Chapter 8 - The Castalano Name
Salvatore Castalano had been dead for three years.
To Vincent, he'd been a difficult father.
To everyone else, he'd been the architect of the Castalano empire.
The evidence Gabriella brought showed that Salvatore had discovered Lucia intended to expose the organization's illegal finances.
He ordered Calder to frighten her.
Calder hired the truck driver.
According to him, the order had never been murder.
That distinction meant nothing to Vincent.
His father's decision had killed his wife and daughter.
He disappeared from public view for a week.
Renzo eventually called me.
“He won't talk to anyone.”
“Why call me?”
“You know why.”
I did.
I still resisted.
Then Mia heard Renzo's voice.
“Mr. Grumpy sad?”
Renzo hesitated.
“Yes.”
Mia went upstairs.
She returned wearing her pink dress.
“Let's go.”
Apparently that settled it.
We found Vincent in Sofia's bedroom.
He sat on the floor beside the dollhouse.
Mia walked straight to him.
“You're sad.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Vincent looked at me.
I nodded.
He chose his words carefully.
“My daddy did something very bad a long time ago.”
Mia considered this.
“Did you do it?”
“No.”
“Then why you sad?”
Vincent stared at her.
I felt tears sting my eyes.
Three-year-old logic.
Brutal and uncomplicated.
Vincent opened his arms.
Mia climbed into them.
He closed his eyes.
Something inside him finally broke.
He cried silently.
Mia patted his beard.
“It's okay.”
I sat beside them.
Eventually Vincent reached for my hand.
This time, I didn't pull away.
The next months changed everything.
Vincent cooperated with prosecutors investigating the remnants of his father's organization. Legitimate Castalano businesses were separated from criminal enterprises. Properties were sold. Shell companies closed.
It cost him hundreds of millions.
He didn't care.
The press became relentless.
So did former associates who considered his cooperation betrayal.
One evening, a brick came through the window of my apartment.
Wrapped around it was a message.
Stay away from Castalano.
Vincent arrived twenty minutes later.
“No.”
I hadn't said anything yet.
“No what?”
“You and Mia are moving.”
“Vincent—”
“This isn't negotiable.”
I folded my arms.
His expression changed.
“You're doing the face.”
“So are you.”
Mia wandered into the room and copied us both.
Renzo, standing by the broken window, laughed.
The absurdity dissolved the argument.
Eventually we compromised.
Not the estate.
Vincent arranged a secure apartment in a building owned by one of his legitimate companies.
I paid rent.
He hated that part.
I insisted.
Our relationship changed slowly.
He took Mia to the zoo with me.
Then dinner.
Then a Christmas market.
People stared at the intimidating man carrying a sleepy toddler wearing pink earmuffs.
He didn't care.
On Christmas Eve, we visited Sofia and Lucia's graves.
Vincent brought white roses.
Mia brought a drawing.
Four stick figures.
This time she knew exactly who the fourth was.
She placed it against Sofia's headstone.
“You can be our friend too.”
Vincent turned away.
I touched his back.
That night, after Mia fell asleep at the estate, Vincent and I stood beside the Christmas tree.
“I love you,” he said.
No dramatic speech.
No warning.
Just four words.
I stared at him.
“You can't say that like you're discussing the weather.”
“I've never said it to you before. I don't know the preferred procedure.”
I laughed.
He looked nervous.
Vincent Castalano.
Nervous.
Because of me.
I stepped closer.
“I love you too.”
His breath left him.
Then he kissed me.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he was asking permission even after I'd answered.
For once, nothing exploded.
Nobody called.
No hidden enemy appeared.
We simply stood beneath warm Christmas lights and kissed.
Six months later, the final federal case connected to Calder ended.
Vincent was never charged. Investigators publicly credited his cooperation with helping dismantle the network his father had built.
We thought the past was finally finished.
Then Renzo received a package.
Inside was one photograph.
Mia leaving preschool.
On the back:
May you like
A Castalano always pays his debts.
This time, when Vincent made the angry face, nobody laughed.
