Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO WALKED INTO THE LION'S DEN
Serena attended a meeting with investigators and her legal team.
She provided financial records.
Emails.
Trust documents.
And a detailed timeline of the surveillance incidents.
Roman also cooperated.
His businesses were reviewed for connections to Lorenzo's activities.
Some records revealed transactions Roman hadn't authorized.
Others raised difficult questions about how much oversight he'd exercised.
For the first time, Roman was forced to confront the damage caused by the way he'd built his empire.
After one meeting, Serena found him standing outside the courthouse.
He looked exhausted.
“Roman.”
He turned.
“Serena.”
She approached.
“How are you?”
He smiled bitterly.
“Learning things I should have learned years ago.”
She nodded.
“About Lorenzo?”
“About everything.”
He looked toward the street.
“I trusted people because they were family.”
Serena listened.
“I let them use my name.”
He swallowed.
“And I convinced myself that fear kept everyone loyal.”
She looked at him.
“Fear doesn't create loyalty.”
Roman nodded.
“I know.”
He turned toward her.
“You taught me that.”
Serena looked down.
For a moment, she wanted to reach for his hand.
But she didn't.
Not yet.
The investigation eventually established substantial evidence linking Lorenzo to the financial misconduct and the threat against Serena.
Authorities arrested him.
He denied responsibility.
But investigators recovered communications, payment records, and testimony connecting him to the scheme.
The case proceeded through the legal system.
Serena didn't celebrate the arrest.
She felt relief.
And sadness.
Lorenzo had been part of her family.
She remembered Christmas dinners.
Birthday parties.
The way he'd called her little sister.
Now she understood that affection could be used as camouflage.
Roman called her that evening.
“They arrested him.”
“I know.”
He was quiet.
Then whispered, “I'm sorry I didn't see it.”
Serena closed her eyes.
“You weren't the only one.”
Roman swallowed.
“Will you be okay?”
She looked around her apartment.
The yellow flowers.
The books.
The life she'd rebuilt.
“Yes.”
May you like
She smiled faintly.
“I think I will.”
