Chapter 13 - THE NIGHT THE MAFIA BOSS CHOSE JUSTICE
Rosa Romano disappeared from Rosewood Care Center at 8:17 p.m.
The security cameras showed her leaving through a side entrance with a man wearing a medical uniform.
Alessia stared at the footage.
"That's not a nurse."
Detective Mitchell leaned closer.
"Do you recognize him?"
Alessia shook her head.
Dante studied the man's face.
Then his expression hardened.
"That's one of Bellini's former security contractors."
Alessia felt sick.
"They took my mother."
Mitchell nodded.
"We're treating this as a suspected abduction."
Dante stood.
For a moment, Alessia feared he would do what everyone expected of a mafia boss.
Call his men.
Order retaliation.
Turn the city upside down.
Instead, he looked at Detective Mitchell.
"What do you need from us?"
She met his gaze.
"Information. Cooperation. And nobody interfering with the investigation."
Dante nodded.
"You have it."
Alessia looked at him.
He turned toward her.
"I promised you Bellini wouldn't get another chance."
Her voice cracked.
"Then bring Mom home."
His expression softened.
"We'll do everything we can."
Investigators traced the vehicle to an abandoned office building outside Chicago.
By the time officers entered, Rosa had been moved.
But they found something important.
A handwritten note.
Three words.
She remembers everything.
Alessia stared.
"What does that mean?"
Dante looked toward Bianca.
Bianca's expression changed.
"Rosa's memory."
Alessia turned.
"What?"
"She may have been pretending to forget."
Alessia shook her head.
"No. Mom has a diagnosed condition."
Bianca nodded.
"I'm not saying her illness isn't real. But perhaps she remembered more than she felt safe revealing."
Detective Mitchell agreed.
"It's possible. We shouldn't assume either way."
The following morning, police located Rosa at a rural property owned by a company linked to Franco Moretti.
Officers arrested two men at the scene.
Rosa was frightened but unharmed.
Alessia rushed to the hospital where she'd been taken for evaluation.
"Mom!"
Rosa opened her arms.
"My girl."
Alessia held her tightly.
"I thought I'd lost you."
Rosa kissed her hair.
"Never."
Dante stood near the doorway.
Rosa looked toward him.
"You have Salvatore's eyes."
He smiled sadly.
"So everyone tells me."
Rosa reached for his hand.
"Your father was a good man."
Dante swallowed.
"Thank you."
Then Rosa looked toward the detective.
"I need to tell you something."
Mitchell sat beside her.
"Take your time."
Rosa closed her eyes.
"I saw Franco push Salvatore during their argument. Lorenzo stood beside him."
Dante went still.
She continued.
"Salvatore struck his head. He was still breathing when I reached him."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I tried to call an ambulance, but Lorenzo took my phone."
Alessia squeezed her hand.
Rosa's voice trembled.
"Dr. Hale arrived. They told me Salvatore would be fine if I stayed quiet."
She began crying.
"But he died."
Dante lowered his head.
For fifteen years, his family had lived beneath a lie.
Now the truth was finally coming into the light.
Detective Mitchell carefully documented Rosa's statement.
Within days, Franco Moretti and Lorenzo Bellini were arrested.
Dr. Victor Hale was questioned about the falsified medical records.
Mrs. Conti agreed to testify about the surveillance and attempts to remove Alessia from the household.
And the financial scheme began collapsing.
But the greatest surprise came after the arrests.
Rebecca discovered that the trust amendment naming Bellini as beneficiary had been forged.
The original trust remained valid.
And Alessia Romano was not simply entitled to twelve million dollars.
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She had also inherited a controlling interest in a company Bianca Moretti had quietly established.
A company that owned the land beneath the Moretti mansion.
