Chapter 4 - THE LIE INSIDE THE SUCCESSION PLAN
Aldo called seventeen times the next morning.
I didn't answer.
Then he sent a message.
Brother, people are asking questions. Call me.
I stared at the screen.
For twenty years, Aldo had been the man who handled my problems before they reached my desk.
Now he was becoming one.
My attorney, Rebecca Voss, arrived at the hospital that afternoon.
She was fifty-one, sharp-eyed, and utterly unimpressed by criminal reputations.
She'd represented legitimate Castellano businesses for nine years.
She also knew enough about my past to understand that helping me would be complicated.
Rebecca reviewed the succession documents Aldo had brought to my bedside.
Then she looked at me.
“Dario, did you authorize a transfer of voting control?”
“No.”
“Did you sign this?”
She showed me a document.
My signature appeared at the bottom.
I stared.
“No.”
Rebecca nodded.
“The date is three weeks ago.”
I looked closer.
The signature resembled mine.
But the handwriting was too steady.
Three weeks ago, I could barely hold a spoon.
Rebecca continued.
“The document appoints Aldo as acting executive director of Castellano Maritime Holdings.”
I laughed bitterly.
“He's already taken over.”
“Not legally, if the signature is fraudulent.”
I looked at her.
“Can you stop him?”
“I can challenge the documents and notify the appropriate authorities.”
I nodded.
“Do it.”
Rebecca hesitated.
“Dario, there's something else.”
I waited.
“Your legitimate companies have been making payments to several consulting firms connected to Aldo.”
“How much?”
“Nearly twelve million dollars over eighteen months.”
My stomach tightened.
“What services?”
“That's unclear.”
I looked away.
For years, I'd allowed Aldo to handle financial arrangements I didn't want to examine.
Now those same arrangements were being used against me.
Rebecca leaned forward.
“Dario, if you want this investigated, we have to examine everything. Including your own decisions.”
I looked at her.
“I understand.”
She studied me.
“Do you?”
I thought about Giulia's drawing.
The little lion.
The sun.
Then I said, “I'm beginning to.”
That evening, Elena sat beside my bed while Giulia colored at a small table.
I watched her.
“Why did you come to work for me?”
Elena looked surprised.
“I needed a job.”
“That's all?”
She smiled faintly.
“Isn't that enough?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
After a moment, she continued.
“My husband died when Giulia was two.”
I looked at her.
“I'm sorry.”
She nodded.
“He worked at the harbor.”
My expression changed.
“Which company?”
“Eastpoint Cargo.”
I knew it.
One of my former subcontractors.
“What happened?”
Elena looked down.
“An accident.”
I waited.
“A crane malfunction. They said he was standing in the wrong place.”
My stomach tightened.
“His name?”
“Marco Marchetti.”
I knew that name.
Not because I'd met him.
Because three years earlier, I'd approved a settlement involving a fatal accident at Eastpoint Cargo.
The paperwork had been handled by Aldo.
I looked at Elena.
“Did you know who I was when you applied here?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
“Why would you work for me?”
Her eyes filled.
“Because the company said Marco caused the accident. I didn't believe it.”
I stared.
“And you thought I could help?”
She shook her head.
“I thought someone in this house might know the truth.”
The room became silent.
Then Elena whispered:
“I didn't come here to hurt you, Mr. Castellano.”
I looked at her.
“I believe you.”
She swallowed.
“But I did come looking for answers.”
May you like
I stared at the woman who had helped save my life.
And realized she had been carrying her own grief through my hallways for months.
