Chapter 12 - The Son Who Came Home
Matteo did not run into Dominic's arms immediately.
Three years changes a child.
He remembered his father, but memory had become mixed with fear, false stories and foster homes.
Dominic stayed on his knees.
"You don't have to come closer."
Matteo stared.
"Are you really my dad?"
"Yes."
"They said you died."
Dominic closed his eyes.
"I know."
"Mom too."
"Your mom is alive."
Matteo's entire body changed.
"What?"
Dominic smiled through tears.
"She's alive."
Matteo began crying.
Dominic opened his arms but waited.
The boy took one step.
Then another.
Then ran.
Dominic held his son for the first time in three years.
He felt taller.
Lighter.
Real.
Dominic buried his face in Matteo's hair.
"I'm sorry."
Matteo sobbed.
"You didn't find me."
"I know."
"Why?"
"I thought you were gone."
"You should've looked."
The words stabbed him.
"You're right."
Dominic would spend years forgiving himself for accepting a grave without enough questions.
Behind him Valentina began crying too.
Matteo noticed.
"Who is she?"
Dominic looked at Valentina.
"This is complicated."
She wiped her nose.
"I'm his temporary daughter."
Dominic laughed unexpectedly.
Valentina frowned.
"That's what you said."
Dominic pulled her closer.
"Matteo, this is Valentina."
Matteo studied her.
"Is she my sister?"
Valentina looked at Dominic.
He swallowed.
"If she'll have us."
Valentina nodded solemnly.
"Okay."
Matteo shrugged.
"Okay."
Children sometimes solve in seconds what adults would complicate for months.
Reunification required legal procedures.
But DNA confirmed everything.
Three days later Matteo saw Isabella by video call.
His mother wept so hard nurses had to sit beside her.
"Matteo."
"Mom?"
She didn't remember every detail.
But she remembered his face.
That became enough.
Dominic brought Isabella back to New York once doctors approved transfer.
The first meeting happened in a private garden at the hospital.
Dominic stood several yards away while Matteo approached her.
Isabella dropped to her knees.
Matteo entered her arms.
Valentina stood beside Dominic.
"Are you happy?"
He nodded.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Apparently I'm doing that now."
"Rosa says it's healthy."
"Rosa says too much."
Isabella eventually looked toward Dominic.
He approached slowly.
She touched his face.
"I remember pieces."
"Don't force anything."
"I remember our wedding."
Dominic smiled.
"It rained."
"You were angry."
"I paid for sunshine."
She laughed.
The sound nearly stopped his heart.
Then Isabella noticed Valentina.
"Who's this?"
Valentina immediately became nervous.
Dominic knelt beside her.
"This is Valentina."
Isabella listened while Dominic explained.
When he finished, he waited.
A strange fear entered him.
Would Isabella think he'd tried to replace Matteo?
Instead she opened her arms.
Valentina hesitated.
Isabella smiled.
"I heard you've been taking care of my husband."
Valentina nodded.
"He's bad at resting."
"I remember that."
Valentina stepped closer.
Isabella hugged her.
Dominic looked away.
Rosa cried openly.
Marco claimed allergies.
The happiness did not erase trauma.
Matteo had nightmares.
Isabella struggled with memory.
Valentina feared being displaced.
Dominic continued cancer treatment.
Their house became louder and messier.
Dominic loved it.
At breakfast Matteo spilled juice.
Valentina accused him of stealing her toast.
Isabella forgot where the bathroom was.
Rosa shouted at everyone.
Dominic sat at the table and smiled.
"What?" Isabella asked.
"Nothing."
"You look strange."
"This is the best morning I've had in years."
Then the legal problems returned.
Victor's trial approached.
Aleandro would testify.
Dominic's businesses remained under investigation.
Isabella was the central witness.
And someone inside Victor's organization still possessed enough influence to threaten them.
An anonymous package arrived at the estate.
Inside was a photograph of the entire family leaving the hospital.
Across Valentina's face someone had drawn a red X.
Across Matteo's too.
Rosa dropped the photograph.
Dominic stared.
Marco whispered, "Victor isn't running this anymore."
Dominic agreed.
A phone rang.
Not Dominic's.
Isabella's.
She stared at the number.
Something flickered in her memory.
"I know this number."
"Who?"
She trembled.
"The man who kept me."
Dominic took the phone.
He answered.
A distorted voice said, "Mr. Moretti, your brother was never the top of this operation."
Dominic's expression hardened.
"Who are you?"
The caller laughed.
"Ask your wife."
Isabella suddenly whispered a name.
Dominic turned.
"What?"
She repeated it.
"Senator Caldwell."
Dominic froze.
Senator Thomas Caldwell had attended Matteo's funeral.
He had embraced Dominic.
He had praised Isabella publicly.
And he'd been using Moretti charities to hide a criminal network for more than a decade.
May you like
The fight Dominic thought was over had only changed faces.
---
