Chapter 13 - The Man Above Aleandro
Thomas Caldwell had spent twenty-two years building respectability.
He chaired committees.
Funded children's hospitals.
Appeared on Sunday television programs discussing public service.
Behind that polished image sat a network of shell charities, coercion, political bribery and financial crimes.
Aleandro had not created it.
He had joined it.
Isabella discovered the connection when several women from her shelter disappeared after accepting employment through a Caldwell-funded program.
She followed the money.
That decision nearly killed her.
Dominic wanted Caldwell destroyed.
Isabella wanted him prosecuted.
"You can't go back to the old way," she told Dominic.
They sat alone in the bedroom they'd once shared.
Dominic looked toward the window.
"He took three years."
"I know."
"He took Matteo."
"I know."
"He took you."
Isabella reached for his hand.
"And if you kill him, what does he take next?"
Dominic looked at her.
"Your future."
She touched his face.
"Valentina's father."
"My son."
"Me."
Dominic closed his eyes.
She whispered, "Don't survive all this just to become the reason they lose you."
Dominic agreed to work with federal authorities.
The case required evidence.
Isabella remembered a storage location.
Before the crash she had hidden documents inside the basement of the women's shelter.
The building had since been abandoned.
Dominic, Isabella, and federal agents searched.
Behind a loose brick they found a waterproof container.
Inside were financial ledgers, recordings and photographs.
Enough to ruin careers.
Maybe enough to dismantle the network.
Caldwell learned immediately.
Two days later national news announced that federal prosecutors were investigating alleged charity fraud linked to several business leaders.
Dominic's name appeared too.
He didn't object.
If exposing Caldwell required exposing himself, so be it.
At home Matteo watched television.
"Are you a bad guy?"
The question silenced the room.
Dominic turned off the screen.
"I've done bad things."
"Like what?"
Dominic sat beside his son.
"Things I'm ashamed of."
"Did you hurt people?"
"Yes."
Matteo looked frightened.
Dominic continued.
"I'm trying to make things right."
"Can you?"
"Some things."
"All?"
"No."
Valentina sat beside Matteo.
"He's different now."
Dominic looked at her.
Matteo frowned.
"How do you know?"
"Because when I met him, he looked dead."
Dominic nearly laughed.
Valentina continued.
"Now he yells about homework."
Matteo considered this.
"That's not better."
Everyone laughed.
Then Dominic became serious.
"You never have to defend me."
Valentina nodded.
"I know."
"You either," he told Matteo.
"If I made mistakes, they belong to me."
That night Caldwell appeared on television.
He denied everything.
He called Dominic a criminal attempting to smear honorable public officials.
Public opinion became brutal.
Reporters surrounded the estate.
Social media erupted.
The family foundation lost donors.
Dominic's companies dropped in value.
Marco looked worried.
Dominic didn't.
"For once, losing money is the least interesting thing happening."
Caldwell's attorneys attacked Isabella's credibility due to her memory loss.
They attacked Aleandro as a convicted criminal.
They portrayed Lucía as unstable.
Then they targeted Valentina.
A reporter obtained confidential records about her homelessness.
Photographs of the seven-year-old sleeping outside appeared online.
Dominic became furious.
Isabella grabbed his hand.
"No."
"He used a child."
"He wants you angry."
"He succeeded."
"So don't give him what he wants."
Dominic held a press conference.
He stood before cameras without lawyers.
"My name has frightened people for years," he said.
"I benefited from silence. I benefited from organizations I did not examine closely enough. That is my responsibility."
Reporters shouted.
Dominic continued.
"But a child who slept on a sidewalk is not responsible for any adult's crimes."
He looked directly into the cameras.
"If you want to investigate me, do it. If you want to print every mistake I've made, print it. Leave the children alone."
The clip spread widely.
Something unexpected happened.
Public reaction shifted.
Former employees came forward.
Victims contacted prosecutors.
More witnesses named Caldwell.
The senator's allies began abandoning him.
Then Aleandro agreed to testify publicly.
Before taking the stand, he asked to see Dominic.
"You hate me."
Dominic answered, "Sometimes."
Aleandro accepted that.
"I loved Matteo."
Dominic's jaw tightened.
"I know."
"I loved Isabella too."
"I know."
"I still chose myself."
"Yes."
Aleandro looked down.
"If I testify, Caldwell will destroy me."
Dominic leaned forward.
"You destroyed yourself."
Aleandro nodded.
"What do I do now?"
"Tell the truth."
Aleandro looked at him.
"And after?"
"Live with it."
The testimony lasted six hours.
Aleandro confessed everything.
The bribery.
The sabotage.
Victor.
The cover-up.
Caldwell.
At the end prosecutors produced the recordings from Isabella.
A federal judge issued warrants.
Caldwell attempted to leave the country.
He was arrested at a private airfield.
Dominic watched the news with his family.
Nobody cheered.
There had been too much suffering for celebration.
Instead Isabella turned off the television.
"Can we eat dinner?"
Matteo smiled.
"Pizza?"
Rosa shouted from the kitchen, "Absolutely not!"
Valentina yelled, "Pizza!"
Dominic laughed.
For one evening they were simply a family.
But his next medical scan was scheduled the following morning.
May you like
And the cancer did not care that Dominic had finally found reasons to live.
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