Chapter 5 - THE FATHER AT THE DOOR
Alessandro Valenti entered the office leaning on a polished black cane. Age had thinned him
but had not diminished the gravity he carried into a room. His hair was silver, his suit
perfectly tailored, and his eyes were the same hard gray as Dante’s. He looked first at his
son, then at Sofia, then at Émilie and Lina. Only when he saw the open bracelet beneath the
desk lamp did the faint warmth leave his face.
“My family gathers without me,” Alessandro said. “I should be offended.” Dante did not move
to greet him. “How did you know where we were?” Alessandro’s gaze drifted to the wine drying
on Dante’s shirt. “Paris is not as large as you think.”
“Try again.” A flicker of irritation crossed the older man’s face. “One of your people
called.” “Name him.” “You’ve become suspicious.” “My dead brother just spoke to me from a
memory card hidden on his daughter’s wrist. Suspicion seems appropriate.”
For the first time, Alessandro looked directly at Lina. He stared longer than Émilie liked.
She took one step back. “Gabriel had a child,” he said. “You knew,” Dante replied.
It was not a question. Alessandro sighed and lowered himself into a chair. “I knew there was
a woman. I knew she was pregnant. Gabriel refused to tell me where she lived.”
Émilie’s voice came cold. “Because he was afraid of you?” The guards glanced at her. Very
few people addressed Alessandro Valenti that way. The old man gave her a measured look.
“Gabriel was afraid of many things.”
“He told me someone with his name wanted him dead.” A muscle moved in Alessandro’s jaw. “And
you assumed that meant me?” “I didn’t know your name until tonight.”
Dante slid the death certificate across the desk. “Then explain your signature.” Alessandro
looked down. There was no surprise. Sofia saw it too. “You knew about the certificate.”
“I authorized the family’s private identification process.” “Before the boat exploded?”
Dante asked. Alessandro’s eyes lifted. The room changed. Dante placed both hands on the
desk. “Gabriel recorded a message. He said the certificate was prepared in advance. Fournier
is dead tonight. You appear here without being called. So I’m going to ask once: what did
you do?”
Alessandro’s mouth tightened. “Lower your voice.” “No.” The word was soft, but it carried
years of buried conflict. Émilie watched father and son face each other and understood
something about Dante. His cold control had not appeared from nowhere. He had learned it
here, beneath the shadow of a man who expected obedience as naturally as breath.
Alessandro tapped the cane once against the floor. “Gabriel came to me nine months ago. He
accused the family of trafficking weapons through your companies. I told him to stop
digging.”
“Why?” “Because he did not understand what he had found.” “Then explain it.” Alessandro
looked at Sofia. “Marcello had debts. Vittorio had ambition. Corrupt officials had been
feeding from our businesses for years. I was trying to contain the damage.”
“By signing Gabriel’s death certificate?” “By preparing an exit for him.” Sofia laughed
bitterly. “That is almost exactly the lie I hoped you would not tell.”
Alessandro’s hand tightened on the cane. Dante noticed. “You ordered the false death?”
“Yes.” Émilie felt the answer strike like cold water. Alessandro continued. “Gabriel wanted
out. I gave him a way. A false death, a new identity, money. He was supposed to leave
Europe.”
“Without Émilie?” Dante asked. “He insisted they would join him later.” Émilie’s eyes filled
with fury. “He never told me that.” “Because the fewer people who knew, the safer the plan.”
“Safe?” She stepped toward him. “I spent six months believing he was dead.” Alessandro’s
expression remained controlled. “And you were alive.” Before Émilie could answer, Dante
slammed his palm on the desk so hard the lamp jumped.
“You don’t get to call that mercy.” The guards stiffened. Alessandro rose slowly. “Be
careful, Dante.” “No. You be careful. For seven years you told me the family was mine to
lead, but you kept doors open behind my back. You signed documents in my companies. You met
with people I had removed. You knew Gabriel was investigating something and never told me.”
“I was protecting you.” “From what?” Alessandro looked at Lina again. That glance was
enough. Dante moved between them. “Do not look at her like that.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed. “She is a Valenti.” “She is a baby.” “She is Gabriel’s heir.”
“She is Émilie’s daughter.” Émilie felt an unexpected rush of gratitude, but there was no
time to speak. Dante’s phone vibrated on the desk. He glanced at the screen. A call from a
blocked number.
Émilie’s pulse jumped. Dante answered without greeting. Static. Then a man breathed once
into the line. “Dante.” Émilie grabbed the edge of the desk. Gabriel.
Dante’s face went still. He put the call on speaker. “Gabriel,” he said. Sofia covered her
mouth. Alessandro did not move. Gabriel’s voice came strained and distant. “You found the
bracelet.”
“Yes.” “Is Émilie there?” “I’m here,” she said, and the sound of her own voice broke. A long
silence followed. “Émilie…” She began crying before she could stop herself. “You’re alive.”
“Yes.” “You let me bury you in my head every day.” “I know.” “You have a daughter.” “I
know.” The answer shattered something in her. “Then where are you?”
“I can’t tell you yet.” Dante leaned toward the phone. “Who is hunting you?” “Not Marcello.”
Sofia’s head snapped up. “Then who?” Dante demanded. “Listen carefully. You need to leave
the restaurant. Now.”
Dante looked toward the door. “Why?” “The man who came for the bracelet is inside.” “We
know. He stole a waiter’s uniform.” “No,” Gabriel said. “That was only the scout.”
A noise sounded in the corridor beyond the office. Metal striking tile. Rocco raised his
weapon. Gabriel continued, voice urgent. “The person giving orders is with you.”
Everyone looked at everyone else. Émilie’s gaze landed on Alessandro. The old man’s face
showed nothing. Dante spoke slowly. “Give me a name.” “Look under the memory card.”
Dante opened the medal again. Beneath the slot, almost invisible, was a second compartment.
He pressed it with the tip of the letter opener. A folded strip of paper emerged.
One name was written on it. Dante read it. His face changed. Sofia leaned close, then
whispered, “No.” Émilie’s heart pounded. “Who?” Before Dante could answer, the lights went
out.
The office plunged into darkness. A gunshot cracked from the corridor. Lina screamed. Émilie
dropped behind the desk, wrapping her body around the baby. Men shouted. Rocco fired once
toward the doorway. Emergency lights flickered red along the walls, turning the room into a
nightmare of shadows.
Dante’s hand found Émilie’s shoulder. “Stay down.” Another shot shattered the window. Cold
rain blew through broken glass. In the red light, Alessandro was no longer beside his chair.
“Where is he?” Sofia shouted. The office door stood open. The corridor beyond was empty. And
May you like
the strip of paper on the desk bore the same name as the man who had just vanished into the
darkness: ALESSANDRO VALENTI.
