Chapter 24: Ghost from the Past
Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers from Paris, a drizzle soaked the soil of Palermo, Italy. The atmosphere in the private Volskey family cemetery felt bleak and cold, as if the sun refused to show itself there.
In front of two magnificent black marble tombstones inscribed with Leonard Volskey and Aliora Vanchez, an old man sat silently in a wheelchair.
Don Cardios Volskey. The Capo of the oldest surviving mafia family. His face was full of wrinkles, his eyes sunken, yet his gaze still held the remnants of an old eagle's sharpness. He ignored the raindrops beginning to dampen his expensive suit.
"Aliora..." Cardios whispered hoarsely, his voice competing with the sound of the pattering rain. "My intelligent and beautiful daughter-in-law."
Cardios's old hand stroked the photo of the beautiful woman on the headstone.
"Now I understand why you chose that place."
Cardios's memory drifted to the past, twenty-three years ago. The hellish night Aliora came to him with a pale face, secretly saying goodbye while clutching a red bundle of a baby to her chest.
"You knew Luigi was power-hungry," Cardios muttered to the gravestone. "You knew he could kill anything that became a threat. So you took her away to a remote orphanage in the Swiss mountains that didn't have many people. You were willing to let your daughter live hard in a slum, as long as she wasn't detected by the radar of her own biological uncle."
Cardios laughed bitterly, a laugh that sounded painful.
"But bad luck befell her, Child. The orphanage was destroyed by fire. And my little rose... my only granddaughter... was lost to ash."
"Don Cardios," Marco's deep voice broke the sadness.
Marco, the loyal advisor and the only person Cardios trusted, stood erect behind the wheelchair holding a black umbrella.
"We must go inside, Don. The doctor forbade you from being exposed to the wind for too long. Besides... Master Luigi is leading a council meeting inside the villa. He is pressing for the official coronation again."
Old Cardios's eyes, previously melancholic, instantly flared sharp. Full of hatred.
"Let him press until he foams at the mouth," Cardios snapped. "He is agitated. I can smell his fear from here."
"Luigi is terrified because he heard the Valois intelligence network from France is digging into old data in Switzerland," Cardios continued with a cynical sneer. "Luigi thinks Xavier Valois is looking for evidence to take him down for his father's death. He is too greedy. Let him be paranoid with his own shadow. He will never be the legitimate Don."
"Why, Don? He already controls the territory... he killed his own brother for that seat," Marco asked quietly.
"Because he doesn't have the Key, you fool!" Cardios cut him off roughly.
The trembling old hand reached into the inner pocket of his coat. Cardios pulled out an old laminated photo. A photo of his son, Leonard, holding his newborn baby girl. At the baby's waist, a glistening object was tucked behind the blanket.
"Ancient Volskey law is absolute," Cardios hissed. "Whoever holds the Rose Dagger is the heir to the throne approved by the ancestors. Luigi killed his brother, he searched Leonard and Aliora's bodies, but he didn't find the dagger. Greed blinded him."
"Because the dagger was with the baby," Marco responded.
"Correct. Leonard gave it to his daughter as her birthright. The dagger seemed to choose its own owner."
"But Don... The orphanage burned down completely. The Young Miss must have turned to ash..."
Buzz. Buzz.
The phone in Marco's pocket vibrated long. The man answered it, listened for a moment, then his face turned pale. His eyes widened staring at his master.
"Don..." Marco's voice trembled.
"What is it?"
"A spy report from Paris just came in. There was a shootout incident at the Port of Le Havre last night. A woman nicknamed The Rose fought alongside Xavier Valois."
Marco swallowed hard before continuing.
"Eyewitnesses said... the woman killed her enemies using an antique silver dagger. With a rose engraving."
Silence.
The sound of rain seemed to stop abruptly for Cardios. His old heart beat fast, painful yet full of hope.
"A rose dagger?" Cardios muttered skeptically, trying to hold himself back from hoping too much. "There are thousands of rose daggers in this world, Marco. It is a common motif. The Volskey one has a unique carving and a long history."
"True, Don. But the witness said the handle was made of old blackened silver, with a carving of thorny stems winding up to the base of the blade. Very specific. Very similar to the family heirloom lost with the Young Miss."
Cardios's hand holding Leonard's photo trembled violently. Tears dropped, falling onto his son's face in the photo.
"Impossible..." Cardios whispered. "My granddaughter was still a baby when Aliora hid her. And the orphanage burned down when she was about eight years old. How could she have survived? A girl that small? Alone?"
"We don't know for sure, Don. But if the dagger is real... there is a high probability the holder has a blood relation to Master Leonard."
Cardios fell silent for a long time. His old but cunning brain worked fast. He couldn't be reckless. If he made a wrong move, Luigi would catch this scent.
"Don't jump to conclusions yet," Cardios ordered with a hoarse but firm voice, his leadership aura re-emerging. "I don't want to hope for nothing and be disappointed again. My heart wouldn't be able to take it. We need definite confirmation."
"Prepare the shadow investigation team. People unknown to Luigi. Send them to Paris tonight."
Cardios gripped the armrest of his wheelchair tightly, his eyes staring straight ahead, piercing through the drizzle.
"Watch that woman. Investigate all information about her. And most importantly... take a photo of the dagger she holds from close range. I have to see the engraving with my own eyes."
The old eyes flashed dangerously.
"If the dagger is fake, find out who dared to copy it. But if it is real..." His voice choked holding back overflowing emotion. "...bring her to me. Because that means the Volskey blood hasn't run out yet."
"And remember, Marco. Keep your mouth shut tight. If Luigi catches wind of this even a little, that girl's life will be gone before we even know who she is. Our chance to find my little rose will be lost forever."