Page 54 of Family Secrets

Elizabeth tuned out the conversation the moment the word mistress was uttered, focusing instead on the one check on the table facing in her direction. She’d heard from practically everyone who knew Gino of his promiscuous nature. She didn’t need the temptation of constantly driving to Queens to check up on him.

“Elizabeth?”Gino yelled, snapping his fingers in her face “Hey, are you okay? I called your name three times.”

Shaking the fog from her mind, Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. “Yes, I’m sorry…” she trailed off, her mind lingering on the numbers at the bottom of the check. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her wallet. “I haven’t found time to research a bank, and without a permanent address, I’d nearly forgotten about this check.” Unfolding the paper in her hand, Elizabeth reached for the canceled check on the table. Laying them parallel she checked the account numbers. “That’s impossible.”

Emilio was out of his seat and around the table before Gino, his arm protectively around his daughter, reading the numbers over her shoulder.

“It’s been laundered.” Emilio stood to his full height, slamming his index finger on the check addressed to his daughter.

“Laundered? Like dirty clothes?”

Gino ignored Elizabeth’s question, picking up the check and holding it up to the light. “Where did you get this, babe?”

“A man brought it to my granny’s funeral.”

“Did you know this man?”

“No. He said it was for an insurance policy she took out for me.” Elizabeth didn’t care for the look on Gino’s face or the way he kept flipping the check around. “You’re scaring me, Gino. Why are the numbers on my check the same as the ones for Morti Rizzoli?”

Kneeling beside Elizabeth’s chair, Gino placed a kiss to her cheek, brushing his thumb along the bottom of her lip.

“Listen to me, Elizabeth.” Gino pleaded, his eyes shifting back and forth between hers. “The numbers are the same because whoever gave you this check knew the minute you attempted to cash it, the authorities would have been called, and taken you to jail for fraud.”

“Fraud?” Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide, terror robbing her of the ability to defend herself. She didn’t want to imagine what Gino would do to her if he suspected she was involved.

“Babe, I can see the fear in your eyes, but you have nothing to worry about. While everything you’ve shown me has thrown me a hell of a curveball, your father and I have a good idea who’s behind this.”

Elizabeth let out the breath she was holding, a relieved tear threatening to fall, but she quickly wiped it away.

“I need you to do me a favor, Elizabeth.”

“Anything,” she agreed immediately.

“As much as Emilio and I want to announce to the world he has a daughter and you’re more than a passing fancy for me, we need to keep this between us.”

Shadows of doubt began to cloud the happy moment, Elizabeth chanced a glance in Emilio’s direction.

“Hey, this changes nothing between us, I was attracted to you before tonight, and now I’m infatuated. I love you, Elizabeth.” Gino rushed, pulling her face back to his.

Searching Gino’s eyes, her heart felt heavy, but she nodded in agreement anyway. “If you think this is best.”

“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. But for now, we need to keep this quiet.”

Struggling to keep her doubts hidden, Elizabeth sat with her hands in her lap as she and Emilio exchanged conversation.

“We didn’t talk about my mother; it made my granny sad. She once told me my father, or rather you, couldn’t be with her, so I assumed you were dead.”

Elizabeth recalled the way the kids at school would tease her for having no parents. Granny would hug her and tell her better to have them happy in heaven than hating each other here on earth as the parents of her classmates did.

“A huge part of me did die after I couldn’t find her. I never imagined she was pregnant, or how beautiful my daughter would turn out to be.”

“Wow, this is a lot to take in. Here I was excited to have dinner with my boyf…” Elizabeth stopped herself, while Gino tossed around the L-word, he’d also asked her to hide their relationship.

“Boyfriend is right,” Gino finished for her. “At least for now. Which brings me to the second reason I wanted to speak with the two of you.”

Holding out his hand for Elizabeth’s, Gino could almost feel her slipping away. “You heard Felicia the other day, trying to remind me how my father wanted her and I to be married.”

How could she forget?Elizabeth thought to herself, choosing to nod her head instead of rehashing the conversation.

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