Chapter 14 - THE FAMILY WAITING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR
Matthew Reed answered the phone on the third ring.
"Hello?"
I couldn't speak.
For twenty-nine years, I'd believed I was an only child.
Now I was listening to the voice of my twin brother.
"Matthew?"
"Speaking."
I took a trembling breath.
"My name is Penelope Carter."
Silence.
Then he whispered, "Penny?"
My eyes filled.
"You know who I am?"
He exhaled shakily.
"Elizabeth told me about you."
I pressed a hand over my mouth.
"When?"
"Nine years ago. Before she died."
The room blurred.
"Why didn't you contact me?"
His voice cracked.
"She begged me to wait. She said dangerous people were watching you."
I closed my eyes.
Another person separated from me by fear.
Another chance at family stolen by men who believed other people's lives were theirs to control.
"I'm sorry," Matthew whispered.
I shook my head even though he couldn't see.
"You didn't do anything wrong."
He laughed softly.
"You sound like Elizabeth."
That broke me.
I cried.
And Matthew cried with me.
Three weeks later, after the investigators completed the necessary arrangements, Matthew arrived in Sicily.
I waited outside my parents' house.
Dominic stood beside me.
"You nervous?" he asked.
"Terrified."
He smiled.
"You've survived worse."
I looked at him.
"That's not as comforting as you think."
He laughed.
Then a taxi stopped near the gate.
A tall man stepped out.
Dark hair.
Brown eyes.
My smile.
My brother.
He looked at me.
For a moment, neither of us moved.
Then he whispered, "Penny."
I ran.
He caught me in his arms.
We held each other in the middle of the road while our parents watched from the porch.
Lucia was crying.
Antonio stood beside her, one hand pressed against his heart.
Twenty-nine years.
That was how long our family had been separated.
And now, slowly, we were finding each other again.
Matthew stepped back.
He studied my face.
"You have Mom's eyes."
I laughed through tears.
"And you have Dad's terrible haircut."
He burst out laughing.
Behind us, Antonio groaned.
"I can hear you!"
For the first time, the house filled with laughter instead of secrets.
Over the following months, everything changed.
Carlo and several associates faced prosecution.
The recovered financial records helped investigators identify victims of the illegal adoption network.
Some families were reunited.
Others finally received answers.
Salvatore publicly acknowledged his role in concealing the truth and cooperated with authorities.
His relationship with Dominic remained complicated.
But for the first time, they were speaking honestly.
Dominic began restructuring the Moretti businesses.
He hired independent compliance officers.
He closed operations tied to criminal activity.
He accepted that some of the family's wealth would need to be surrendered or used for restitution.
And he didn't ask me to admire him for it.
He simply did what he believed was right.
As for me, I returned to New York.
But I didn't return to Bellafonte as a waitress.
Dominic offered me a senior hospitality position.
I thanked him.
Then declined.
"I want to build something that's mine."
He smiled.
"What do you have in mind?"
"A restaurant."
His eyebrows lifted.
"My own."
"Then I hope you'll let me make a reservation."
I laughed.
"Only if you behave."
He grinned.
"No promises."
I opened a small Sicilian restaurant in Brooklyn.
I called it Agatha's Table.
Agatha cried when she saw the sign.
My parents traveled from Sicily for the opening.
Matthew helped me carry chairs.
Margaret, one of my oldest coworkers, became the dining-room manager.
And Martin Galloway?
After the workplace investigation, Bellafonte terminated his employment.
The man who'd once declared I wasn't elegant enough for his dining room eventually applied for a position at my restaurant.
I didn't hire him.
Not out of revenge.
Because leadership required respect, and he had shown me exactly how he treated people without power.
One evening, after the restaurant closed, Dominic arrived carrying flowers.
I smiled.
"You're late."
He looked apologetic.
"I had a meeting."
"Business?"
"Legal restructuring."
I nodded.
He placed the flowers on the counter.
Then reached for my hand.
"Penelope, there's something I've been wanting to ask you."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Should I be worried?"
He smiled nervously.
"Possibly."
May you like
Then he reached into his jacket.
And removed a small velvet box.
