Chapter 8 - THE WOMAN WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD
The abandoned property stood outside the city.
Inside, they found photographs.
Ivy's mother.
Alive.
Taken only six months earlier.
Ivy collapsed into a chair.
“She survived.”
Carmine examined the photographs.
“She was being watched.”
By whom?
The answer came when the back door opened.
An elderly woman stepped inside.
Ivy gasped.
“Mom?”
Her mother stopped.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then Ivy ran.
They embraced.
Ivy cried against her mother's shoulder.
“You're alive.”
“I couldn't come back.”
“Why?”
“Because they would have killed you.”
Carmine stood nearby.
Her mother looked at him.
“You became exactly like your father.”
Carmine's expression hardened.
“I became what I needed to become.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“You became what they wanted.”
“What does that mean?”
She looked toward Ivy.
“The man who killed your father wanted you to inherit the empire.”
Carmine stared.
“Who?”
His mother's eyes filled with fear.
“Your grandfather.”
Carmine went completely still.
“He's dead.”
“No.”
She shook her head.
“He has been alive all these years.”
Ivy whispered:
“Where?”
Her mother looked at Carmine.
“Running the organization from behind the scenes.”
Carmine's phone rang.
A distorted voice spoke.
“You finally found her.”
Carmine's face became cold.
“Grandfather.”
A laugh.
“You were always clever.”
“What do you want?”
“Your loyalty.”
“You murdered my father.”
“I built your family.”
“You destroyed it.”
“No.”
The voice softened.
“I gave you everything.”
Carmine looked at Ivy.
“No.”
“You gave me fear.”
A pause.
“And now you've given me a weakness.”
The call ended.
Ivy's mother whispered:
“He'll come for her.”
May you like
Carmine turned.
“Let him.”
