Two security men near the wall moved immediately.
Carlo scoffed.
“Don’t be theatrical.”
Dante looked at him.
“You brought a forged authorization to my mother’s table.”
“I brought paperwork prepared by counsel.”
“Then counsel can explain it.”
Carlo stood.
One of Dante’s guards stepped into his path.
The ballroom around us continued buzzing, but people nearby had begun noticing.
Sophia touched my hand.
There is more.
I looked at her.
She nodded toward Carlo.
Three months ago, he came to my house in Sicily.
He thought I was asleep.
He spoke on the telephone beside me.
What did he say?
Sophia’s expression tightened as she remembered.
He said Dante would sign anything if he believed it protected me.
A chill ran through me.
I translated quietly for Dante.
His face gave away nothing.
That was somehow worse.
“What else?” he asked.
Sophia signed.
Carlo said moving the foundation money would force Dante to sell shipping shares to cover the loss.
I translated.
Carlo’s chair scraped backward.
“This is absurd.
She misunderstood.”
Sophia saw his lips.
Her eyes flashed.
I interpreted his accusation.
She signed back immediately.
Tell him I watched his mouth for sixty-eight years before he learned to lie well.
I almost smiled despite the tension.
Dante did not.
He motioned to one of his men.
“Call Francesca.
Bring the foundation auditor here.”
Carlo’s confidence finally cracked.
“You’re going to embarrass this family over an old woman’s memory?”
The cruelty of it hit the table like broken glass.
Sophia had seen every word.
She lowered her eyes.
That hurt her more than the forged signature.
I turned toward Carlo before I could stop myself.
“She understood you.”
He looked at me as if he had forgotten I existed.
“This is family business.”
“Then stop speaking about her like she isn’t family.”
Dante’s eyes moved to me.
For one second, I wondered whether I had just destroyed my future.
Then he looked back at Carlo.
“She stays.”
