Chapter 5 - No One Leaves Matteo Rossi
Matteo's first instinct was violence.
His second was Daniel.
The second won.
“Inside.”
Norah grabbed Daniel and entered the cottage.
Arthur positioned himself between the house and road while the unfamiliar vehicle stopped fifty yards away.
Nobody emerged.
After several seconds, it reversed.
Then disappeared.
Matteo did not pursue.
Four years earlier, he would have.
That difference wasn't lost on Norah.
Inside, Daniel watched Matteo curiously.
“Are bad people coming?”
Matteo crouched.
“No.”
Norah looked at him sharply.
He corrected himself.
“Some people may want to scare your mom.”
“Why?”
“Because they're not very smart.”
Daniel considered that.
Then nodded.
Norah almost laughed.
The sound stunned Matteo.
He had forgotten it.
Arthur entered.
“Car's registered to a shell company.”
“Connected to?”
“Vincent Caruso.”
Matteo's expression darkened.
Caruso had once been one of his lieutenants.
When Matteo dismantled the criminal side of his organization, Caruso had lost millions.
He blamed Norah.
More importantly, he believed Norah still controlled money.
Norah looked at Matteo.
“This started three weeks ago. Someone photographed Daniel outside preschool.”
Matteo's stomach twisted.
“You should have called immediately.”
“I didn't want you here.”
“I know.”
No argument.
No accusation.
That surprised her.
Matteo turned toward Arthur.
“Get local law enforcement involved.”
Arthur blinked.
Norah did too.
“You're calling police?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“The Matteo I knew—”
“Is why we're standing here.”
Silence.
Matteo looked at Daniel.
“I won't solve this by turning his home into my old world.”
Over the following days, investigators built a case against Caruso.
Matteo provided records.
Names.
Financial documents.
Evidence that could also implicate himself.
His attorney nearly exploded.
“You understand what you're handing them?”
“Yes.”
“You could go to prison.”
“Yes.”
“Then stop.”
“No.”
Norah heard the conversation from the hallway.
That night, after Daniel slept, she found Matteo sitting on the porch.
“You'd really testify?”
“Yes.”
“Even if they charge you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Matteo looked toward the dark ocean.
“Because for years I made everyone else pay the price for my choices.”
He turned toward her.
“You paid the largest one.”
Norah folded her arms.
“Don't make me responsible for your redemption.”
“I'm not.”
“You changed because I left.”
“I started changing because you left.”
Matteo paused.
“I continued because I finally understood why.”
Norah looked away.
“You hurt me.”
“I know.”
“You humiliated me.”
“I know.”
“I spent the final months of my pregnancy looking over my shoulder.”
His eyes lowered.
“I know.”
“No. You don't.”
Matteo accepted that.
“You're right.”
Norah's anger faltered.
She had expected resistance.
Matteo didn't give it.
“I hated you,” she whispered.
“You had every reason.”
“Sometimes I still do.”
“I understand.”
“And sometimes…”
She stopped.
Matteo waited.
Norah shook her head.
“Never mind.”
She went inside.
Three weeks later, Caruso was arrested.
The evidence was overwhelming.
But Matteo's cooperation created another consequence.
Federal prosecutors reopened portions of his own case.
He was offered a deal.
Full cooperation.
Asset forfeiture.
A guilty plea to financial and racketeering offenses.
Prison.
Arthur delivered the news.
“How long?”
“Possibly five years. Maybe less.”
Matteo looked toward Daniel playing outside.
Norah stood nearby.
“Take it.”
Arthur stared.
“Matteo—”
“Take it.”
That evening, Matteo told Norah.
She went pale.
“You're leaving?”
“If the judge accepts it.”
“For how long?”
“I don't know.”
Daniel ran toward them carrying a shell.
“Daddy!”
Both adults froze.
It was the first time he'd said it naturally.
Matteo crouched.
Daniel placed the shell in his hand.
“For you.”
Matteo smiled.
“Thank you.”
Daniel wrapped his arms around Matteo's neck.
Matteo closed his eyes.
Norah turned away so he wouldn't see her crying.
Two months later, Matteo stood in federal court.
He pleaded guilty.
Before sentencing, he was permitted to speak.
Matteo did not ask for sympathy.
He admitted what he had done.
Then he turned.
Norah sat in the gallery.
Daniel beside her.
The judge sentenced Matteo to forty-two months.
As officers approached, Daniel began crying.
“Daddy!”
Matteo's composure cracked.
Norah lifted Daniel.
Matteo looked at her.
She stepped forward as far as the barrier allowed.
“I'll bring him,” she whispered.
Matteo stared.
“What?”
“To visit.”
For the first time in four years, Norah reached for him.
Their fingers touched briefly across the wooden barrier.
Then Matteo was taken away.
But that night, Norah received something unexpected.
A letter Matteo had written before sentencing.
Inside was a legal document.
Matteo had transferred ownership of every remaining legitimate Rossi business into a trust.
The beneficiary wasn't Daniel.
It wasn't Norah.
It was someone else entirely.
May you like
And when Norah read the name, she burst into tears.
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