Chapter 13 - THE FALL OF SALVATORE MORETTI
Salvatore Moretti was arrested eleven days later.
The charges involved conspiracy, financial fraud, obstruction, unlawful confinement, and offenses connected to the aircraft emergency.
Investigators also examined the network of shell companies he'd used to conceal assets and influence witnesses.
Sophia cooperated with prosecutors.
Her testimony was devastating.
She admitted she'd followed Salvatore's instructions.
She admitted she'd helped interfere with the aircraft's systems.
She admitted she'd lied to Vincent after the crash.
And she admitted she'd known that someone was concealing information about the surviving passengers.
But she insisted she had never intended for anyone to die.
I believed she regretted what happened.
I wasn't sure how much of that regret came from guilt and how much came from fear of punishment.
In the end, it didn't matter.
Her choices had consequences.
So did Salvatore's.
The investigation uncovered something else.
The private medical facility where I'd given birth had received regular payments from companies linked to Salvatore.
Those payments continued after my discharge.
He had funded surveillance of my movements.
He knew where I lived.
Where Leo attended preschool.
Where my mother worked.
For three years, he had watched us.
The discovery terrified me more than anything else.
Because it meant my freedom had never been as complete as I believed.
Still, something important had changed.
I knew.
And the people responsible were being investigated.
Vincent offered to relocate us to a guarded estate.
I refused.
"I don't want Leo growing up surrounded by armed men."
He nodded.
"Then what would help?"
"A properly assessed security plan. Independent legal advice. And for you to stop making decisions about us without asking."
He accepted that.
Together with Natalie, we arranged reasonable protective measures while the case proceeded.
For the first time, Vincent and I worked as co-parents rather than enemies.
It wasn't easy.
We argued.
Sometimes about Leo's schedule.
Sometimes about Vincent's work.
Sometimes about the past.
But our arguments changed.
He no longer raised his voice to win.
I no longer swallowed my feelings to keep the peace.
We listened.
We compromised.
And when we couldn't agree, we asked for help.
Meanwhile, Vincent began dismantling the criminal side of his empire.
He cooperated with financial investigators.
Closed unlawful operations.
Separated legitimate businesses from compromised assets.
And accepted that his own conduct would be examined.
The process cost him enormous amounts of money and influence.
Some associates abandoned him.
Others threatened him.
For a man who had spent his adult life being feared, losing control was painful.
But he continued.
One afternoon, Leo and I visited him at his new office.
It was smaller than his old headquarters.
No guards standing along marble corridors.
No men whispering into radios.
Just a receptionist, a conference room, and a wall covered in plans for a legitimate shipping business.
Leo ran inside.
"Daddy!"
Vincent lifted him.
"There's my boy."
Leo held up a drawing.
"I made a shark."
Vincent examined it seriously.
"That's excellent."
"It's a hammerhead."
"Of course."
Leo narrowed his eyes.
"You didn't know."
Vincent laughed.
"No, I didn't."
I stood in the doorway watching them.
Something inside me softened.
Not completely.
But enough to hurt.
Vincent noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
He set Leo down.
"Anna."
I looked at him.
"You're different."
His expression became serious.
"I'm trying to be."
I nodded.
"I can see that."
For a moment, we stood facing each other.
Then Leo interrupted.
"Mommy, are you and Daddy friends?"
I laughed weakly.
Vincent smiled.
"We're learning."
Leo considered that.
"Good. Because I like both of you."
I knelt beside him.
"We like you too."
He rolled his eyes.
"I know, Mommy."
That evening, Vincent walked us to the car.
Before I left, he said, "There's something I want to ask."
I waited.
"Would you have dinner with me?"
I stared.
He added quickly, "Not as my wife. Not because of Leo."
"Then why?"
"Because I'd like to know the woman you became while I was gone."
My throat tightened.
I looked at him.
For years, I'd been afraid of loving him again.
Afraid that forgiveness would make me weak.
Afraid that choosing him would mean betraying the woman who'd survived without him.
But I was no longer that frightened woman.
I had choices now.
And I was allowed to make them carefully.
"One dinner," I said.
Vincent smiled.
"One dinner."
"And I'm choosing the restaurant."
May you like
He laughed softly.
"Of course you are."
