THE MAFIA BOSS CAUGHT HIS FIANCÉE HURTING A MAID—THEN SAW THE NECKLACE SHE WAS HIDING.

The lawsuit came from an overseas holding company controlled by Enzo. It alleged that Alessandro had arranged the 2008 killing to secure his inheritance. The filing spread through news sites before morning.

"They've turned your mother's death into a bargaining chip," Alessandro told Mara. "I'm sorry."

"Then stop talking to me about how sorry you are. Help the investigators find who signed the order."

Elena compared the lawsuit to records recovered from the safe. One invoice carried an old office code: P9-17. The invoice authorized transport of a 'noncompliant witness' from Pier Nine to a private medical site. The signature belonged to Carlo Romano.

Alessandro stared at his father's name. "He signed it."

"That doesn't establish the whole sequence," Elena cautioned. "But it puts him inside the cover-up."

Rios matched the handgun's serial markings to a police record from 2008. It had been reported stolen by Vittorio days before Isabella died. The weapon's condition required further testing, yet a partial fingerprint from its case matched a former bodyguard who had worked for Enzo.

The bodyguard, Anton Bell, had spent eighteen years moving between security firms. Detectives located him in Arizona. He agreed to give a recorded statement after consulting counsel.

Anton said Vittorio had fired at Isabella when she refused to surrender her film. Carlo arrived seconds later. Instead of calling an ambulance, he called Enzo, who ordered the scene cleaned and Isabella buried. Anton watched Daniel's death being arranged but said he had refused to participate.

"You can corroborate that?" Rios asked.

"I kept the payment instructions. I was afraid they'd blame it all on me."

The copies led to a bank account holding payments to Anton, Matteo, and a contractor who specialized in vehicle repairs. The financial trail did not depend on Anton's word alone.

Rios told the family the investigation was moving toward arrests. Mara did not celebrate. She was thinking about the people who had heard her mother's last call for help and chosen the family name over a living woman.

That night Alessandro received a note handwritten on old Romano stationery.