Chapter 8 - A Widow’s Bargain
Sophia wanted to go alone.
Vincent refused.
“She asked for you.”
“Exactly.”
“She'll kill you.”
“Probably.”
“No.”
Vincent looked at her.
“If Daniel were here, what would he do?”
“Don't use him.”
“He'd go.”
“And he died.”
Silence.
That sentence hurt both of them.
Sophia lowered her voice.
“I already buried one man because he thought protecting me meant deciding everything without me.”
Vincent’s eyes held hers.
“Don't become him.”
He finally nodded.
They made a plan.
Camilla selected an abandoned Castellano warehouse.
Federal agents surrounded it covertly.
Vincent wore a transmitter.
Sophia demanded one too.
“You're staying outside.”
“No.”
“Sophia.”
She gave him Mia’s scowl.
Vincent stared.
“This is becoming intolerable.”
“Good.”
They entered together.
Camilla waited.
Mia sat beside her.
“Mama!”
Sophia moved.
Camilla raised a pistol.
“Stop.”
Sophia stopped.
Vincent stepped forward.
“Let the child go.”
Camilla smiled.
“The legendary Vincent Castellano volunteering himself for a maid’s toddler.”
“She has a name.”
“Oh, I know.”
Camilla looked at Mia.
“Mia Daniel Reyes.”
Sophia’s skin crawled.
“What do you want?”
“Vincent’s empire.”
Vincent laughed once.
“You could have asked.”
“I want ownership transfers.”
“You think signatures obtained at gunpoint survive court?”
“I don't need court.”
She needed access.
His companies controlled ports, property and records that could expose decades of crime.
Vincent understood.
He signed nothing.
Instead he said, “You killed Daniel.”
Camilla smiled.
“I loosened two pins.”
Sophia’s body went rigid.
Vincent kept Camilla talking.
“You climbed the scaffold yourself?”
“Daniel trusted me.”
Sophia stared.
Camilla had attended Daniel’s funeral.
She had hugged Sophia.
She had brought flowers.
“You came to my home.”
Camilla looked pleased.
“He never suspected me until the end.”
“You murdered my husband.”
“He was going to ruin everything.”
Mia suddenly frowned.
“You’re mean.”
Camilla looked down.
That tiny distraction was enough.
Vincent moved.
Sophia grabbed Mia.
Gunfire erupted.
Federal agents stormed the warehouse.
Vincent wrestled Camilla down.
Her weapon skidded away.
Sophia covered Mia’s ears.
Camilla laughed from the floor.
“You think this ends with me?”
Vincent restrained her.
“No.”
She looked at Sophia.
“Daniel knew that too.”
Federal agents arrested Camilla.
Mia clung to Sophia.
Vincent approached slowly.
“You okay, peanut?”
Mia glared.
“You took too long.”
Vincent actually laughed.
Then Mia threw herself at him.
He caught her.
Sophia watched his face change.
The feared Vincent Castellano closed his eyes and held her daughter as though she were something priceless.
Later, agents confirmed Camilla’s confession had been recorded.
Commissioner Mercer was arrested.
Adrian disappeared.
Elias offered testimony.
It seemed nearly finished.
Then Sophia remembered Daniel’s recording.
Camilla was not necessarily the final layer.
Daniel had said she learned everything from Anthony Castellano.
Vincent’s father.
A dead man.
That night Sophia studied the ledger again.
One account remained active.
Someone had withdrawn money that morning.
Vincent traced it.
The account holder appeared on-screen.
He stared.
“That’s impossible.”
Sophia leaned closer.
The name was not Camilla.
Not Mercer.
Not Adrian.
It belonged to Anthony Castellano.
Vincent’s father had been dead for seven years.
Yet the security camera from the bank showed a man collecting the money only six hours earlier.
Vincent enlarged the image.
May you like
Sophia saw his face.
And Vincent whispered, “Dad?”
