”
My head snapped and craned to meet him in the eye. “What kind of bank account has letters in it?”
“A bank that only a few people know exists.” He took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“Let me guess, someone like you? Where is it?”
“The US, The UK, Italy, Ireland, and Germany.”
“Good. We’re in Ireland. We should go tomorrow.” I grabbed the envelope and checked what was inside. There were documents, including their marriage certificates, but not passports. We just came from vacation when that ambush happened, but I still couldn’t remember anything about it.
“This account was not opened here, Dani. The code in Ireland has IR, and this is IT.”
“Italy? What kind of bank is that?”
“Arrow Monetary Group is worth a trillion dollars. You can’t open an account unless you have at least a fifteen million initial deposit.”
“So my father had fifteen million dollars at that time. We were rich.”
“Yes. That’s why your father made a lot of enemies. But the bank has been operating for thousands of years, and most of the account owners are billionaires, heads of secret organizations, dignitaries, politicians, clandestine government funds, to name a few.”
“And you know this because you have an account there. Does the government know this kind of bank exists?”
“My father has, but half of it is mine. The bank is untouchable, or the world economy collapses.”
“So this is the reason why Francesco kept me alive because of my father’s money?”
“There’s more than money in there, Dani. You also hold a key to a bigger part of an organization. You become untouchable. That’s what Francesco’s after.”
“And that’s what got my father killed? A seat in this organization? Is that even worth someone’s life? What about the list?”
“Yes, but it comes with the price. It’s not only dangerous. The account has limited numbers, but it’s a status, a power, and a privilege. Maybe he kept the list there.”
“Why do I feel like this is a cult?”
He chuckled. “No. But do you realize you’re a damn rich now?”
“Holy, shit.” I gaped but felt sad all of a sudden. “My father once told me that this is for my future. I told him that I wanted to become a doctor. And he and my mom died for this shit.”
“They didn’t only die because of this. They were murdered because your father was gonna name those involved in organized crime. He probably wanted to legitimize his businesses. I can feel he had a list. The list might be in that safe deposit.”
“Only one way to find out. I’m doing this because they deserved justice. Money is only a consolation. But first, I wanna see Mom Dearest.”