THE DOG THAT CAME BACK

The audit took months. Some payments were legitimate. Others were inflated, unsupported, or directed to businesses Vincent secretly controlled. Outside directors joined the company. Approval rules changed. Employees who had raised concerns were interviewed without Vincent’s managers in the room.

Lorenzo hated hearing how many people had been afraid to question a decision carrying his friend’s signature.

Sophia left the estate that spring. She wanted Emma closer to her sister and a life where the girl could walk outside without security at the gate. Lorenzo gave Sophia the severance and reference she had earned. He helped her arrange the move on her terms.

On her last day, Emma knocked on his study door.

“Come in,” he called.

She carried her stuffed rabbit in one hand and a cookie in the other.

“Is Mrs. DeLuca still dead?”

“No,” Lorenzo said.

“Good.” Emma thought for a moment. “Did I fix it?”

Lorenzo crouched in front of her. “You told us what you saw. That helped us find her.”

Emma considered the answer. “Can Bruno have my cookie?”

“Half,” Isabella said from the doorway.

Emma broke it carefully. Bruno got the larger piece.

Vincent’s trial began the following year. Isabella testified about the files, her kidnapping, and the day she escaped. Lorenzo sat in the back of the courtroom. He attended again when the verdicts were read.

Vincent was convicted on the charges the evidence proved. Other defendants faced separate judgments for their roles. Megan attended for Claire. When the hearing ended, she walked past Lorenzo without stopping. He understood.

Outside, reporters called his name. Lorenzo kept walking.

That evening, he and Isabella visited the cemetery. Claire had been moved to a grave beside her mother. Isabella’s old marker still stood a short distance away.

“I want it removed,” she said.

Lorenzo looked at the name carved in stone. “I’ll arrange it.”