In those days, most people viewed being expelled by the party with alarm, but Dino did not see it as a loss. Even though he had been the one to provoke his ousting, he thanked God for the reprieve from a life of crime. He should have recalled the prophecy of his friend Pireda, a bank director, who at the time of the occupation had predicted, “With your honest character, you’ll be the first victim of this system for which you’re fighting.”

The accusation of being a Greek agent would accompany Dino to his death. To make things worse, his year-old daughter was suddenly stricken with poliomyelitis. His wife Sophia took the child to Corfu, Greece — where her parents lived — for treatment. When Sophia returned to Albania, a file had been opened on her as well.

The Albanian secret police gave Dino one last opportunity to redeem himself before sending him to prison. They proposed sending him to Greece as a spy, where his in-laws would serve as a cover for his activity. His reply was one of few words: