Chapter 10 - THE PRICE OF BECOMING A BETTER MAN
“No.”
Cesare's answer came so quickly that Renata's heart sank.
He sat across from her at Harbor Grill.
“No?” she repeated.
“I can't stop being that man simply because I want to.”
Renata slowly withdrew her hand.
Cesare noticed.
“Please let me finish.”
She waited.
“For twenty years, I built a reputation that made people afraid to challenge me. I used that reputation when it benefited my businesses.”
His voice grew quieter.
“I can't pretend those years never happened.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I'm saying I have to change what I do. Not just what I promise.”
Renata studied him.
“That sounds difficult.”
“It will be.”
“People will fight you.”
“I know.”
“And I won't be your reward for becoming decent.”
Cesare gave a sad smile.
“I wouldn't insult you by asking.”
Something in Renata softened.
But she didn't reach for his hand.
Not yet.
The next morning, Cesare called a meeting of his senior executives.
Dominic stood beside the conference table.
Lucia sat opposite him.
Renata had declined the invitation.
She had work to do, and she had made something clear to Cesare.
Her life would not become an extension of his empire.
Cesare respected that.
He announced a full independent review of the company's security contracts, waterfront fees, transportation agreements, and relationships with outside enforcement crews.
Then he ordered the suspension of contracts tied to coercive collection practices.
Dominic looked alarmed.
“Boss, you can't just pull those contracts.”
“Why not?”
“Because some of those men have been handling disputes for fifteen years.”
“Then they've had fifteen years to learn how to operate properly.”
Dominic lowered his voice.
“Some won't like losing their income.”
Cesare looked at him.
“I understand. That's why we're reviewing which employees can move into legitimate security and logistics jobs.”
“And the ones who won't?”
“They'll no longer represent this company.”
Dominic shook his head.
“You're changing the rules of a world you helped build.”
“Yes.”
“That's dangerous.”
Cesare looked toward the harbor.
“So was leaving them unchanged.”
The consequences arrived quickly.
Several shipping partners demanded new negotiations.
Two senior managers resigned.
A group of outside contractors threatened legal action.
And some smaller businesses that had depended on Morandi Maritime began worrying about their own survival.
Cesare discovered that ending an abusive system was more complicated than issuing a dramatic announcement.
People needed wages.
Families needed stability.
And years of intimidation had left damage that money alone couldn't repair.
Three weeks later, Renata attended another waterfront meeting.
Rosa Greene approached her.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Is Mr. Morandi serious about changing?”
Renata considered the question.
“I think he wants to.”
“That wasn't what I asked.”
Renata smiled sadly.
“No. It wasn't.”
Rosa handed her a folder.
Inside were old invoices from small trucking companies.
Several had paid excessive security fees to obtain access to waterfront contracts.
One company had closed.
Another had been forced to sell its vehicles.
Rosa pointed to a name.
“Daniel Price. He worked these docks for twenty-four years. Lost his business after refusing those fees.”
Renata stared at the invoices.
Cesare's signature appeared on a contract approving the collection arrangement.
The date was 2023.
Long before she had met him.
For a moment, Renata felt the familiar disappointment rising.
She had begun loving the man who handed her breakfast sandwiches, listened to her talk about metal, and helped restore her father's name.
But this document belonged to another Cesare.
One she couldn't simply ignore.
That evening, she placed the folder in front of him.
“Did you know about this?”
Cesare read the invoices.
“Yes.”
Renata's chest tightened.
“Daniel Price lost his business.”
“I know.”
“And you allowed it?”
Cesare looked directly at her.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he refused to use a security contractor affiliated with my company. At the time, I considered that a challenge to my authority.”
Renata stared.
“You punished him for saying no.”
Cesare lowered his eyes.
“Yes.”
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then Renata stood.
“I need to go.”
“Renata.”
She stopped.
“I won't ask you to forgive that,” he said.
“Good.”
“But I'm going to tell Ellis what happened.”
She turned.
“Even if it means they investigate you?”
“Yes.”
“Even if you lose the company?”
Cesare looked at the signed contract.
“Then I lose it.”
Renata studied him.
This wasn't the powerful man who had commanded armed guards with one finger.
This was a man finally confronting the harm behind his own reputation.
And she understood something important.
Love could encourage a person to change.
But it could never do the changing for them.
Two days later, Cesare appeared voluntarily before a state investigative panel reviewing waterfront business practices.
Renata sat quietly in the public gallery.
Lucia sat beside her.
Dominic stood near the rear doors.
Cesare placed a thick binder on the table.
Investigator Ellis examined the first page.
“Mr. Morandi, are you providing these records voluntarily?”
“Yes.”
“Do you understand that some may expose you to civil or criminal liability?”
“I do.”
“Then tell us what you want to disclose.”
Cesare looked toward Renata.
She didn't smile.
She didn't encourage him.
She simply waited for the truth.
He turned back to the panel.
“In 2023, I authorized my employees to pressure Daniel Price into accepting a security contract he did not want.”
The room became silent.
Cesare continued.
“When he refused, I approved measures that made it difficult for his company to operate on the waterfront.”
Ellis leaned forward.
“Are you admitting that you knowingly used your business influence to punish a competitor?”
Cesare took one slow breath.
“Yes.”
May you like
Then he pushed another set of records across the table.
“And Daniel Price wasn't the only one.”
