Page 14 of Sins of the Father
Mia tried to speak, but no sound came. Instead, the nun pressed something heavy into her lap—a thick envelope, worn at the corners.
“Your father left this with Mother Eliza the day he brought you here.” Her voice cracked. “She was to keep it until you were older. No time ever felt like the right time. Based on today, we think it’s time we gave it to you.”
Mia looked at the envelope. Her father’s neat hand on the front:To my daughter, Mia Bonino.
She tore the flap. Inside: a folded letter, yellowed a little with time; a small velvet pouch; a brass key wrapped in paper. She unfolded the letter first. The words blurred before she even read the first line.
My dearest Mia,
If you are reading this, then the time has come for you to know the truth I could never tell you in person or in the letter you should have already received. Though manyyears have passed since I last held you, I still remember the curious, willful child you were. I can only imagine the anger and disappointment you must have felt upon learning of the contract I made, binding you to another man in marriage.
When I brought you to St. Mary’s, it was not because I wanted to leave you, but because I could no longer protect you myself. I owed debts that could never be repaid—except with you. I left you there to keep you alive, untouched, and safe until the day came when that debt would be called upon.
Know this: I did not abandon you without any power of your own. Inside my watch lies what remains of our leverage—information that secured our final bargaining chip. Beneath the watch face, you will find a hidden compartment. What rests inside now belongs to you. Guard it well. The names, accounts, and secrets contained within will give you bargaining power in a world that respects only such things. But be warned—others would kill to possess it. Keep its existence secret. When the time is right, use it to buy your freedom or your future.
Enclosed with this letter is a key. It will open a safety deposit box at the parish bank near St. Mary’s. Inside isenough money to give you comfort, should you ever find a way to live apart from this life.
I pray you will not curse my name, though I would understand if you did. You were never a burden, my Mia—you were my last hope that something pure and good might survive me.
Forgive me, if you can.
Be braver than I was.
Your father,
Ettore Bonino
Mia read it twice. Each word stabbed deeper than the last. She wiped her eyes with the heel of her palm, her breath shaky. “The watch,” she whispered. “Where is it?”
Sister Therese opened the velvet pouch. Inside lay a gold timepiece, small enough to hide in a pocket, its engraving worn soft by years of touch.
Mia touched it with shaking fingers.My father’s secrets.
“Take it, child. And the key too.”
Mia stared at the watch resting in her palm, cold and precious. Sister Therese wrapped her in thin arms, pressing her close. She smelled of soap and old books, and for one aching moment, Mia was a child again, safe behind St. Mary’s stone walls.
“I don’t want to go,” she choked against the habit’s scratchy fabric. “He says I belong to him.”
“Do you want to belong to him?” Sister Therese asked.
“No,” Mia burst out. “How could I? He belongs to a dark and violent world. I want the life I planned for myself! I want to be a teacher, marry a man I love, and have children. Not this life he and my father decided for me!”
“Then leave and go where he may never find you,” Sister Therese said fervently.
A hard knot formed in Mia’s throat. “Icannot. He said he would hurt you and everyone—”
“God is our shield,” Sister Therese said firmly. “I am certain it was only a threat to bend you to his will. You were never a child who bent to others, so I urge you to think only of yourself as you decide.”
Pain thrummed inside Mia’s chest. “I don’t want to leavehere… leave you… and my students…”
“I know, my dear. But if you must, go strong. Go wise. And remember, you are more than what they bargain for.”
Mia clutched the watch and the letter to her chest. She closed her eyes and prayed one last time that God might still be listening. But beneath the prayer lingered something shehated—the sound of his voice calling herlittledove, the brush of his lips against her skin. It terrified her how a man who was undoubtedly a monster could unsettle her so deeply… and worse, how part of her feared she would never forget it.
I must leave and never look back, so he will never find me.
CHAPTER THREE
