Chapter 8 - BURNING THE MORETTI CROWN
The Moretti family council met two nights later.
Not the corporate board.
The family.
Nine men.
Three women.
Four generations of money, loyalty, fear, and secrets gathered around a dining table that had belonged to Dominic’s grandfather.
They had expected Dominic to ask for help.
He came to tell them the old world was ending.
Uncle Carlo spoke first.
“You gave federal investigators access to internal records.”
“Yes.”
“You understand what those records contain?”
“Yes.”
Carlo stared at him.
“You have lost your mind.”
“Possibly.”
A cousin named Matteo leaned forward.
“Adrian betrayed you. Punish Adrian. Why destroy everyone else?”
“Because Adrian used the system we built.”
“That doesn’t mean the system is wrong.”
Dominic looked around the table.
“It allowed someone to threaten a pregnant woman, hide my child, steal eighty million dollars, forge my signature, and nearly kidnap a six-year-old without anyone asking questions.”
Silence.
Carlo’s face hardened.
“Your father would be ashamed.”
Dominic nodded.
“I’ve been hearing his opinion long enough.”
That ended something.
Maybe childhood.
Maybe fear.
Maybe loyalty to a dead man who had confused control with love.
Dominic placed documents on the table.
“Tomorrow morning, Moretti Group will announce an independent forensic audit.”
Several relatives erupted.
He continued over them.
“All illegal revenue streams associated with controlled subsidiaries will cease.”
Carlo slammed his palm down.
“You cannot decide that alone.”
“I already did.”
“You’ll bankrupt half the family.”
“No. I’ll force half the family to learn how legitimate businesses work.”
“You self-righteous—”
Dominic stood.
Carlo stopped.
Not because Dominic threatened him.
Because he did not.
For years they had understood Dominic through violence.
Now restraint made him unpredictable.
“I have a daughter,” Dominic said.
The room quieted.
“She is six years old.”
Some knew.
Others did not.
“She asked me three days ago why I fired her mother.”
He looked around the table.
“I didn’t know she existed.”
Nobody spoke.
“Why?”
His gaze moved toward the older generation.
“Because my father and Adrian decided Elena Carter wasn’t appropriate for me.”
Aunt Teresa looked down.
Dominic noticed.
“You knew.”
Her eyes rose.
“I knew your father disapproved.”
“Did you know she was pregnant?”
“No.”
He believed her.
Carlo scoffed.
“This is sentimental nonsense.”
Dominic looked at him.
“No.”
He buttoned his jacket.
“It’s succession.”
That got their attention.
“Every ugly thing this family does becomes something Lily inherits if I leave it standing.”
He shook his head.
“She gets my name.”
His voice became harder.
“Not my sins.”
He walked out.
The announcement came at nine the next morning.
Markets reacted.
Reporters attacked.
Federal investigators expanded their inquiry.
Three executives resigned.
Two were arrested.
One overseas subsidiary collapsed.
Moretti Group lost nearly twenty percent of its valuation in seventy-two hours.
Dominic watched billions disappear from paper and felt strangely calm.
Elena did not.
“You may actually be insane.”
They stood in his office overlooking Manhattan.
“That theory has support.”
“You just destroyed your own stock.”
“Correct.”
“You sound pleased.”
“I’m not.”
“You look pleased.”
“I’m watching Adrian’s hidden shares become worthless.”
Elena paused.
Then smiled.
“That is a little satisfying.”
“A little?”
“A lot.”
Dominic laughed.
The sound surprised both of them.
Lily was at a desk in the corner drawing.
She looked up.
“You laugh weird.”
Dominic stopped.
Elena burst out laughing.
“See?” Lily said. “Mommy does it normal.”
Dominic looked offended.
“I have been busy.”
“Learning to laugh?”
“Running companies.”
“Maybe do less companies.”
Elena wiped her eyes.
“Excellent management advice.”
