Chapter 6 - THE PRICE OF WALKING AWAY
Vincent did not go quietly.
He fired once.
The bullet struck a steel beam.
Agents tackled him before he could fire again.
Roman never drew a weapon.
That fact became important later.
For the first time in his adult life, Roman DeLuca watched someone who betrayed him leave alive.
Matteo was rushed to a hospital.
Vincent was taken into federal custody.
And Roman went home.
Not to celebrate.
To change a diaper.
At three in the morning, Norah walked into the guest nursery and found Roman standing over Luca with an expression of absolute defeat.
“What happened?”
Roman pointed.
“I believe he’s broken.”
Norah looked into the crib.
Luca screamed furiously.
“He’s hungry.”
“I fed him.”
“When?”
“Eleven forty-seven.”
“It’s three.”
Roman looked genuinely offended by infant biology.
“He eats again?”
Norah laughed.
A real laugh.
Roman stared at her.
He had not heard that sound directed toward him in more than a year.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re laughing at me.”
“A little.”
She prepared the bottle.
Roman watched carefully.
“Teach me.”
The words stopped her.
“What?”
“Everything.”
He looked toward the twins.
“I missed three months. I’m not missing another night because nobody taught me.”
So she did.
Formula measurements.
Burping.
Diaper tabs.
The difference between Lily’s tired cry and Luca’s hungry one.
At four thirty, both babies finally slept.
Roman and Norah sat on the nursery floor.
“You could sleep upstairs,” he said.
“No.”
“The bedroom is still yours.”
“That’s exactly why I’m not sleeping there.”
Roman nodded.
No pressure.
No argument.
Another change.
The next morning brought reality.
Federal investigators arrived.
Roman voluntarily surrendered documents.
His attorneys nearly revolted.
For three days, he answered questions.
Some businesses connected to him had committed crimes.
Some orders bore his signature.
He did not pretend innocence.
Norah learned something unexpected.
Roman had committed enough sins without needing Vincent’s fabricated ones.
If he wanted a future with his children, he could not simply defeat Vincent.
He had to answer for himself.
“You could leave the country,” Carlo told him privately.
Roman looked toward the nursery.
“No.”
“You have places.”
“No.”
“Roman, they could indict you.”
“I know.”
“Then why stay?”
Roman looked through the doorway.
Norah was asleep in a chair with Lily on her chest.
“Because running from consequences is how my children ended up being born without me.”
Carlo had no answer.
The investigation stretched into January.
Vincent began cooperating.
Not from remorse.
From survival.
He identified corrupt officials and revealed accounts containing millions.
He also confessed to arranging Claire’s death.
Norah listened to the recorded confession once.
Only once.
Then she shut the laptop.
Roman found her sitting outside in the snow.
“You’re going to freeze.”
“I wanted to feel something.”
He placed his coat around her shoulders.
She did not reject it.
“I keep thinking revenge would make this hurt less,” she whispered.
“It won’t.”
She looked at him.
“You sound certain.”
“I’ve tried it.”
That answer stayed with her.
Weeks passed.
Roman sold his remaining interests in businesses connected to organized crime.
He dismissed men who refused legitimate employment.
Some called him weak.
Others called him a traitor.
Roman did not care.
Then someone threw a brick through the estate window.
Attached was a note.
BLOOD DOESN’T RETIRE.
Norah found it first.
Her hands began shaking.
Roman entered.
He saw the glass.
Saw her face.
And understood.
“You should leave.”
Norah stared.
“What?”
“I’ll arrange somewhere safe.”
She almost laughed bitterly.
“You spent a year trying to find me, and now you’re sending me away?”
“I’m giving you the choice I should have given you before.”
He swallowed.
“I want you here. More than I know how to explain. But wanting you doesn’t give me ownership of you.”
Norah’s eyes filled.
Roman continued.
“If you want Denver, I’ll buy nothing. Control nothing. Follow nothing. I’ll pay child support through attorneys and visit only if you allow it.”
“You’d accept that?”
“No.”
His honesty surprised her.
“It would destroy me.”
He looked at Lily sleeping nearby.
“But I’d respect it.”
Norah stared at the man she once fled.
Perhaps people did not change in grand declarations.
Perhaps they changed in moments when they had enough power to force something and chose not to.
She stepped closer.
“I’m not going to Denver.”
Hope appeared in his face.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
It disappeared.
“I’m not coming back to you either.”
Roman nodded.
“Then what are you doing?”
Norah looked around the enormous house.
“I’m staying until the investigation is finished.”
“Why?”
“Because Lily smiles when you sing badly.”
Roman frowned.
“I don’t sing badly.”
“You absolutely do.”
“And Luca?”
“He seems impressed by your watch.”
Roman looked down.
Luca was chewing the strap of a watch worth more than Norah’s old car.
Roman smiled.
Then the front door opened.
Carlo entered looking grim.
“We have a problem.”
Roman stood.
“What?”
“Vincent escaped federal transport.”
Norah’s smile vanished.
May you like
Carlo looked directly at her.
“And the first person he called was you.”
