Chapter 9 - The Last Lie
Nia read Carlo’s sentence until the words blurred.
Her mother, Denise Lewis, had died 4 years earlier after a long illness.
Cancer.
That was what every doctor had said.
There was no mystery.
Or so Nia had believed.
She brought the letter to Matteo.
He was living under strict pre-sentencing conditions at a secure property outside Baltimore.
When he saw her face, he knew immediately.
“What happened?”
She handed him the letter.
His expression hardened.
“He’s manipulating you.”
“Probably.”
“But?”
“But I need to know.”
Matteo understood.
They contacted the federal prosecutor handling Carlo’s case.
Carlo agreed to speak only with Nia.
The meeting took place through reinforced glass.
Carlo looked smaller without tailored suits and armed men.
That pleased Nia.
He smiled when she sat down.
“You came.”
“Talk.”
“Your mother knew about Eden.”
Nia’s stomach tightened.
“How?”
“Ruth told her.”
“What does that have to do with her cancer?”
“Nothing.”
Nia stared.
Carlo smiled.
“I simply knew mentioning her would bring you here.”
Nia stood.
“That’s it?”
“Sit down.”
“No.”
“I know something else.”
She stopped.
Carlo leaned toward the glass.
“Matteo is going to prison because of you.”
“No. Matteo is facing prison because of Matteo.”
Carlo’s smile faded.
“He was powerful before you.”
“He was miserable.”
“He commanded hundreds.”
“And couldn’t recognize the person poisoning his tea.”
Carlo’s eyes darkened.
“You made him weak.”
“No.”
Nia picked up the phone beside the glass.
“I think you’re angry because he discovered the one thing you never understood.”
“What?”
“He could walk away.”
Carlo stared.
“You couldn’t.”
Nia hung up.
For the first time, she left Carlo without fear.
Outside the federal building, Matteo waited beside Enzo.
“He lied?” Matteo asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
Nia looked back at the building.
“He finally had nothing I wanted.”
Matteo’s sentencing occurred 2 days later.
Nia sat in the courtroom.
So did victims of businesses Matteo had controlled.
She listened to statements describing fear, lost money, broken livelihoods, and violence.
It hurt.
Not because she believed them less.
Because she believed them completely.
Matteo listened too.
He did not look away.
When permitted to speak, he did not ask the judge to forgive him.
He acknowledged that cooperation had come late.
He admitted fear and childhood trauma did not excuse choices made as an adult.
Nia cried quietly.
The judge considered his cooperation, guilty plea, assistance dismantling criminal operations, and medical condition.
Matteo received a prison sentence.
Not life.
But years.
Outside the courthouse, reporters shouted questions.
Nia ignored them.
Matteo had 30 days before surrendering.
He spent them closing what remained of his old life.
Properties were sold.
A legitimate employee assistance fund was established through attorneys.
Enzo left organized crime entirely and opened a security consulting business.
Nia teased him relentlessly.
“You went legitimate.”
“Don’t tell anyone.”
“Your secret is safe.”
Nia enrolled in nursing school.
She refused Matteo’s money.
Then discovered an anonymous scholarship had paid her first semester.
She marched into his house furious.
“Matteo.”
He looked innocent.
“No.”
“You did this.”
“I did nothing.”
“Matteo.”
“It came from a foundation.”
“Your foundation.”
“Technically, it no longer belongs to me.”
She glared.
He surrendered.
“Fine.”
“I told you I don’t want your money.”
“It isn’t my money.”
“That is lawyer nonsense.”
“Yes.”
She tried to stay angry.
Failed.
“You’re impossible.”
“So I’ve heard.”
Their final evening before his surrender was quiet.
No dramatic party.
No expensive restaurant.
Nia cooked pasta badly.
Matteo ate it anyway.
“This is terrible.”
“Then stop eating.”
“I almost died twice. I’m not afraid of pasta.”
She threw a napkin at him.
Later, they sat outside beneath a cold autumn sky.
“Don’t promise me anything,” Nia said.
Matteo looked over.
“What?”
“Don’t ask me to wait.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
That stung more than she expected.
He noticed.
“I want you to live.”
Nia looked away.
“Nursing school. Friends. Dates, if you want them.”
She looked sharply at him.
He grimaced.
“I hated saying that.”
“Good.”
“But I mean it.”
Matteo took her hand.
“I spent years treating love like possession. If I tell you to freeze your life while I pay for mine, then I learned nothing.”
Nia leaned against his shoulder.
“I’m still going to visit.”
“I hope so.”
“And write.”
“I hope so.”
“And if some woman in prison starts flirting with you—”
“It’s a men’s facility.”
“That wasn’t the point.”
He laughed.
Nia smiled.
The following morning, Matteo surrendered.
He did not look back until he reached the entrance.
Nia stood beside Enzo.
Matteo found her eyes.
He touched 2 fingers to his heart.
Then disappeared inside.
The first year was hard.
Nia studied anatomy by day and worked evenings.
She visited Matteo twice a month.
He looked healthier.
Strangely younger.
Without the suits, guards, and empire, he became simply Matteo.
He read constantly.
He completed counseling.
He helped teach financial literacy classes to other inmates, which Nia found deeply ironic.
“You taught people money laundering.”
“Technically.”
“Matteo.”
“Fine. Bad joke.”
The second year passed faster.
Nia entered clinical rotations.
The third year brought unexpected news.
Matteo’s sentence had been reduced after continued substantial cooperation uncovered corruption linked to Carlo’s network.
A release date appeared.
Nia stared at the letter.
Nine months.
For the first time, a future with Matteo was no longer abstract.
It had a date.
But Nia had changed too.
She was no longer the invisible maid who stared at baseboards.
She was weeks from becoming a registered nurse.
She had built a life.
And she realized something terrifying.
When Matteo walked through those prison gates, she would have to decide whether he belonged in that life.
Not because she owed him.
May you like
Not because she saved him.
Because she chose him.