For several days, something almost resembling peace appeared.
Then the prosecutor called.
Dominic was requested for formal testimony.
Not as a witness.
As a potential subject.
Elena found him staring at the letter.
“What does it mean?”
“It means Adrian used my authorization codes on enough transactions that prosecutors need to determine what I knew.”
“You knew nothing.”
“Proving that is different.”
“Marco has records.”
“Some.”
“The signatures were forged.”
“Some.”
Elena’s face changed.
“How much exposure?”
Dominic looked toward Lily.
“Enough.”
That evening he began preparing for the possibility that he would not come home.
He moved assets into a protected trust for Lily.
Not dirty money.
Only legitimate holdings reviewed by outside counsel.
He established college funds.
Healthcare.
A home for Elena.
Elena discovered the paperwork at midnight.
She stormed into his study.
“What is this?”
“Planning.”
“This is surrender.”
“No.”
“You put the Brooklyn building in my name.”
“It’s being renovated.”
“I don’t want a building.”
“Then sell it.”
She threw the papers onto his desk.
“I don’t want your money.”
“I know.”
“I wanted you.”
Dominic went completely still.
Elena did too.
Seven years of lost time entered the room.
She swallowed.
“I wanted you then.”
Dominic stood.
“And now?”
Her eyes filled.
“Now I don’t know what I’m allowed to want.”
He walked around the desk.
“You’re allowed everything.”
“Don’t say things like that when you might go to prison.”
“I’m trying not to.”
“That isn’t funny.”
“No.”
She struck his chest once.
Not hard.
“You should have found me.”
“I know.”
Again.
“You should have questioned your father.”
“I know.”
“You should have—”
Her voice broke.
Dominic caught her hand.
“I know.”
She looked up at him.
“I hated you.”
“I know.”
“I taught myself to.”
“I’m sorry.”
“And now I have to undo it.”
“You don’t have to do anything.”
That was what broke the final wall.
Elena kissed him.
Not gently.
Not carefully.
Seven years of grief collided between them.
Then she pulled back.
“This does not fix everything.”
“I know.”
“You saying ‘I know’ is becoming annoying.”
“I know.”
She almost laughed.
The next morning Dominic entered the federal courthouse.
He testified for six hours.
When he emerged, cameras surrounded him.
Questions exploded.
Was he being charged?
Would he resign?
Was the Moretti empire collapsing?
Dominic said nothing until Marco pushed through the reporters.
“Dom.”
His expression was different.
Hopeful.
“The prosecutor called.”
Dominic stopped.
“And?”
“Sloan agreed to cooperate.”
Elena stepped closer.
Marco continued.
“He had recordings.”
“What recordings?”
“Adrian giving instructions.”
Dominic’s heartbeat changed.
“Including the financial transfers?”
“All of them.”
“Forgery?”
“Yes.”
“The false federal tip?”
“Yes.”
Marco smiled.
“And something from seven years ago.”
Dominic looked at Elena.
“What?”
“A recorded conversation between Adrian and your father.”
Nobody spoke.
Marco lowered his voice.
“They discuss Elena.”
Her face went white.
“They discuss the pregnancy.”
Dominic closed his eyes.
“And the letters.”
Elena whispered, “Why would Sloan have that?”
“Adrian kept recordings as leverage against Alessandro. Sloan copied Adrian’s archive.”
Dominic looked toward the courthouse doors.
For years the Moretti family had survived because everyone kept secrets.
Now one man’s paranoia had preserved the truth.
Marco smiled.
“Federal prosecutors cleared you as the architect of Adrian’s scheme.”
Dominic exhaled.
Elena grabbed his hand.
“What happens to Adrian?”
“Racketeering. Fraud. conspiracy. kidnapping charges tied to Sloan.”
Dominic looked at her.
“And what happens to us?”
Elena stared at him for several seconds.
Then she squeezed his hand.
May you like
“That part we decide ourselves.”
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