Chapter 16
Grace Cavali inherited many things.
Dante’s dark eyes.
Serena’s stubbornness.
Marco’s talent for sarcasm, somehow.
But she did not inherit their fear.
At eight, Grace announced she wanted to become a veterinarian.
At nine, an astronaut.
At ten, both simultaneously.
Dante funded neither ambition with conditions.
Serena encouraged everything.
One evening Grace asked, “Was Grandpa Dante a bad man?”
Dante nearly dropped his coffee.
Serena sat beside their daughter.
“Why do you ask?”
“A kid at school said our family used to be criminals.”
Dante and Serena exchanged a look.
The moment had arrived sooner than expected.
They told her an age-appropriate version.
Their families had done harmful things.
Dante had participated in a world he later chose to leave.
People had been hurt.
Changing didn’t erase consequences.
Grace listened.
“Were you scared?”
Serena smiled sadly.
“Yes.”
“Did Dad save you?”
Dante opened his mouth.
Serena answered first.
“We saved each other.”
Dante looked at her.
That was the truth.
Later, after Grace slept, Dante stood outside her room.
“Do you think we told her too much?”
“No.”
“What if she looks at me differently?”
“She probably will.”
Dante frowned.
Serena took his hand.
“That isn’t always bad.”
He understood.
Their parents had demanded unquestioning loyalty.
They wanted something different.
Truth with love.
Not love instead of truth.
The following morning Grace hugged Dante before school.
Nothing more was said.
He nearly cried after she left.
Serena caught him.
“You’re becoming emotional in your old age.”
“I’m thirty-nine.”
“Ancient.”
He pulled her close.
“You’re only two years younger.”
“Completely different generation.”
He kissed her.
Years had transformed them.
Not into perfect people.
May you like
Into honest ones.
And that was enough
