Chapter 14 - The Boardroom
My mother's smile vanished.
Prosecutor Helen Ward entered with two investigators and a warrant sealed inside a folder.
"This is a private family meeting," Sofia said.
"Not anymore."
The boardroom filled in silence.
Grace sat beside me. Her hand shook beneath the table, so I covered it with mine.
Sofia began first.
She presented Grace's signed declaration accusing me of threats, coercion, and unstable behavior.
Every lie sounded clean on paper.
Then Grace stood.
"I signed that statement under duress."
Sofia leaned back.
"Of course you say that now."
Grace plugged the flash drive into the screen.
The first video showed the west-wing prison.
The second showed Sofia ordering Enzo to increase Grace's sedative dose.
The third showed Dario removing files from the nursery safe.
Murmurs spread around the table.
Then came the bank transfers.
Eighty-two million dollars.
Votes purchased through hidden companies.
Loans to board members who had never disclosed them.
Sofia's allies stopped looking at her.
"This proves nothing," she said.
Helen Ward placed the warrant on the table.
"It proves enough to search every Rossi property."
My mother looked at me.
For the first time, there was no warmth in her face at all.
"You brought outsiders into this family."
"You put my wife in a cage."
"I did what your father would have done."
"No. You did what you wanted and hid behind his name."
Then Dario burst through the side door.
He had a gun pressed against Carlo's neck.
"Nobody moves."
Behind him, a second man carried a baby seat.
Grace made a sound that broke me.
Nicholas was inside.
Alive.
Crying.
Dario looked at Sofia.
"Tell them to clear the room."
Sofia did not answer.
Dario's expression changed.
"Sofia. Tell them."
My mother looked at my son.
Then at the investigators.
May you like
And I realized something terrifying.
She had not ordered Dario to bring Nicholas there.
