Chapter 10 - THE PRICE OF TELLING THE TRUTH
The investigators met Alessandro in his attorney’s office.
No marble.
No family crest.
A conference table with one uneven leg.
Special Agent Dana Brooks placed a recorder between them.
“You understand this conversation may expose you to criminal liability.”
“Yes.”
His lawyer, David Ross, leaned forward.
“We’re here under the terms we discussed. My client will answer within those terms, and we’ll address anything outside them before proceeding.”
Brooks nodded.
Then she asked about the companies.
Alessandro answered.
Shipping contracts. Shell accounts. Payments labeled consulting fees.
Some he had inherited.
Some he had approved.
He didn’t pretend those were the same thing.
“Did you authorize payments used to intimidate competitors?”
David spoke quietly with him.
Then Alessandro answered.
“Yes.”
“Were you aware of threats involving Ms. Mendes?”
“No.”
“Did you benefit from the broader arrangement between the families?”
“Yes.”
Each answer stripped something away.
By the end, the man leaving the room looked older than the one who had entered.
Rosa waited outside with Maya.
Alessandro stopped in front of her.
“There are things you’re going to hear.”
“I’ve already heard plenty.”
“Not all of it.”
She nodded once.
“Then don’t make me learn the rest from someone else.”
That evening, they sat at the kitchen table while Lily slept upstairs.
He told her what he had done.
Not everything in graphic detail.
Enough.
The money. The fear. The times he had known what a payment meant and signed anyway.
Rosa listened without touching him.
When he finished, she looked at the table.
“I believed your father when he said you wanted us gone.”
“I know.”
“It wasn’t only because I was scared. It was because I knew what your name could do.”
He swallowed.
“I know that too.”
She finally looked up.
“I can believe you love her and still need time to trust you.”
“You should.”
His phone rang.
Vincent Romano.
Alessandro let David join the call before answering.
“You’re making a mistake,” Vincent said.
“Then speak clearly. My lawyer’s listening.”
A long silence.
Then Vincent laughed.
“You think the government will give your daughter a father?”
“No. That part is my job.”
The line went dead.
Seconds later, Isabella sent a voice message to Rosa.
Her voice was shaking.
“Your husband-to-be isn’t the only one with a dangerous father. I need help.”
May you like
Then came a crash.
The recording stopped.
