Chapter 9 - THE DOG AT THE DOOR
Pino became impossible after Sofia left.
Every morning he sat by the service entrance.
Waiting.
For Lucia.
A 125-pound Doberman sulking.
Humiliating.
I called Sofia.
Not because of me.
Obviously.
“Pino isn’t eating.”
“He ate two steaks yesterday.”
“That’s not the point.”
She laughed.
Lucia visited the following Saturday.
Pino nearly knocked over a bronze planter.
She threw both arms around his neck.
“You missed me!”
Yes.
He had.
I had too.
That was more complicated.
I had spent most of my adult life avoiding emotional obligations I could not negotiate.
Lucia had changed that by hiding behind trash cans.
Sofia and I became friends slowly.
Mostly because she refused to be impressed by me.
Once I sent a car when rain was forecast.
She sent it back.
“I have a bus pass.”
“It’s raining.”
“Water falls from sky. Historic event.”
Another time I offered to replace Lucia’s battered rabbit.
Lucia overheard and looked at me like I had proposed murder.
Never again.
Meanwhile, Bianca formally ended the marriage negotiations from her side too.
Her relationship with Vittorio collapsed after she cooperated with financial investigators.
She left the family law firm.
Started an independent practice.
We stayed in contact.
Not romantically.
Two people who had nearly been traded into a marriage did not need to compensate by falling in love.
Sometimes freedom can simply be freedom.
Vittorio Moretti eventually faced financial charges tied to historic smuggling, shell entities, obstruction-related conduct, and later concealment.
Not every old allegation survived.
Statutes.
Evidence.
Dead witnesses.
Complicated reality.
But enough did.
The Moretti influence weakened.
Duca Maritime survived.
I voluntarily opened older internal files for independent review.
That decision cost millions.
Old settlements.
Tax corrections.
Compliance remediation.
Loss of contracts.
My board hated me for six months.
Then liked that lenders trusted us more.
Legitimate business is surprisingly boring.
May you like
I was beginning to appreciate boring.
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