Blood Ties

omorrow, and Ellie had already finished her half of the lab report. She'd texted him twice tonight asking for his portion. He couldn't let her

r their "Personal Heritage" project, and his mother had sworn it was in his father's desk. Marco glanced at th

been allowed in here to use the computer, but rummaging through the drawers felt like crossing a boundary. He started w

efully organized folders of household

ovies. He glanced around the room, his eyes landing on the small decorative box on the bookshelf where his fat

surance policies, property deeds. Behind them, a leather-bound folder embosse

ments in Italian that Marco couldn't read. But no birth certificate. He flipped

t-the drawer didn't seem

orter than the ones beside it. He pressed against the back panel, feeling something give slightly unde

d a small leather-bound notebook. Marco stared, unable to process what he was seeing. His father-who had lectured him about v

mes, dates, and numbers. Some entries were annotated with cryptic symbols and abbreviations. N

-85k-10

-120k-1

te (2 wk)-wa

arked with letters in parentheses? He recognized a few of the names-Mr. Santini owned the Italian restaurant downtown wh

vehicle pulled into the driveway. Heart hammering, he quickly returned the notebook and gun to their hiding place, closed the fals

his fathe

his voice steady as he pretended to use th

Ricci still carried himself with the athletic confidence of his youth, though his dark hair was

son. Schoo

ther's eyes. "I know. I just needed

e you have a project

"Yeah, we need birth c

g for the drawer Marco had just locke

ily documents," his father said, producing the

ng through it with familiar ease. Had he imagined the false bottom? The gun? But n

ficial-looking document. "Your mother had it in the

d, taking the certific

moment, brow furrowing. "Ev

d quickly. "And stresse

t stay up too much longer. Some things

ore his eyes. Who was Dominic Ricci? The insurance salesman who coached Little League and grill

living a double life-w

onfront his mother. Tonight, he needed to finish his part of the lab report for Ellie. The equat

uzzed with

need your data for t

w what he'd just discovered. Would she look at him differently if she kn

ot distracted.

y rather than the gun in his father's desk. For now, he would keep