Property of the Mafia

[41] Unravelling

"Noir?"

I repeated the word hesitantly in absolute shock. But weren't they, well, an ancient mafia family? I had thought there had been no survivors except my family of distant descendants.

"Yeah." Silvio continued, looking like he had regret his decision to tell me the truth. He turned his head up and glared at me. "Look what you made me do!" He frowned.

"Me? I didn't do anything!" I scoffed defensively.

"So this is the treasure room?!" Alyssa squealed, leaping up and down in delight. "Hope you don't mind if I take a look~" She exclaimed with absolute glee as she bound off towards one of the rooms. She looked like a hysteric chicken flapping its way towards a chicken coop.

"Probably should have kept her tied up." Marcel muttered beneath his breath, chuckling. Rosette, the timid little girl, giggled softly at the comment. She covered her mouth after she realized she had laughed. Marcel smiled faintly.

"But that's impossible. The Noir family vanished years ago. There were no survivors." Marcel coughed, getting back to business. "Even if there was---were survivors, they'd be long gone by now. And they most definitely would not be children." He added skeptically, raising an eyebrow.

"That's because they hid here."

My jaw fell open with disbelief. At this rate I would be dislocating my jaw any time soon. I could see Alyssa standing behind her with an equally bewildered expression.

"M-M-M-Mom?!"

I stood glued to the spot as she happily sauntered towards me, grinning from ear to ear as she threw her arms around me before playfully flicking my forehead.

"Haven't seen you in a while, honey. I see you're not exactly in the best of shape." She frowned, staring at the makeshift and soaked sling my arm was still in.

"Mom. What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" I sputtered, barely able to catch my breath. Clearly my mom is going to give me a heart attack one of these days. First the whole engagement thing, and now this?!

"I've been living here in hiding." She answered simply, intertwining her fingers in front of her as she smiled uncomfortably. She stumbled over her words. "You know. After your father passed away."

My heart thudded painfully in my chest.

"You knew about this place?" I continued, feeling hurt. "Then why didn't you hide here with Dad? He... he could have been saved!" I shouted in desperation. Hearing the words come from my mother's mouth only made the insufferable feeling of loss resurface again.

"I know honey. He could have... but he didn't want to." She continued, gently placing her hands on Dante's and Rosette's heads. "He didn't want to put these kids in danger."

My voice caught in my throat.

What in the world was going on?

Was that why Dad had been in so much pain when he had found out Van had accepted the engagement? Because I could solve the secret and had the Tresora? Because these kids were going to put in danger despite everything?

... What a stupid dad.

My knees collapsed beneath me and I fell to the ground, now sobbing into the back of my arm. He had sacrificed himself for these kids, but Van had already gotten his hands on them by getting me.

"Linette, honey. Caleb---your father, didn't regret anything." My mom continued softly, now kneeling down in front of me as she grabbed my trembling hand. "As a matter of fact, since you were the one in posession of the Tresora, he knew these kids would be safe."