Chapter 13 - The Cost of Telling the TruthSalvatore's arrest dominated the news for days.
Investigators uncovered decades of corruption, financial crimes, and evidence connecting him to several unsolved murders. Richard Vale's records exposed the companies used to conceal payments, while my father's testimony helped establish how the network had operated.
Matteo cooperated with the investigation.
He admitted that he had manipulated me, concealed Gabriel's identity, and arranged several confrontations to force me toward the truth. He denied ordering the attacks against the children, and the evidence supported his claim.
But his cooperation did not absolve him of everything.
He was charged for his own crimes.
Before surrendering to federal custody, he asked to see me.
We met in a private room at the courthouse.
“You could have told me the truth,” I said.
Matteo looked exhausted.
“You wouldn't have listened.”
“You didn't give me the chance.”
“No. I didn't.”
He accepted the accusation.
For a long moment, neither of us spoke.
Finally, he said, “Alessandro believed you could become something different.”
“He believed too much in me.”
“He believed you could change.”
I looked through the window toward the courthouse steps.
“I don't know how to do that.”
Matteo gave a tired smile.
“Neither did he. He just kept trying.”
I stood.
“I won't promise to help you avoid punishment.”
“I wouldn't ask you to.”
“But I won't let Salvatore's crimes become an excuse to bury the truth about your father.”
Matteo nodded.
That was the closest we came to reconciliation.
My father also agreed to testify.
He was charged for his role in concealing parts of the network, though the extent of his cooperation became a significant factor in his case. I did not visit him immediately.
There were too many things I needed to understand about myself before I could face him again.
Meanwhile, I began dismantling the businesses that had financed the criminal operation.
Some were legitimate companies that employed hundreds of ordinary people. Others existed solely to hide money, silence witnesses, or facilitate illegal transactions.
I placed the legitimate businesses under independent management and cooperated with investigators. I sold several properties, surrendered financial records, and accepted that some of the money would be seized.
My advisers warned that I was destroying an empire built over decades.
They were right.
But I had finally understood that an empire could become a prison if a man spent his whole life defending it.
One afternoon, Lily found me sitting alone in the garden of our temporary residence.
She climbed into the chair beside mine.
“Are you sad?”
“A little.”
“Because your uncle is in prison?”
“Because I spent a long time believing the wrong people.”
She considered that.
“Mommy says people can learn to do better.”
I smiled faintly.
“Your mother sounds wiser every day.”
Lily took a folded piece of paper from her pocket.
It was another drawing.
This time, there were four people standing in front of a little house with a garden. Maria stood beside Lily. Gabriel stood on the other side, holding a ball. I was near the door, holding a small brown dog.
“Where did the dog come from?” I asked.
“We haven't got one yet.”
“Then you're predicting the future?”
She nodded confidently.
I laughed.
It was a strange sound coming from my own throat.
For years, laughter had been rare in my life. I had forgotten that it could come without cruelty, fear, or alcohol.
Lily climbed down from the chair.
“Can we get a dog?”
“We'll discuss it with your mother.”
“That's what grown-ups say when they mean no.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Who taught you that?”
She ran toward the house, laughing.
For a moment, I watched her disappear through the doorway.
Then my phone rang.
The attorney handling my father's case was calling.
He had reviewed the final collection of documents recovered from the warehouse.
There was one item that nobody had identified.
A sealed envelope addressed to me.
The handwriting belonged to Alessandro.
May you like
And beneath my brother's name was a sentence that made my blood turn cold.
OPEN ONLY AFTER SALVATORE IS ARRESTED.
