Chapter 11 - The Ghost of the Past
Vincent stared at the aged parchment paper in his trembling hands.
He had buried his father in a closed casket over two decades ago.
Lorenzo Caruso was supposed to be a tragic casualty of the brutal mob wars of the nineties.
Vincent had spent his entire youth trying to live up to the ruthless legacy of a man he thought was dead.
Now the bloody silk of his mother's ruined dress sat on his porch like a cursed threat.
Hannah stepped out onto the porch wrapped in a thick wool blanket.
She saw the color drain from her husband's face and rushed to his side.
Vincent tried to shove the wooden box behind him to protect her from the trauma.
It was too late.
Hannah saw the bloodstained fabric and the sinister handwritten note.
She did not scream or panic like she might have a year ago.
She calmly reached down and took the note from his shaking fingers.
She read the words about a father never abandoning his son.
Hannah looked up at the dark tree line surrounding their peaceful estate.
She asked Vincent if it was physically possible that Lorenzo survived the explosion twenty years ago.
Vincent felt a cold sweat break out across his neck.
He explained that his father's body was never officially recovered from the burning warehouse.
The family had buried an empty casket filled with weights to maintain their pride.
Lorenzo had always been a master of disappearing when the heat from the federal agents became too intense.
But returning now meant he had been watching them from the shadows this entire time.
It meant he had watched Vincent dismantle the criminal empire he had built.
Vincent pulled Hannah tightly against his chest and promised they would leave the country tonight.
Hannah gently pushed him back and looked directly into his terrified eyes.
She told him that running would only prove to Lorenzo that they were weak prey.
She reminded him that they had already defeated the entire Romano syndicate and a corrupt FBI agent.
They were not going to let a ghost force them out of the home they had built with honest love.
Vincent realized his wife was far braver than he could ever hope to be.
He kissed her forehead and picked up the wooden box.
He carried the threatening package to the outdoor fire pit and threw it into the flames.
They stood together and watched the bloody silk and the threatening note turn to gray ash.
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Vincent knew his father was demanding a war for the soul of the Caruso family.
He just didn't realize that Vincent was no longer fighting alone.
