She lets out a breath, shaking her head. “Are you absolutely sure you heard what you think you did?”
“Yes!” The word snaps out of me. “I was standing right outside his office door. I heard every single word loud and clear.”
“Okay, okay. I believe you. This is just a lot. I mean Dad is no angel, but…how involved is he in this?”
“No idea.” I shrug and drink more wine, though my stomach is in knots and pretty close to rejecting everything I just ate.
“You’re right. Liv shouldn’t be alone with him. We’ll figure something out.”
“Here’s another question. Should I tell Dante?”
Her brow furrows.“Of course you should. You’re tied to him now.”
Scowling, I whine, “But I hate him. Why should I help him?”
My sister tries to hide a tiny smile, which I know is her amusement over my brattiness. “I know you’re having a hard time, but like it or not, you’re a Bellanti. That means your loyalty is to them. Dante’s successes are yours, too, and his failures…well, those are all his own.
“But the better he does, the better you—and all of us Abbotts—will do. And if Dad’s involved in something shady, do you really think it’s up to you to protect him from the consequences, Frankie?Iwouldn’t. He deserves whatever payback comes his way.”
I have to admit, I’ve had the same thought.“Maybe you’re right.”
“I’m always right,” she says.
She dips a garlic knot in marinara and then stuffs the entire thing into her mouth, shooting me a wink. We used to stress eat together. We called it bonding.
By the time we get to the desserts, we’ve shifted from brooding and stressed to overstuffed and stressed, but I’m somewhat relieved to have shared my burdens.
Pushing the tiramisu away, Charlie says, “Here’s the thing. This information you have now? It’s the leverage you were missing before. So use it.”
“I’m not following,” I say. “Use it for what?”
“To renegotiate the terms of your relationship with Dante,” she says. “You want a financial cut of their winery? A job? Something to secure Livvie’s future? This is how you’re going to get it.”
I mull her words over in my mind as I finish my dessert and my wine, but something about all of this is still nagging me. “How does that make me any better than Dad? I’m trading information about someone’s death for my personal gain.”
I don’t want to be that person.
“You are nothing like Dad,” Charlie says. “Look at it this way. He’s left nothing for Livvie. Nada. If you can get something out of this for her, then you’ve done a good thing.”
Despite all the food, I suddenly feel deflated. “I don’t know. I hate this.”
My sister reaches over and takes my hand. “I know that it’s not easy, Frankie. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Better me than Livvie, right?”
“Right. And you can bet your ass I’m going to do a lot of listening and probably a little snooping while I’m at Dad’s house. Speaking of which, I should head out so I can pack a bag and get over there.”
She opens her purse and takes out a credit card, but I stop her.
“I’m sure the Bellantis have a tab. Just get to Livvie. Love you guys.”
“Love you too. Mwah.”
I’m sad to see her go, but glad to know she’ll be at Livvie’s side for the time being. If our father has been up to this nonsense since we’ve been out of the house, what else has he done? He’s put our whole family at risk.
My stomach churns.
I know the Bellantis are involved in underhanded things—it’s no secret that it’s made them very rich. The whole reason I married Dante was to save my family from financial ruin.
