Chapter 14 - SINS OF THE FATHERS
The grand federal courtroom on the twenty-fifth floor of the Dirksen Building was packed with over two hundred journalists, state prosecutors, and federal marshals.
Flashbulbs went off in blinding, rhythmic waves through the reinforced glass doors.
On the front page of every major newspaper in North America, the headline was the same:
'THE MORETTI DISSOLUTION: HOW A CONCUSSED MAID BROKE CHICAGO'S UNTOUCHABLE SYNDICATE.'
Inside the holding facility adjacent to the courtroom, Vanessa Bellini sat behind a soundproof plexiglass partition.
Her silk designer dresses were gone, replaced by the coarse orange jumpsuit of a federal inmate awaiting trial for first-degree murder, kidnapping, and treason.
Her manicured nails were cut short, her face pale and haggard beneath the harsh fluorescent lights.
Across the table sat Luca Moretti.
He wore a simple, dark wool suit without a tie, his hair trimmed, his posture straight and unyielding.
"You gave it all away."
Vanessa hissed through the wire mesh intercom, her voice trembling with venomous disbelief.
"The Great Lakes shipping routes.
The private trucking terminals.
The real estate trusts in Miami.
You handed every single asset over to a federal receivership!"
Luca looked at the woman he was once supposed to marry, his dark eyes showing neither hatred nor triumph.
Only an empty, peaceful finality.
"Those assets were purchased with the blood of children, Vanessa."
He said, his voice level and quiet.
"My father was a monster.
Your father was an animal.
And for a long time, I believed that surviving in this world required me to become worse than both of them."
"And what are you now, Luca?"
Vanessa sneered, tears of rage spilling over her eyelashes.
"A hero?
A saint?
You are facing five to seven years of federal probation and house arrest for corporate conspiracy!
You gave up a throne for a maid who won't even look you in the eye!"
"Sophie Bennett looked me in the eye when she had every reason to want me dead."
Luca replied softly.
"She showed more courage while bleeding on my dining room carpet than you or your father showed in your entire miserable lives."
Luca stood up from the metal chair, buttoning his jacket.
"Enjoy your trial, Vanessa.
Dr.
Hayes has fully corroborated Elena's testimony regarding the vault.
The jury will deliberate for less than an hour."
He turned his back on her screams and walked through the heavy security door into the private conference corridor.
Waiting for him at the end of the hall was Elena.
She looked radically different than the ghost who had huddled on that stained mattress five days earlier.
Her hair had been washed and styled, falling softly over her shoulders.
She wore a clean cream-colored sweater, and though her cheeks were still thin and her steps hesitant, the light had returned to her dark eyes.
She stepped forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her brother's waist.
Luca held her with a fierce, protective tenderness, resting his chin on the top of her head.
"Dr.
Hayes says my lungs are completely clear, Luca."
Elena whispered into his chest.
"The poison is gone."
"I know, little bird."
Luca murmured, his voice thick with emotion.
"We’re going to buy a house in Vermont.
Near the mountains.
No vaults.
No security details.
Just snow, books, and horses, exactly like you wanted when you were small."
Elena pulled back, searching her brother’s tired face.
"Have you heard from Zurich?"
A soft knock sounded at the conference room door.
Daniel stepped inside, holding a secure satellite tablet.
"Boss."
Daniel said with a rare, genuine smile breaking across his scarred features.
"Call incoming from the Swiss medical team."
Luca took the tablet with hands that suddenly began to tremble.
He swiped the green icon across the glass screen.
The video connected instantly.
The bright, alpine sunlight streamed through the panoramic glass windows of the private recovery suite in Zurich.
Sitting upright in a plush ergonomic recliner, looking out over the snow-capped Swiss Alps, was Leo.
He had color in his cheeks.
The dark, bruised hollows beneath his eyes had faded, replaced by the healthy, vibrant glow of a young man whose blood was being renewed by revolutionary cellular therapy.
In his hand, he was holding a sketchbook, drawing the mountain peaks with steady, confident strokes.
"Mr.
Moretti!"
Leo called out with an energetic wave when he saw Luca’s face on the screen.
"The doctors say my filtration markers are back to eighty percent!
They said I get to walk in the garden tomorrow!"
Luca let out a breath he felt like he had been holding for ten years.
"That’s incredible news, Leo."
Luca said, his voice cracking slightly.
"Draw a picture of the mountains for Elena, will you?
She’s going to hang it in our new house."
"I will!"
Leo grinned, before turning the camera slightly toward the garden terrace outside his room.
"Someone wants to talk to you, Mr.
Moretti."
May you like
The camera angle shifted.
Walking into the frame from the sun-drenched terrace, holding a small bouquet of fresh alpine edelweiss, was Sophie.
