Chapter 13 - The Last Betrayal
Dominic didn't deny it.
That was the first thing Bee noticed.
He stood beneath the warehouse lights while federal agents escorted Matteo outside, his face pale and his hands hanging motionless at his sides.
"Tell me," Bee demanded.
Dominic looked at Michael.
"Your mother was supposed to meet my father the night she died. She had evidence that could expose Matteo's operation, and my father promised to get her somewhere safe."
"Then what happened?"
"Someone changed the meeting location."
Bee felt sick.
"Who?"
Dominic swallowed.
"My father."
Michael closed his eyes.
"He believed Matteo would only frighten her into silence. He didn't know Matteo had already decided to kill her."
"Did you know?"
"No," Dominic said immediately. "I found out years later, after your father disappeared. I searched for the truth, but every witness was either dead or too frightened to speak."
Bee stepped away from him.
"You knew my family had been destroyed by yours, and you hired me anyway."
"I hired you because your father trusted me to protect you."
"That doesn't answer my question."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"Because I thought keeping you close was the only way to stop the same people from hurting you again."
"You don't get to decide what truth I can survive."
He lowered his eyes.
"No. I don't."
The absence of excuses hurt more than any denial could have.
Bee turned to leave.
Dominic didn't follow.
For five years, he had been the center of her working life, the man whose moods she anticipated and whose decisions she quietly corrected. She had convinced herself that his trust was a form of love, even when she knew better.
Now she understood that trust without honesty could become another kind of cage.
Outside, federal agents loaded Matteo into an armored vehicle. He had already begun shouting that he would expose every secret the Rossi family had ever buried.
Bee watched the vehicle disappear into the rain.
Then her phone vibrated.
An email had arrived from an attorney representing the dormant trusts. The subject line read: IMMEDIATE BENEFICIARY CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.
She opened the attachment.
The documents transferred control of the legitimate Rossi businesses to her, effective immediately.
But there was a second attachment.
A handwritten letter from her father, dated six months earlier.
Michael had known that the trusts would eventually activate.
He had also known that Dominic would be forced to choose between the organization and Bee.
The letter contained one final instruction.
IF DOMINIC EVER GIVES UP THE EMPIRE TO SAVE YOU, TRUST HIM.
Bee looked across the parking lot.
Dominic stood beside his car, speaking to an attorney. He removed his signet ring and placed it in the man's hand.
Then he signed a document.
Michael approached his daughter.
"He's surrendering control of the legitimate businesses and stepping away from the criminal organization," he said.
Bee stared at the paper.
"Why would he do that?"
Her father answered quietly.
"Because Matteo wasn't the only person who understood what you were worth."
Bee turned toward Dominic.
May you like
He had finally chosen her.
But she wasn't sure she could choose him.
