Chapter 9 - THE THIRTY MILLION DOLLAR BETRAYAL
Thirty million dollars.
Money my father intended for Lucia.
Money that could have funded her medical care, education, and future.
Instead, she'd spent nineteen years hidden inside a private institution while Richard Salvatore controlled the account.
I stared at the financial report.
For the first time, I understood the scale of what Isabella had uncovered.
This wasn't only about my affair.
It wasn't only about my father's murder.
It was about a network of men who had used family loyalty as camouflage while stealing from vulnerable people.
Richard had called me son.
Marco had called me brother.
Carlo Russo had called me partner.
And every one of them had benefited from my willingness to believe loyalty mattered more than questions.
I sat beside Rebecca.
"How much can we recover?"
"That's what the court-supervised investigation will determine."
I nodded.
"And the other patients?"
She looked up.
"What?"
"The families who lost financial assistance because of the stolen money."
Rebecca studied me.
"We should identify all affected beneficiaries."
"Do it."
For the first time, I wasn't interested in recovering money simply because it once belonged to my family.
I wanted to know who had been hurt.
Meanwhile, Isabella was building a life away from me.
I learned small details through our attorneys.
She rented an apartment near the Hudson.
She'd begun working with a nonprofit supporting families affected by medical fraud.
She visited Lucia twice a week.
And she'd stopped using the Moretti name professionally.
Each detail hurt.
Not because she was doing anything wrong.
Because she was becoming herself again.
Without me.
One evening, Valentina contacted my attorney and offered additional evidence against her father.
She had decided to cooperate with investigators.
Her statement described financial pressure, concealed accounts, and the instructions she received to keep me distracted.
I didn't rush to forgive her.
But I didn't threaten her either.
She would face whatever consequences followed from her choices.
So would I.
The legal proceedings expanded.
Several businesses were placed under independent review.
Richard Salvatore and Marco Bellini faced serious criminal investigations.
Carlo Russo's financial accounts became part of the case.
The Moretti organization began fracturing.
Old allies abandoned me.
Others demanded I return to the methods that made them fear me.
I refused.
For the first time, I recognized how much violence had cost everyone.
Then Isabella sent me a letter.
Not through her attorney.
Directly.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Dante,
I heard about the investigation.
I'm glad you're finally looking at the truth.
But please don't confuse doing the right thing with earning your marriage back.
I closed my eyes.
The letter continued.
You cannot undo nine months of betrayal with one grand gesture.
And I cannot spend the rest of my life wondering whether the man I love will choose me only when he's afraid of losing me.
My throat tightened.
Then I reached the final paragraph.
I don't hate you.
That would be easier.
I still love the man you were.
But I need to know whether the man you're becoming can live without owning everything he loves.
I sat for a long time.
Then I signed the divorce papers.
And returned them without conditions.
That night, Gabriel entered my study with another piece of news.
Richard Salvatore had disappeared.
His accounts were frozen.
His offices were empty.
But investigators recovered one final file from his private safe.
It contained photographs of a little girl.
A child with dark hair and Isabella's gray eyes.
On the back was a name.
Sofia Romano.
And a birth date from sixteen years earlier.
My stomach tightened.
"Who is she?"
Gabriel swallowed.
"Boss, the file identifies her as Lucia's daughter."
May you like
Then he added something that made my blood run cold.
"According to the records, Isabella has been searching for her too."
