Chapter 10 - THE EMPTY CHAIR AT THE DINNER TABLE
“Can Daddy have a chair, too?”
Dominic looked down at Lily.
The little girl was still holding his hand.
Elena stood beside them, suddenly unable to speak.
For a moment, Dominic considered how to answer.
He owned more chairs than he could count.
Chairs in boardrooms.
Chairs in private restaurants.
Chairs reserved for men who frightened entire neighborhoods.
Yet he'd never understood what one empty chair could mean.
“Of course he can,” Dominic said.
Lily smiled.
“Next to Mommy?”
“Wherever you want.”
She pointed to a chair beside Elena's place.
“That one.”
Dominic pulled it out.
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
From the mantel, she brought the photograph of Mateo holding baby Lily outside Fulton Cold Storage.
She placed it on the table.
Lily climbed into her seat.
“Hi, Daddy.”
Nobody laughed.
Nobody hurried her.
Dominic simply sat down across from her.
For the first time in years, the dining room didn't feel like a place where powerful people gathered to discuss money.
It felt like a home.
The following morning, however, Dominic discovered that exposing the truth was only the beginning of repairing the damage.
News of Thomas Bell's arrest had spread across Chicago.
Reporters gathered outside the Moretti estate.
Employees demanded answers.
Families connected to the medical shipments wanted to know whether their relatives had received unsafe medication.
And several freight customers threatened to cancel their contracts.
Raphael entered the study carrying a stack of reports.
“The investigators have requested access to additional corporate accounts.”
“Give them what they're entitled to.”
“There may be other misconduct in those records.”
Dominic looked up.
“Then we'll deal with that too.”
Raphael hesitated.
“Thomas wasn't responsible for everything questionable this company has ever done.”
Dominic understood.
His empire hadn't been built on innocence.
Some of his businesses operated lawfully.
Others had existed in the shadows for decades.
For years, he'd accepted that arrangement as the cost of power.
Now he had a little girl's question echoing through his mind.
Can Daddy have a chair, too?
And he understood that Mateo Rossi would never occupy that chair again.
“Prepare a plan to place Fulton under independent oversight,” Dominic said.
“And the unofficial freight operations?”
“Separate them from the legitimate businesses. We're ending their use of Fulton and cooperating with the investigation.”
Raphael studied him.
“That will cost you.”
Dominic glanced toward the garden.
“It's already cost people more than money.”
Elena entered the study carrying an envelope.
Dominic stood.
“Mrs. Rossi.”
“Please call me Elena.”
He nodded.
“Elena.”
She placed the envelope before him.
Inside was her resignation.
Dominic stared at it.
“I thought you wanted to stay.”
“I do. But I don't want to stay as your housemaid.”
He looked at her.
She continued.
“Everyone in this house knows what happened. Some people are kind. Others look at me as though I'm the woman who nearly destroyed your wedding.”
Dominic frowned.
“You didn't destroy anything.”
“I know.”
She straightened her shoulders.
“But I spent ten months being treated like a widow who couldn't accept the truth. I don't want to spend the next ten years being treated like someone you rescued.”
Dominic slowly sat down.
“What do you want?”
“A job where I can help workers who are afraid to speak.”
He considered her words.
“You could help establish the employee reporting program.”
Elena shook her head.
“Not if you appoint me because you feel guilty.”
“Then how?”
“Let the workers choose their own representatives. If they want me involved, I'll serve.”
Dominic nodded.
“Fair.”
Elena looked relieved.
“And Lily?”
“She can stay here while I find a place for us. But I want her to understand that this isn't a reward for saving your life.”
Dominic looked toward the doorway.
Lily was sitting on the carpet, carefully repairing her rabbit's loose red stitching with help from an older housekeeper.
“What should she understand?” he asked.
“That people deserve safety even when they haven't done something extraordinary.”
Dominic was quiet.
Then he said, “You sound like Mateo.”
Elena smiled sadly.
“I hope so.”
That afternoon, Vanessa returned briefly to collect her belongings.
She found Elena near the garden.
For several moments, neither woman spoke.
Then Vanessa said, “I wanted to tell you that the foundation's trustees have agreed to independent supervision. The patient programs won't simply be abandoned.”
Elena nodded.
“That's good.”
Vanessa looked down.
“I know it doesn't make up for what happened.”
“No.”
“My father started that foundation because my grandmother couldn't afford proper care. Somewhere along the way, protecting his name became more important to me than protecting the people he wanted to help.”
Elena studied her.
“Then spend the rest of your life correcting that.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I intend to.”
She walked away without asking for forgiveness.
And Elena respected her more for that than she would have respected another apology.
Two days later, Dominic visited Fulton Cold Storage.
A small crowd of workers gathered outside.
Some had known Mateo.
Others had worked there for decades.
Raphael accompanied Dominic, but the crowd showed little interest in his security arrangements.
They wanted answers.
An older mechanic stepped forward.
“Mr. Moretti, you say you didn't know what Thomas was doing.”
“I didn't.”
“Then why should we trust you now?”
Dominic didn't answer immediately.
The man continued.
“Mateo tried to tell you. Your people called him a thief. My supervisor told us we'd lose our jobs if we asked questions.”
Several workers nodded.
Dominic looked at the man.
“What's your name?”
“Walter Briggs. I've worked here twenty-six years.”
“Walter, you're right to be angry.”
Walter gave a humorless laugh.
“Angry doesn't begin to cover it.”
Dominic nodded.
“No. It doesn't.”
Walter pointed toward the warehouse.
“Your name was on the building. Your guards were at the gate. Your managers signed the checks.”
He stepped closer.
“So don't stand out here telling us you didn't know.”
The crowd fell silent.
Walter looked Dominic straight in the eye.
“If you want us to believe you've changed, come inside tomorrow. No armed men standing behind you. No fancy speeches.”
Dominic waited.
May you like
Walter's next words were clear enough for everyone to hear.
“Stand where Mateo stood, look his coworkers in the eye, and tell us exactly what you knew—and what you chose not to know.”
