She Slapped the Disabled Mafia Boss in His Own Mansion—Then the Nurse Pulled Two Pills From Her Pocket

Nicholas confronted Walter before sunrise.

The older man did not deny being at the crash.

"I followed you that night," he said.

"Why?"

"Because I knew Carlo was moving against you. I didn't know how."

"You reached the wreck before police."

"Yes."

"And you never told me."

Walter's eyes filled with shame.

"I found the other car first."

The car that forced Nicholas into the barrier was abandoned nearby. Walter found documents tying its driver to Carlo and took them.

"Why?" Hannah asked.

Walter looked at Nicholas.

"Because the documents also tied the driver to your father. Old work. Old murders. If police found them, everything would open at once. I thought protecting the family would protect you."

Nicholas stared at him.

"So you hid evidence of the man who paralyzed me."

"Yes."

Something between them broke.

Walter produced copies he had hidden for years: photographs, vehicle records, and Carlo's payment authorization after the crash. They strengthened the case, but not the trust between them.

"What happens to him?" Hannah asked later.

Nicholas looked through the library windows at Lake Michigan.

"He tells the truth to investigators. All of it."

"And after?"

"After, he does not work for me."

Walter accepted the decision without argument.

Before leaving, Walter said, "Your father taught me loyalty before right from wrong. I should have learned the difference sooner." Nicholas let him go.

That afternoon, federal agents formally charged Carlo and Price. Feldman signed a cooperation agreement. Claire accepted responsibility for assault, evidence tampering, and the medication scheme while testifying about the coercion.

Rebecca was finally free.

Hannah thought it was over.

Then Nicholas received one last document from the prosecutor.

Michael Reed's highway crash had been reopened as a homicide investigation.

Hannah read the first page twice.

At the bottom was a recovered witness statement.