Chapter 12 - THE WOMAN BEHIND THE EMPIRE
Dante stared.
“You wrote it?”
Mrs. Moretti nodded.
Gabriel whispered, “Why?”
She signed.
Emma translated.
“Because Carlo was afraid to.”
Dante laughed once, confused.
“Dad was afraid?”
“Yes.”
“Of Matteo?”
His mother shook her head.
“Of what?”
She pointed toward the red book.
Then signed.
“Of what would happen if everyone learned the truth.”
Dante’s patience snapped.
“What truth?”
Emma interpreted.
Mrs. Moretti looked at both sons.
Then signed one sentence.
Emma felt sick.
“The Moretti empire was never Carlo’s.”
Dante stared.
“What?”
The older woman pointed at herself.
Gabriel whispered, “No way.”
Emma watched Mrs. Moretti explain.
Years earlier, before Carlo became powerful, it had been her family’s money.
Her father’s contacts.
Her property.
Her restaurants.
Her construction business.
Carlo had expanded it.
Then put his name on everything.
Because in that world, men trusted men.
Dante looked stunned.
“You built it?”
Mrs. Moretti signed.
“I helped.”
Emma translated.
Then the woman corrected her.
“No. She says she built the first half.”
Dante sat down.
Gabriel laughed weakly.
“Dad would hate this conversation.”
Mrs. Moretti smiled.
Then signed.
“He hated this conversation when he was alive.”
Emma burst out laughing.
Even Dante did.
For three seconds, the nightmare disappeared.
Then Mrs. Moretti turned serious again.
She explained that Matteo had spent decades trying to control the company from the shadows.
Carlo tolerated him because family politics were complicated.
Then Matteo began stealing.
Selling information.
Paying enemies.
When Carlo planned to cut him off, Matteo panicked.
Dante looked at the book.
“So Matteo killed him.”
Mrs. Moretti hesitated.
Then signed.
“I believe so.”
“Believe?”
“I did not see poison.”
Gabriel nodded.
“But the forged order made it look like Dante approved the hit.”
“Yes.”
Dante’s face twisted.
“Why frame me?”
Gabriel answered.
“Because if you took over carrying that suspicion, Matteo could control the family through fear.”
Sal whispered, “And it worked.”
Dante glared at him.
Sal lifted his hands.
“For a while.”
Emma looked at the missing page.
“What exactly was on the last page?”
Mrs. Moretti signed.
“Everything Matteo owned.”
Dante frowned.
“Accounts?”
“Accounts. Properties. Names.”
“Enough to destroy him?”
The older woman nodded.
“Enough to put him in prison for the rest of his life.”
Emma leaned forward.
“Then why hasn’t he been arrested already?”
Nobody answered.
She looked around.
“Right. Mafia.”
Dante rubbed his jaw.
“It’s more complicated.”
“No, people in your world just say that every time the simple answer is illegal.”
Gabriel laughed.
“She really doesn’t care who you are.”
“No,” Dante said. “She doesn’t.”
He looked at Emma differently.
Not as an employee.
Not as a translator.
As someone he trusted.
That realization scared her more than she expected.
Mrs. Moretti suddenly signed.
Emma watched.
“What?”
Dante asked.
“She says the missing page has a second copy.”
Gabriel straightened.
“Where?”
Mrs. Moretti pointed toward Emma.
Emma froze.
“Me?”
Mrs. Moretti nodded.
Dante frowned.
“How would Emma have it?”
The older woman signed.
Emma watched her.
Then understood.
Her stomach dropped.
“My restaurant.”
Everyone looked at her.
Mrs. Moretti continued.
Three days earlier, she had visited Aurelia alone.
She had gone to the restroom.
On the way back, she placed an envelope beneath one of the private room’s service cabinets.
Insurance.
In case someone came for her.
Emma stared.
“You hid evidence in my workplace?”
Mrs. Moretti looked apologetic.
Emma threw up her hands.
“Your whole family is unbelievable.”
Dante stood.
“We go now.”
“No,” Emma said.
He looked at her.
“If Matteo has people watching the restaurant—”
“He does.”
“How do you know?”
Dante held up his phone.
A security alert.
Aurelia’s alarm had just been triggered.
Emma’s face went pale.
Her manager.
The cooks.
The staff.
“Call them.”
“No answer.”
Emma grabbed her coat.
Dante blocked the door.
“Emma.”
“Move.”
“It could be a trap.”
“My coworkers are there.”
“Exactly.”
She stared at him.
“You don’t get to protect me by making choices for me.”
Behind him, Mrs. Moretti started smiling.
Dante closed his eyes.
“Not now, Ma.”
Emma stepped closer.
“You said you were learning to listen.”
His eyes opened.
“Then listen.”
Silence.
Finally, Dante moved aside.
“Stay close.”
Emma nodded.
Then Sal’s phone rang.
He answered.
His face went pale.
“Boss.”
Dante turned.
“What?”
Sal swallowed.
“It’s Aurelia.”
May you like
“And?”
“The building is on fire.”
