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“Involved?” David scoffed, shaking his head. “That’s impossible. You know how much he loved her.”
“Did he, though?” I countered, my voice rising in spite of my attempts to keep it steady. “Or was it all just a facade?”
“Enough, Liliana,” David warned, his eyes darkening with anger. “Don’t you dare tarnish our father’s good name with this baseless accusation.”
“Baseless?” I clenched my fists, feeling the truth burning within me like a firestorm. “I have evidence, David. Irrefutable evidence. And I know, deep down, you can feel it too. The cracks in Father’s story, the inconsistencies that never added up. The way he never told us the whole story.”
He stared at me, silent for a moment. Then, with a sigh, he leaned forward and held out his hand. “Show me.”
“Fine,” I said, producing the stack of photographs and documents I had discovered in my search for answers. “Here.”
David took them from me, his eyes scanning each piece of evidence as if trying to find some flaw in my argument. But with each passing second, his disbelief gradually faded, replaced by a simmering anger that I could see bubbling beneath the surface.
“Damn it,” he said under his breath, slamming the last photograph onto the coffee table. “How... How could he?”
“I don’t know,” I said, feeling a mix of relief and dread at seeing David’s reaction. “We have to confront him, David. We can’t let him get away with what he’s done.”
“Confront him?” His voice was low, dangerous, as he rose from his seat. “Oh, we’ll do more than that, Liliana. He’s going to pay for killing our mother.”
“David,” I warned, reaching out to touch his arm. “We need to think this through. Be smart about how we approach this situation.”
“Smart?” His eyes blazed with the fury of a thousand suns, and I knew there was no reasoning with him now. “No, Liliana. This isn’t a time for being smart. It’s a time for justice. For vengeance.”
David stood and started pacing the room. “Get me a gun,” he demanded. “I’ll resolve the situation now.”
I was frightened by the anger in David’s eyes and didn’t want to tell him no, but I didn’t know what else to do.
Luckily, Nicholas entered the living room and I could sense his determination to control the situation. He stood tall and imposing, looking at David and determining the right course of action.
“David,” he said, his voice steady despite the tension in the air. “We can go to your father’s house and confront Giovanni. You, Liliana, and me. Paulie will drive us.”
For a brief moment, David hesitated, but then he nodded curtly. It was clear that, despite his anger, he still respected Nicholas’s authority. Paulie, who had accompanied my brother from rehab and grown close to him during their time together, joined us from the hallway.
“Let’s go, then,” David growled, storming out of the room with a newfound sense of purpose. As we followed him out of the house and toward our awaiting vehicle, I braced myself for the confrontation ahead.
Upon arriving at the Ricci home, our emotions were raw and unyielding. I thought I loved this house and all it represented, but now it made me shudder. Our childhood home, tainted by the sins of our father, held no more fond associations for me. We wasted no time marching through the grand entryway and up the ornate staircase, our footsteps echoing through the cavernous halls.
We barged into my father’s office. There sat our father, surrounded by his trusted advisors who glanced nervously at one another, clearly unsettled by our sudden arrival. Without missing a beat, Nicholas took control of the situation.
“Leave us,” he ordered, his voice cold and commanding. “This is family business.”
At first, the advisors hesitated, but one by one, they shuffled out of the room, their murmurs and hushed whispers trailing behind them. Giovanni, however, remained unfazed. He leaned back in his leather chair, feigning nonchalance as he steepled his fingers together. But beneath that veneer of calm, I could see the uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
David threw the photos at our father, who started looking at them.
“Where did you find someone to create such convincing fake photos?” my father asked.
“They’re not fakes,” Nicholas said. “We’ve verified everything.”
My father laughed. “Of course they’re fake. I’ve already been investigated and cleared of my wife’s tragic death.”
“Save your lies for someone who cares,” David snapped, venom dripping from every syllable. “We know what you did.”
“David,” I interjected, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
His face remained a mask of innocence as he responded with feigned disbelief. “Liliana, my dear, I would never harm Estelle. You must know that I loved her deeply.”
“I thought you did, Papa, but now I’m not sure,” I said.
