The Sister Nobody Mentioned
Chapter 08 - The Sister Nobody Mentioned
Her name was Nora.
She was twenty-one, lived under another surname, and had spent most of her life believing Leah was dead.
Their mother had separated the sisters after a threat against the family. Bianca had taken Leah. Another trusted friend had taken Nora.
Dante had known Nora existed.
Leah could not understand how he had kept that secret.
“Because your mother made me promise,” he said.
Leah shook her head.
“Stop using dead people's promises to explain your choices.”
Dante accepted the words.
“I deserve that.”
Nora agreed to meet Leah the following morning.
The meeting took place in a small coffee shop in Brooklyn.
She had their mother's eyes.
That was the first thing Leah noticed.
The second was that Nora was nervous.
The third was that Nora looked at Leah with the expression of someone seeing a ghost.
“You're real,” she whispered.
Leah smiled through tears.
“So are you.”
They talked for three hours.
Nora told her about their mother, about the farmhouse, and about the years spent believing Leah had died with her.
Then Nora said something that changed everything.
“Mom was afraid of Bianca.”
Leah froze.
“Why?”
“Because Bianca knew where the money came from.”
“What money?”
“The charity money.”
Nora reached into her bag.
She had a small notebook.
Their mother had left it to her.
Inside were initials.
Dates.
Amounts.
And one repeated name.
Dante Raviieri.
Leah stared.
“Dante was stealing from the charity?”
“No.”
Nora pointed to the initials.
“D.R. isn't Dante.”
“Then who?”
“Daniel Raviieri.”
Leah frowned.
“There is no Daniel.”
Nora looked at her.
“There was.”
Daniel had been Dante's older half-brother.
He had died when Dante was twenty.
At least, that was the official story.
Leah returned to the estate that night.
Dante was waiting.
She put the notebook on the table.
“Tell me about Daniel.”
He closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
May you like
Then he whispered:
“My brother isn't dead.”
