Chapter 17 - The TrapCatherine survived surgery.
The bullet passed through her shoulder.
Alessandro spent the entire night beside her hospital bed.
I went home to Evelyn.
For the first time in years, I was afraid to sleep.
Our daughter climbed into bed beside me.
“Daddy sad?”
“Yes.”
“Grandma Catherine got hurt?”
“Yes.”
Evelyn thought about that.
“Is she my grandma even if I just met her?”
I kissed her forehead.
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
Children sometimes accepted complicated truths better than adults.
At sunrise, Alessandro returned.
He looked exhausted.
I handed him coffee.
He took one sip.
“Good.”
“Marriage has improved your survival instincts.”
He almost smiled.
Then his phone rang.
Samuel Price.
We knew immediately.
Alessandro answered.
Samuel sounded pleasant.
“I imagine Catherine told you everything.”
“Enough.”
“Then you know what Antonio did to me.”
“Your son pulled a gun.”
“My son was confused.”
“You murdered him.”
Silence.
Then Samuel laughed.
“Careful, Alessandro. Judgment is dangerous when your family has buried more bodies than mine.”
“What do you want?”
“A conversation.”
“Where?”
“Rosie’s.”
I shook my head.
Absolutely not.
Samuel continued.
“Midnight. Alone.”
“No.”
Samuel sighed.
“I wasn't speaking to Claire.”
“I know,” I said.
“Still no.”
Samuel laughed.
“I understand why he married you.”
The call ended.
Alessandro looked at me.
“I’m going.”
“Of course you are.”
“Claire—”
“And so am I.”
“No.”
I stared at him.
He stopped.
Then sighed.
“Right. We don't do that anymore.”
“Growth.”
Victor coordinated with federal agents.
Rosie’s was wired.
Nearby buildings were watched.
At midnight, Samuel entered alone.
He was eighty-one.
Thin.
Elegant.
He carried a cane.
Nothing about him resembled the architect of decades of blackmail.
He sat in Booth Seven.
“Coffee?” he asked.
I remained behind the counter.
“Three dollars.”
His smile faded slightly.
Alessandro sat opposite him.
Samuel placed a pistol on the table.
Victor tensed in the surveillance van.
Samuel pushed it toward Alessandro.
“I killed Jonathan.”
“I know.”
“I ordered Mercer Street burned.”
Gabriel, listening remotely, swore.
Alessandro remained still.
Samuel continued.
“Sebastian believed the order came from Vale. Vale believed it came from Sebastian. I arranged both.”
“Why?”
“Because Antonio was going to expose the financial network.”
“So six people died for money.”
“People die for less.”
I wanted to hit him.
Alessandro simply looked at the gun.
Samuel smiled.
“Your father found me after Jonathan died. He wanted to kill me.”
“But he didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Catherine stopped him.”
Alessandro looked up.
“She told him if he murdered me, he would become exactly what she feared.”
Samuel leaned closer.
“Antonio listened.”
“Good.”
Samuel’s smile sharpened.
“Was it?”
He slid the gun closer.
“Because I spent the next twenty-seven years proving mercy has consequences.”
There it was.
The trap.
Samuel wanted Alessandro to kill him.
Not merely for revenge.
For legacy.
If Alessandro murdered an unarmed old man inside Rosie’s, every story about his transformation would collapse.
Second Chance Foundation.
His legitimate businesses.
His family.
Everything.
Samuel wanted Antonio Romano’s son to prove that Romano men never changed.
Alessandro picked up the gun.
My heart stopped.
Samuel smiled.
“Alessandro.”
I didn't tell him to stop.
I didn't tell him what choice to make.
I simply said his name.
He looked at me.
Then toward the wall where a coffee cup had shattered years earlier.
Then he removed the magazine.
Cleared the chamber.
Placed the empty weapon back on the table.
“No.”
Samuel’s smile disappeared.
“You shot my mother.”
“Yes.”
“You threatened my daughter.”
“Yes.”
“You murdered six people.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro leaned forward.
“And you still don't get to decide who I become.”
Police entered.
Samuel didn't resist.
As they handcuffed him, he looked almost disappointed.
Then he smiled again.
“You think this ends with me?”
Victor stopped.
Samuel looked toward me.
“Ask Claire about the seventh victim.”
My stomach tightened.
“What?”
“There were seven people inside Mercer Street.”
“We know. Gabriel survived.”
Samuel shook his head.
“No.”
Gabriel’s voice came through Victor’s earpiece.
“What?”
Samuel smiled.
“Gabriel wasn't the seventh.”
Silence.
“There was another child.”
He looked directly at Alessandro.
“A baby.”
My blood turned cold.
“Whose baby?”
Samuel laughed softly as police led him toward the door.
“Ask Catherine.”
Then he was gone.
Alessandro and I stared at each other.
Because Catherine had told us almost everything.
May you like
Almost.
And we were learning that almost was where families hid their worst secrets.
