Our mom might’ve played the role of the compliant wife, but she wasn’t stupid, and she watched and listened to everything that went on.
“It doesn’t,” she says. “But Maria might know. She goes by Maria Baldwin now. Reverted to her maiden name, not wanting Joseph’s name to follow her.”
Anthony’s mom.
“Thanks.”
“Let’s do dinner soon. Okay? I miss you.”
“Sounds good.”
After a quick search, I find where she’s living, and we head to her place, which is just outside of Harbor Point.
When we arrive, she answers the door and grimaces. I’m sure she’s worried about why both Antonov brothers are on her doorstep when we haven’t spoken to her in years.
“We just want to talk,” Dominick explains. “Can wecome in?”
She offers us a drink, to which we decline, and we have a seat in the living room.
“Does the name Enrique Rothschild mean anything to you?” I ask, not wanting to waste any time.
“No,” she says, sounding genuinely confused. “Should it?”
“We have reason to believe he has Daniella Russo,” I add. “And her life is at risk. The guy who has her said he’s avenging his parents’ deaths, and the woman he hired to seduce Lorenzo said his real name is Enrique Rothschild.”
Her brows furrow as she thinks about the info I gave her, and just when I think we’ve hit a dead end, she says, “He had an affair while we were married. Shortly after the wedding, he started disappearing. When I asked him about it, he told me straight up that he met someone and fell in love with her. That our time together was a mistake, but because of Anthony …”
“You had to stay married,” Dominick finishes.
The rules of marriage back then were absurd. Our parents’ marriage was arranged. Joseph and Maria were forced to get married so Anthony wasn’t born out of wedlock. Even Giuseppe and his wife’s marriage was arranged. Everything in our world is about power and control.
“I don’t know anything about her other than he loved her. He lived two lives. When he died, because I was the wife on paper, I received his life insurance and what was in our joint accounts as well as the home that was in both our names, but everything else—the business, his assets—I couldn’t tell you where they went because his attorney wouldn’t give me access to his will, but I’d imagine she got a lot of it.”
“Is there anything else you can remember?” I ask because, without a name, we’re once again at a dead end.
She sighs and thinks for several moments before her eyes light up. “A house. There was a house that was in his name. I remembered seeing the deed, and when I asked him about it, he told me to mindmy own business. Have you looked to see if there are any homes in the area in Enrique Rothschild’s name?”
Fuck! Why didn’t we think of that?
Dominick pulls out his phone and starts typing, and a minute later, he curses under his breath. “Thirty minutes north of here, on several acres, there’s a house in his name. Thank you,” he says to Maria. “And for the record, we never blamed you …”
“Oh, I know,” she says. “But I appreciate you saying that. Your mother and I keep in touch. And honestly, Joseph wasn’t a bad man. Not like …” She doesn’t have to say Andrey for us to know who she’s referring to.
We all know that Andrey was an abusive piece of shit who manipulated everything and everyone to get what he wanted.
“Joseph and I made a grave mistake that created a horrible domino effect,” she adds, “but he wasn’t a bad husband or father. He was just controlled by money and power and greed. It’s a slippery slope. When you come from nothing and get a taste of how the other half lives, you crave it. I was raised in a wealthy family, so I never thought about it. So was Giuseppe. But Joseph and your father knew what it was like to be at the bottom, so they did everything in their power to ensure they remained on top. Even in Joseph’s death, he cut his son out. He’d rather leave Anthony with nothing than risk him tarnishing his name.”
Dominick and I both nod in agreement because we know firsthand about that, thanks to Andrey.
“How do you want to go about this?” Dominick asks as we walk back to his car.
“We need Eddy to get eyes on the area so we know what we’re working with. Daniella mentioned he had men watching the place, so we don’t want to get ambushed, and I’m not risking her getting caught in the cross fire. Enrique flat-out told her he planned to kill her, so we have to make sure he doesn’t have a chance to do so.”
“Who the fuck is this guy?” Dominick shakes his head.
“More likewhatis he?” I volley. “A dead fucking man walking.”
When we get backto Dominick’s house, Damien runs straight for him, and Dominick lifts him into his arms, hugging him and telling him he loves him.
