Chapter 5 - Eleven O’Clock
At 10:58 p.m., Marco sat in a secured room inside the Moretti building.
His phone remained active.
His partners believed he was free.
At the East River terminal, Vincent’s team waited out of sight while law enforcement contacts prepared to collect evidence tied to the financial conspiracy.
Dante stayed in the penthouse.
Amelia stayed beside him.
Lily slept upstairs under guard.
Dante looked at the clock.
“You should be with her.”
“She’s asleep.”
“She could wake up.”
“So could I.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It means stop trying to send me away.”
He looked at her.
“You’re very difficult to protect.”
“I noticed you keep trying.”
His eyes remained on hers.
Before either could say more, Vincent called.
“They arrived.”
Dante switched the phone to speaker.
“How many?”
“Three vehicles. Four men.”
“Identification?”
“Two match Marco’s financial contacts.”
Amelia leaned toward the phone.
“Do they have the transfer documents?”
Vincent answered.
“Looks like it.”
Dante glanced at her.
“You’re conducting operations now?”
“I’m asking useful questions.”
“You ask too many.”
“You answer most of them.”
Vincent interrupted.
“Movement.”
Silence.
Then:
“We have them.”
Dante exhaled.
“Evidence?”
“Documents, accounts, communications. Enough.”
“Bring everything back.”
Amelia looked at him.
“And Marco?”
Dante’s expression hardened.
“He answers for what he did through every legal and financial channel available to us.”
She nodded.
That was enough.
Thirty minutes later, Dante entered the secured room.
Amelia followed.
Marco looked exhausted.
“So this is it?”
Dante stopped across from him.
“You used my accounts.”
Marco said nothing.
“You compromised my security.”
Silence.
“You put a six-year-old child in danger.”
Marco finally looked up.
“You would have done worse twenty years ago.”
“Maybe.”
Dante’s answer surprised everyone.
He continued.
“That man is the reason I spent years building enemies.”
Marco smiled faintly.
“You think she changed you?”
His eyes moved toward Amelia.
Dante followed his gaze.
“No.”
He looked back at Marco.
“She reminded me I still had a choice.”
Marco’s smile vanished.
Dante turned away.
“We’re done.”
Marco called after him.
“Dante.”
He stopped.
“You’ll regret trusting her.”
Dante looked back.
“I regret trusting you.”
Then he left.
In the hallway, Amelia walked beside him.
“You handled that better than I expected.”
Dante raised an eyebrow.
“What did you expect?”
“Something involving a window.”
“There are already enough broken windows this week.”
She laughed.
He watched her.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re staring.”
“I’m allowed.”
“Boss privilege?”
“No.”
His voice softened.
“Personal privilege.”
Amelia stopped walking.
“Dante.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
She studied him.
“This is complicated.”
“Everything about me is complicated.”
“That isn’t attractive.”
“You’re lying.”
She laughed again.
And Dante smiled.
May you like
This time he didn’t hide it.
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