Chapter 6 - THE UNCLE WHO NEVER DIED
Emergency lights flickered on.
Matteo Moretti stood at the end of the hallway.
Older.
Thinner.
Gray hair replacing the black Dominic remembered.
But the eyes were unchanged.
“Uncle Matteo.”
Matteo smiled sadly.
“You grew into your father's face.”
Dominic positioned himself between Matteo and Lily.
“You were supposed to be in Sicily.”
“I was.”
“Why come back?”
“Because your mother asked me to.”
“She died eleven years ago.”
“Yes.”
Matteo looked at Elena.
“Her letters were never supposed to disappear.”
Dominic's voice hardened.
“Someone took them.”
“I know.”
“Who?”
Matteo shook his head.
“Not here.”
Dominic stepped forward.
Matteo raised a hand.
“If you want answers, you have to stop thinking like Dominic Moretti.”
“Then how should I think?”
“Like Daniel.”
Dominic froze.
Daniel.
His childhood name.
Only his mother had called him that.
Matteo continued.
“Your mother spent years trying to separate you from your father's empire.”
“Why?”
“Because your father believed the only way to survive was to control everyone.”
Matteo looked at Lily.
“Your mother believed the opposite.”
Dominic frowned.
“She believed in records.”
“What?”
“Records survive lies.”
Matteo pulled a small notebook from his coat.
“Your mother kept a second ledger.”
Dominic took it.
Inside were dates.
Names.
Payments.
And beside them, initials.
Not criminals.
Victims.
Workers.
Families.
People who had been harmed by Moretti Group decisions.
Dominic looked at Elena.
“My mother was tracking them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To reverse what your father had done.”
Dominic's chest tightened.
His mother had spent years quietly paying restitution.
She had used foundation money to compensate families whose lives had been destroyed.
But someone had discovered the payments.
And then the money began disappearing.
Dominic looked at Matteo.
“Who?”
Matteo's face hardened.
“Arthur Bell.”
Dominic shook his head.
“Arthur has worked for us for twenty years.”
“Exactly.”
A phone rang.
Everyone froze.
It was coming from Dominic's pocket.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A distorted voice said:
“Leave Bellhaven alone.”
Dominic's eyes narrowed.
“Or?”
A pause.
“Your little guest dies.”
The call ended.
Lily looked at him.
She didn't understand.
Dominic did.
They knew where she was.
They knew about Bellhaven.
They knew about Matteo.
The enemy was close.
Too close.
“Get Lily out.”
Elena grabbed her daughter.
Matteo moved toward Dominic.
“You have one day.”
“For what?”
“To choose whether you want the empire or the truth.”
Dominic stared at him.
“What happens if I choose the truth?”
“You lose everything.”
“And if I choose the empire?”
Matteo's expression was almost pitying.
“You lose yourself.”
That night, Dominic returned to Moretti Plaza.
Arthur Bell was waiting.
He stood in Dominic's office with a glass of whiskey.
“You've been busy.”
Dominic closed the door.
“You know about Bellhaven.”
Arthur smiled.
“I know about a lot of things.”
“The payments.”
“Accounting.”
“The forged signatures.”
Arthur's smile faded.
“Be careful.”
Dominic walked closer.
“Did you kill Michael Carter?”
“No.”
“Did you order his death?”
“No.”
“Did you know it would happen?”
Silence.
Dominic's eyes hardened.
Arthur finally said:
“Your father made enemies.”
“My father is dead.”
“So is Michael.”
Dominic grabbed the front of Arthur's jacket.
“Who killed him?”
Arthur looked directly into his eyes.
“You don't understand the game you're playing.”
Dominic released him.
“I understand enough.”
Arthur straightened his jacket.
“You think you're different from your father.”
“I am.”
“No.”
Arthur smiled.
“You're worse.”
Dominic's phone vibrated.
A photograph had arrived.
Lily sleeping.
In Elena's apartment.
Taken from inside the room.
Dominic's blood went cold.
Below it was one sentence.
MIDNIGHT. BELLHAVEN. COME ALONE.
He looked at Arthur.
Arthur's face had gone pale.
For the first time, Dominic realized something.
May you like
Arthur wasn't the one controlling everything.
He was afraid too.
