Chapter 2 - The Ghost of Palermo
The heavy, cinematic silence in the restaurant was absolutely suffocating. The wealthy patrons at the surrounding tables held their breath, expecting the towering bodyguards in the dark suits to drag the waitress out back and execute her for disrespecting the Don.
Tessa stood her ground. She didn't break eye contact with the trembling mafia patriarch.
"My father taught me," Tessa answered, her voice slipping back into flawless, unaccented American English. "He said it was the language of kings. And the language of ghosts."
Salvatore’s chest stopped moving. The blood violently drained from his sharp, aging face.
The old Palermo dialect wasn't just rare; it was a specific, localized slang from a tiny village that Salvatore hadn't visited in forty years. The only other person in America who spoke it perfectly was his firstborn son, Antonio.
But Antonio had been dead for twenty-five years.
"Who is your father?" Salvatore demanded, his voice cracking, his silver-handled cane shaking against the hardwood floor.
Before Tessa could answer the question, the heavy mahogany doors at the front of the restaurant swung open.
The tense atmosphere was violently interrupted by the sharp, arrogant clicking of designer high heels.
Walking into the dining room was Isabella, Salvatore’s second wife and Gabriel’s mother. She was a woman in her late fifties, draped in an exorbitant amount of diamonds and a blood-red designer dress. She possessed a cruel, calculating sneer that made even the hardened syndicate bodyguards avert their eyes.
Isabella marched directly to the VIP table, completely oblivious to the earth-shattering realization happening between her husband and the waitress.
"Salvatore, why is the entire room staring at us?" Isabella snapped, glaring at Tessa with pure, venomous disgust. "And why is this filthy servant still standing at our table? Get her out of my sight."
Tessa didn't flinch. She picked up her water pitcher, offering Gabriel a brief, unreadable glance before gracefully bowing her head.
"I'll fetch your appetizers, madam," Tessa said smoothly, turning on her heel and walking toward the kitchen.
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Salvatore stared after her, his mind spinning into absolute chaos.
👉 Why does the cruel stepmother want the waitress fired immediately?
