Chapter 7: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The word hung in the basement.
Father.
Dante stared at the man standing beneath the flickering fluorescent light.
For three years, he had believed his father was buried beneath a stone bearing his name.
Now the dead man smiled at him.
“You look just like me.””
Dante raised his weapon.
“Don't take another step.””
The man stopped.
Anthony moved in front of Elena.
Victoria couldn't stop shaking.
Dante's eyes stayed fixed on the stranger.
“You're dead.””
The man gave a small shrug.
“People believe whatever they're told when the right people tell the story.””
Dante's finger tightened around the trigger.
“Who are you?””
The stranger smiled.
“You know who I am.””
“No.””
“You've spent your entire life trying to become me.””
Dante's jaw clenched.
“My father never talked like that.””
The man's expression changed.
“That's because I'm not the father you remember.””
Anthony whispered, “Dante, don't listen to him.””
The stranger glanced at Anthony.
“You always were the sentimental one.””
Anthony's face hardened.
“You left us.””
“No.””
The man took another step.
“I watched.””
Dante's stomach tightened.
“Watched what?””
“Your mother raising two boys while one of them was taught to inherit an empire and the other was taught to disappear.””
Anthony looked away.
Dante stared at him.
“You knew.””
Anthony didn't answer.
“You knew he was alive.””
“I suspected.””
“You suspected?””
Dante's voice echoed through the basement.
“You let me bury him.””
Anthony finally looked at him.
“I was trying to keep you alive.””
The stranger laughed.
“And he failed.””
Marcus raised his weapon toward the older man.
“Boss, say the word.””
The stranger looked at Marcus.
“Do you know what your employer's father did to men who disobeyed him?””
Marcus didn't blink.
“I don't care.””
“You should.””
Dante stepped between them.
“Enough.””
He looked at the man.
“Why the drink?””
The stranger's smile faded.
“Because I needed you afraid.””
“You tried to kill me.””
“No.””
He looked at Victoria.
“She did.””
Victoria shook her head.
“You told me it wouldn't kill him.””
“I told you what you needed to hear.””
Dante slowly turned toward Victoria.
She covered her mouth.
“I didn't know.””
The stranger continued.
“She was given one simple task. Get you to drink it. Instead, she panicked.””
Dante looked at the glass in his hand from upstairs.
“You put her up to this.””
“I gave her a choice.””
“What choice?””
“Protect herself or protect you.””
Victoria began crying.
“I thought if I did what he wanted, he'd leave you alone.””
Dante's voice was quiet.
“And he threatened Elena.””
Victoria nodded.
“He said he'd make her disappear.””
Elena stared at the floor.
Dante's expression hardened.
The stranger smiled.
“You see? Everyone in this room made a choice.””
Anthony stepped forward.
“Except you.””
The stranger looked at him.
“What?””
“You never gave anyone a choice.””
Anthony suddenly pulled a gun from beneath his jacket.
Marcus reacted instantly.
“Anthony!””
But Anthony wasn't aiming at Dante.
He aimed at the older man.
“You killed our father,” Anthony said.
The stranger smiled.
“Our father died years before that.””
Anthony's hand shook.
“You murdered him.””
“No.””
The man pointed at Dante.
“He did.””
Dante froze.
“What?””
The stranger's eyes were cold.
“Your father was killed the night you took over the family.””
Dante shook his head.
“I was twenty-seven.””
“You were twenty-seven when you thought you became boss.””
“What are you talking about?””
“I was the one who made the phone call.””
Dante's face drained.
“What phone call?””
“The one telling you your father had died.””
Anthony lowered his weapon.
Dante looked at him.
“You knew?””
Anthony's silence was devastating.
Dante's voice cracked.
“You knew.””
Anthony whispered, “I found out afterward.””
“After what?””
“After the funeral.””
Dante looked back at the older man.
“Then who did we bury?””
The stranger smiled.
“A man who looked enough like your father to fool everyone.””
Elena suddenly stepped forward.
“But why?””
The stranger looked at her.
“You shouldn't speak.””
Elena swallowed.
“I know why.””
Everyone turned.
Elena pulled another folded paper from her uniform.
“I found this too.””
Dante took it.
At the top was a hospital name.
Below it was a patient record.
The photograph attached to the document showed the older man.
Underneath it was a different name.
*Isaiah Cole.*
Dante stared.
Anthony's eyes widened.
“That's his real name.””
Isaiah smiled.
“Congratulations.””
Dante looked at the date.
Three years ago.
Then he saw something else.
A second patient's name appeared on the same record.
*Anthony Cole.*
Status: deceased.
Dante's eyes lifted.
“Anthony…”
Anthony looked confused.
Isaiah said softly, “Now you're asking the right question.””
Dante turned toward his brother.
“Why does this say you died three years ago?””
Anthony didn't answer.
The basement lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot cracked through the darkness.
Elena screamed.
May you like
When the emergency lights came on—
Anthony was gone.
