Chapter Fifteen
Lilly
Every time mom isn’t here with me, it feels like I’m missing something vital, like I’m not here as I’m supposed to be, but I know dad understands.
“Are you alright?” dad asks me, with concern in his eyes.
He knows me so well. He’s always known me. Even though we’ve been apart, and he has missed so many of my important milestones in life, I feel like we never really lost that special connection a father and daughter share. That bond is for life.
“Yeah,” I nod, feeling slightly beaten down.
“You’re usually much more cheerful,” he notices.
“I know,” I confirm. “I just have a lot of things on my mind.”
I try not to be worried about what Dominic told me. To be honest, he didn’t need to tell me. It’s the talk of the town. He’s the suspect in his business rival’s kidnapping, and some say, it’s just a matter of time before the police find enough evidence to arrest him.
I can’t believe that there is any evidence against him. There can’t be, because he didn’t do it. It’s as simple as that.
However, it’s not his guilt I’m afraid of. It’s the knowledge that even innocent people can end up in prison. Even innocent people can have their entire lives taken away from them and destroyed. This is what happened to my dad. This is what I see every time I come to visit him. It is the knowledge that never leaves me, that families can be torn apart by injustice just like that, in the blink of an eye. All it takes is for someone bad to be in charge of the whole process, and for someone good to turn a blind eye. That’s all.
“I’ve heard that your boss is an unofficial suspect,” he says, and I immediately raise my eyebrow.
“How did you know?” I ask, incredulously.
He shrugs, looking around. One of the guards has had his eye on us since I arrived, almost as if he’s expecting something to go wrong, so he could be ready. This doesn’t usually happen, as most of the guards already know me, they know us. They know our story. Now, whether or not they believe it, that’s a different affair.
But this guy is new. I haven’t seen him around. Maybe he’s just being prepared, who knows. I try not to pay attention to him and focus on my dad.
“Word gets around quickly,” he says mysteriously, as if he’s a mafia boss and everyone tells him everything.
The thought of my dad as a mafia boss almost makes me chuckle out loud, but I resist the temptation. I stare deep into his eyes, and as always, the first thing I see is the wall. It is the wall that he has put up between me and the pain that he has to go through every single day while here. He thinks I don’t see it, but I do, despite that wall. I see everything because that bond we have is unbreakable but, for his sake, I pretend I don’t. It’s easier that way for him.
“Are you sure you should continue to work for him?” he asks me something I never even considered.
It takes me a moment to reply. “Of course,” I assure him. “He’s innocent.”
“Are you sure?” my dad asks again.
If anyone else asked me like that, I’d be much less polite when expressing my trust in Dominic. But it’s my dad, and I know he’s just asking because he is worried about me.
“Positive,” I reply. I’m trying to keep a lower voice, because there’s only a few other people here. Not that I think someone might be eavesdropping on us, but it’s best to keep these kinds of conversations as much a secret as possible.
“He didn’t do it, dad,” I continue, leaning closer, as much as the distance rules allow me. “I’m afraid that they might pin this on him.”
“Why?” he wonders.
“Because he runs this city,” I point out, but I’m sure he already knows that. “He has more enemies than he can count. Any one of them might want to set him up.”
“That’s true,” my dad corroborates my fears. “I’m sure he has a good lawyer.”
“You also had a good lawyer,” I remind him.
“True,” he agrees, “but maybe if I could afford a cutthroat lawyer, the best that the city could offer at the time, maybe he could have proven my innocence.”
“But he wouldn’t take our case,” I say more to myself, as a harsh reminder of the way things were, the way they still are. My desire to change this is even stronger now.
“Your boss won’t have that problem,” he says as if it’s a done deal.