Page 151 of Enzo

“I found the photograph, of you, with your wife and the boys.”

“You?” he hisses.

“Me.” It comes out calmer than I expect. “I showed it to Mama, because I didn’t understand, because I was too young.”

“You were the one?” he hisses.

I nod, feeling calmer than I expected. With every word the pressure, the weight, the heaviness seem to lift.

“I’ve carried that guilt, thinking I was the one who broke both families. I thought I was the one who caused Aurora’s death.”

I sit up, placing my hands on the table. “But I didn’t. I was a child. The betrayal was yours. You separated six brothers. All I did was find a photograph.”

“You, you … you little—” Father’s face turns red and I fear he’s going to pop a blood vessel. I consider calling his assistant to summon his nurse, or have some medic on standby. “It was you, you sneaky …” His breathing turns fast and furious. “If you hadn’t gone through my things, if you’d obeyed me, none of this would have happened!”

“No.” I’m not carrying his guilt anymore. “What happened is not my doing. It’s yours.”

“You … you …” He can’t get his words out.

“You did this, and now you’re living with the consequences, because despite your best efforts to keep us divided, we’re more together than ever.”

Father's face flushes an alarming shade of red. His fists clench on the desk and his breathing turns harsh. I stand up, feeling fearful. The last thing I want is for him to have a heart attack.

“No!” he cries.

I walk towards the door.

“I’m not done talking to you.”

I stop with my hand on the handle and look back at him.

“I am. For once, Father, this isn't mine to carry.”

Then I walk out.

Chapter 42

MOLLY

I am so proud of this man. Enzo and I are sitting in the black SUV leaving the night offices. He looks drained but also slightly as if a heavy load has been lifted from him.

I hold his hand and squeeze it, looking up at him with a great big smile on my face.

“What are you grinning about?” I ask.

There's a lightness in his voice that wasn't there earlier. He did a big thing today, confronting his father. That can't have been easy.

He shrugs. “I feel better. Lighter.”

I don't ask him any more about it because I know he'll tell me in his own sweet time. For now he wants to visit his mother. I suggested he go alone because I know how important she is to him and this first meeting after so long will mean a lot to him. He insists on taking me along with him.

The car meanders along.

“We should take something,” I say.

“Take something?” Enzo echoes, like this is an alien idea to him.

“I can't meet your mother for the first time and not take anything.”