Chapter 6: The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
Nobody touched the phone.
That was the strangest part.
A device that weighed less than a pound had frozen an entire room full of dangerous people.
Because the name on the screen wasn't just a name.
It was a ghost.
*Dad.*
My father had been dead for twelve years.
I had watched them lower his coffin into the ground.
I had stood beside my mother while she cried.
I had carried the responsibility of our family on my shoulders because there was no one left to carry it with me.
My father was gone.
But his name was calling my wife on Christmas night.
"Roman.""
Salvatore's voice was barely above a whisper.
I looked at him.
"Who saved that contact?""
Nobody answered.
The phone continued ringing.
The sound felt unnatural.
Like something that wasn't supposed to exist had forced its way back into our lives.
Katherine stood at the top of the stairs.
Her face was pale.
She had heard everything.
Including the ringtone.
Including the name.
I looked at her.
"Explain.""
She didn't move.
"Roman...""
"No.""
My voice was colder than I intended.
"You don't get to hesitate anymore.""
Her eyes moved to the phone.
Then back to me.
"I didn't know he would call.""
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"You didn't know?""
She swallowed.
"I didn't know when.""
That answer hit harder.
Because it wasn't denial.
It was confirmation.
Salvatore stepped forward.
"Katherine.""
She looked at him.
"Who is calling?""
Her lips trembled.
"I don't know.""
Nobody believed her.
Not even her.
The phone stopped ringing.
For one second, everyone relaxed.
Then it started again.
This time, I grabbed it.
"Katherine's phone.""
Silence.
Then a man's voice.
Old.
Calm.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
"Roman.""
My entire body went still.
I knew that voice.
Not from memory.
From childhood.
From a thousand mornings.
From a thousand moments before everything changed.
"Who is this?""
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
"You used to call me Dad.""
The room disappeared.
I couldn't hear anything except my own heartbeat.
Impossible.
It had to be impossible.
I looked at Salvatore.
He looked like he had aged ten years in a second.
"Father?""
The word escaped before I could stop it.
The voice on the phone went silent.
Then:
"Salvatore is there?""
Nobody spoke.
The old man stepped closer.
His hands shook.
"Angelo?""
The name came out like a prayer.
Or a nightmare.
The voice on the phone answered:
"I see you're still protecting him.""
Salvatore closed his eyes.
And that was when I knew.
He believed it.
My uncle believed the impossible.
My dead father was speaking.
"Roman," the voice said.
I tightened my grip on the phone.
"You are not safe.""
A bitter laugh escaped me.
"That's what everyone keeps telling me tonight.""
"This isn't a joke.""
"No.""
I looked around the room.
"Apparently my dead father is calling my wife on Christmas.""
A pause.
Then the voice became softer.
"You should have listened to me years ago.""
My chest tightened.
"What does that mean?""
"You trusted blood too easily.""
My eyes moved toward Marcus.
Then Salvatore.
Then Katherine.
The voice continued.
"The people closest to you have been moving pieces for a long time.""
"Who?""
Silence.
Then:
"Ask Katherine why she never told you about the first payment.""
Katherine's face changed.
I looked at her.
"What payment?""
She didn't answer.
The voice on the phone continued.
"Ask her about the night she met Marcus.""
Marcus stepped forward.
"What?""
The voice laughed quietly.
"Still pretending you don't know?""
Marcus went pale.
I looked between them.
"What is he talking about?""
Nobody answered.
That was becoming a pattern.
I hated patterns.
"Katherine.""
She looked at me.
"What payment?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I can explain.""
"Then explain.""
She opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
The voice on the phone spoke again.
"Roman, do not listen to apologies now.""
My grip tightened.
"Where are you?""
"Far away.""
"You're alive.""
A pause.
Then:
"Yes.""
The word broke something inside me.
Twelve years of grief.
Twelve years of believing I had buried my father.
All of it suddenly became a lie.
"Why?""
My voice cracked.
It was the first time that night I sounded less like a man in control.
More like a son.
"Why did you let me believe you were dead?""
The silence on the other end lasted so long I thought the call had dropped.
Then he answered.
"Because if they knew I was alive, they would have killed you.""
I looked around the room.
"Who?""
His answer was immediate.
"The same person who is trying now.""
The lights flickered.
Everyone looked upward.
A security alarm suddenly sounded.
One sharp tone.
Then another.
Salvatore immediately looked toward the guards.
"What's happening?""
One guard checked his device.
His expression changed.
"Sir.""
"What?""
"The east gate has been opened.""
Nobody spoke.
"The east gate?"" Salvatore repeated.
"Impossible.""
I knew why.
The east gate had no public access.
No guest entrance.
No delivery route.
Only family members knew how to open it.
My father spoke through the phone.
"Roman.""
I listened.
"Do not go downstairs.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"Do not go downstairs.""
The urgency in his voice was different now.
"Why?""
"Because whoever entered your house wants you away from your daughter.""
My blood went cold.
I turned toward the staircase.
Clara.
I moved instantly.
But before I reached the first step, Katherine stepped in front of me.
Not aggressively.
Desperately.
"Roman, wait.""
I stopped.
"Move.""
She shook her head.
"Please.""
The old version of me would have asked why.
The husband would have listened.
The man who loved her would have looked for a reason to forgive.
That man was gone.
"Move.""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I was trying to protect Clara.""
I froze.
"What?""
She looked toward the stairs.
"Everything I did...""
Her voice broke.
"I thought I was saving her.""
Nobody moved.
Not even me.
"Saving her from what?""
Katherine looked at the phone in my hand.
Then at me.
"From your father.""
The room went completely silent.
Salvatore stared at her.
Marcus whispered:
"What did you say?""
Katherine backed away.
"I found out the truth.""
My heart pounded.
"What truth?""
She wiped her tears.
"The night Angelo DeLuca died...""
Nobody breathed.
"He wasn't killed by enemies.""
Salvatore's face changed.
"Careful.""
Katherine looked at him.
"He was betrayed by someone inside this family.""
The phone went silent.
My father's voice had disappeared.
Then, after several seconds, it returned.
But this time, it wasn't calm.
It was afraid.
"Roman.""
I pressed the phone closer.
"Dad?""
His voice dropped.
"Do not believe her.""
Katherine looked at the phone.
"Because you know it's true.""
The silence that followed was unbearable.
Then my father said four words.
Four words that changed everything.
"Ask her about Clara.""
I looked at Katherine.
My daughter's mother.
My wife.
The woman standing between me and the truth.
"What does Clara have to do with this?""
Katherine closed her eyes.
And whispered:
"Because Clara was never supposed to survive.""
The room stopped.
May you like
And upstairs, from the second floor...
We heard Clara scream.
