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I shrugged. I was more surprised at my reaction but wasn’t about to admit that.

“Let me rephrase then – does it disappoint you?” He seemed more than just curious about my answer. He seemed desperate.

No. I’m not disappointed. I’m still very much interested.

But I couldn’t tell him that either.

I redirected, instead. “What did the letter say? It had to reveal something significant.”

“Yes. And no. She told me everything. Her life story, how she’d fallen for my father, why she’d left Athens. Everything. I already knew all of it now, but not from her point of view. Before that, I hadn’t gotten a clear picture of why she’d left. It was biased information, pieced together from her family, and I didn’t have any understanding of all the trouble my father had gone to in order to change her life. Or why. Until I read that letter.”

I nodded, trying not to think about how charming he must have been. This young mobster with a natural knack for danger and lawlessness and, also, a sentimental streak