ATONEMENT (40 page)

“
I want you to be one hundred percent certain it’s me you want to be with. I don’t want you undecided or confused or tortured. I want you happy and
i
f it’s with me, then I’ll
love you,
take care of you but if it’s not, the same
still
applies.”
He rubbed her hair with the towel, grinning at her petulant expression, “Stop frowning,
when you’re absolutely sure how you feel you know how to reach me.”

They embraced
and she
pressed
her face
against his broad chest
letting the silence speak. It said, ‘This is
our farewell
, for now
.’

Shortly after,
they were on their way out.
Nico opened the
front
door
and guns pointed at his head.

                                        
***

Alberti did not stay for
Matteo’s
celebration. He found Giuseppe’s choice of entertainment classless, but –he shrugged, who was he to judge?

The hour had grown late when he arrived home
to a sleeping household
. He went to the study and
opened
the hidden compartment at the base his desk and took out
a pair of
document
s
. He read through it, although he’d memorized its contents
countless times over the years
.
He wanted to hold it, feel the old paper as though he could feel the past. Time was slipping away from him. The grey hairs went from several strands to thousands. Sixty-odd wasn’t old, he certainly didn’t feel it, yet he was.

The document
s
w
ere Nico and Vincent’s
birth certificate
s
. The hand
w
ritten
information a sign of its antiquity. Today, birth certificates were typed with official seals and signatures, serial numbers and fancy paper.

The situation with Alfonzo and Nico
concerned
him more than he let on.
Ugh, the past, how easy men forget history. A woman; the Achilles heel of all mortal men. Nico succumbed to this weakness.
T
he most loyal of men, one he loved beyond words had fallen.
His son
and
his great hope.

Alberti returned the document to its proper place then removed a cigar from the humidor, lit it and reclined in his chair. With one puff, his mood improved.
Alfonzo’s wife was lovely, true, but for Nico to defy wisdom and risk everything for
her
there must be more to it. He knew Nico very well and this was uncharacteristic.

He bluffed when he threatened the strong-willed man. Alberti would not have Nico harmed and was glad Alfonzo took a similar stance. Thro
ughout the years Nico’s loyalt
y was beyond reproach.
Nico’s skills were invaluable.

Perhaps, tomorrow he’d speak to Alfonzo. Tell him more of his family and the
ir
history. Alberti took another puff from the cigar, thinking. He’d done many things to protect the Giacanti legacy. Most re
cently, eliminating a curious journalist, however a new threat arose. The incident in Milan with Nico
was linked to a far greater problem than originally thought. The man Nico killed was a low-level member of the Messin
i
f
amily and second cousin to Constantine
Tulo
, whose wife was among the bridal party. This did not bode well with Alberti. Yesterday, he believed someone inside the house eavesdropp
ed
during the men’s discussion.

These coincidences were troubling, because in Alberti’s experience, multiple concurrences were often linked.
Nico,
was good at discovery.
How else could he have puzzled together the truth about his parentage? There was however, a piece which did not fit, one fact he got wrong and that was about his adopted mother. Angelina was not Nico’s biological mother, Sabrina
Deguardino
was. How do you tell a child or a man, he was not wanted by his own mother
or not
loved enough to keep?

Alberti would have told him long ago the truth, but his adoptive parents were the only parents
Nico
knew and what good would it have done? Seeing his son’s pain injured Alberti’
s soul. He had a duty to his older brother Luzo, to teach Alfonzo their ways and ensure the restoration of the Giacanti name. It was nearing the time for the Giacanti re-emergence. The journalist would have gotten it wrong, told lies about his family and started wars. Alberti could not chance this
occurrin
g, nor
did he want Nico or Vincent to learn about
their
real parents
this way.
But, now that Nico knew, Alberti would have to disclose it all.

Alberti surmised
N
ico
began to suspect
his
paternal connection when by happenchance he met his daughters several years ago
and then set about to research
the
Giacanti’s
. If this is so, he would have discovered
Sergio
Giacanti’s
father,
Nicolo
Giacanti had a twin brother whose name was Vincenzo.
The Giacanti
family was
reborn in Nico, Vincent, Giuseppe,
Alfonzo
Amelda
, Gabriela, Adrianna and his twin daughters, Madeline and Evangeline.

You s
ee,
the
Giacanti’s
flourished and
Nico
’s acuity is
vital to
their survival. He would keep them safe just as Alberti had done for many years, but first Alberti
must
speak with
Nico. He needed to
disclose the truth about his birth and set his mind to peace
before
the man burned hellfire and unset everything he’d done to restore their name.

                        
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The short flight from Palermo to Milan took less than two hours. He
and Domingo
walked through the door of the guest house
before dawn
and found his
mother
sitting there with a worried expression on her face. When she saw
them
, she seemed disappointed as if she had expected someone else to enter.

Trepiditiously
Alfonzo
closed the door,
“
Mama
,
que
paso
?”

“
Yo
no
sé
!
We went out with the children
, then
when we returned found a note from Selange saying she was walking in the garden but she has not come back and no one
’s
seen her.”

Alfonzo froze. His heart punched through his chest. This was the fibrillation that unsealed the hidden section of his heart. It showed itself and it was raw.
“Mama, how long ago?”

“
Diez
horas
!”

“Ten hours since you’ve seen
Selange or ten hours since you discovered the note?”

His mother frowned at the question, “Since the note.”

“When was the last time you
saw
my wife, mama?”

“Around one o’clock.”

“Fuck!” He apologized, “
Lo
siento…
lo
siento
. Mama did you ask the other women?”

“Of course,” she said indignantly, “they haven’t seen her since lunch. The guards are searching the grounds because no one saw her leave. It’s not like Selange to disappear. She always tell the children good-night
hijo
, she is a good mother.
She is not answering her cell, this is not my daughter-in-law. Something bad has happened.
I told you this place, these people…”

“Stop mama…stop…
por
favor
…this one time
..
para
mi…détente!
 

He ran his fingers through his hair. He realized his mother sat alone
. Teresa must not know
and
he
wondered why. “
How long
did
you wait before you said
something
?”

“
I prayed she’d return. When she didn’t come in an
hour ago
I went to the house and woke Sophie
.”

Of course
she would wait. Of course she would pray. Of course
,
this was his mother. Her faith was greater than her common sense!

Domingo was up the stairs. He would wake Teresa and they would scour the grounds as well. But Alfonzo had no such patience and rushed out the door and saw Vincent running toward him from the larger house.

They met in the middle of the grounds.

“I just heard, do you think she took off?” Vincent asked.

“She would take the kids
Vin…
one thing I know about my wife is she loves those kids more than anything!”

There was activity outside
the front door
. Several of the guards were shouting in Italian, he saw who they were shouting at and ran over when he saw
Renalda
in their midst. The other women were filing from the house in their robes, waving their hands and gesturing when he got over to where the commotion took place.