Chapter 8 - THE FEDERAL SEAL
The paper trembled in my hands. It wasn't a will or a birth certificate.
It was a classified federal immunity agreement, signed twenty years ago by Dante and Mary’s mother.
"Dante," I breathed, looking up at him. "This says your father's original company was a front. He was laundering money for the Marcello syndicate."
"My mother turned him in," Dante said, his voice numb. "That's why he went to prison when I was a kid. He didn't go down for tax evasion like the papers said. My mother gave the feds the ledgers in exchange for keeping the estate and protecting the children."
"But Julian..."
"Keep reading," Dante said, closing his eyes.
I scanned down to the third paragraph. The blood rushed in my ears.
...immunity is granted to the spouse, provided the minor child, Julian Caruso, born of the syndicate head, is raised without knowledge of his biological father.
Julian wasn't Dante's full brother. He was the son of the mob boss their father had been laundering money for.
"Julian doesn't know," Dante whispered. "He's spent his whole life thinking he's a Caruso, resentful that I got the CEO chair. But my mother couldn't give it to him. If the syndicate ever found out who he was, they'd use him to take back the company."
"And Celeste..." I trailed off, putting the pieces together. "Celeste didn't just want Julian for his cut of the estate. She found this out."
"Her family is bankrupt," Dante said, opening his eyes, a fierce, protective fire burning in them now. "She thought if she could get her hands on this document, she could sell Julian out to the syndicate, or blackmail him for the rest of his life."
Footsteps hurried down the hall. Mary appeared, dressed not in her uniform, but in a beautiful, simple navy dress I'd never seen her wear. She looked regal.
"Dante, the security gate called," Mary said, breathless. "Julian is at the front gate. And he brought Celeste with him."
Dante's jaw set. "Let them in."
I quickly dressed in my uniform, though I had a feeling my days as a maid were over, and followed Dante and Mary to the grand foyer.
The heavy oak doors swung open. Julian stormed in, looking bruised and manic. Celeste trailed behind him, looking smug and composed in a fresh designer coat.
"I'm not leaving, Dante," Julian sneered. "Celeste told me everything. You found the vault. You found the real will. And if you think I'm walking away with nothing while the cook gets half the company, you're insane. I'm contesting it in court."
"You don't want to go to court, Julian," Dante said, standing firmly in front of Mary.
"Watch me," Julian spat. "I'll drag the Caruso name through the mud. I'll tell the press our mother was a whore who gave her bastard away."
Dante didn't yell. He didn't swing. He simply reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the federal document.
"I don't care about the money, Julian," Dante said quietly. "Neither does Mary. But you need to read this."
He handed the paper to Julian.
Julian snatched it. As his eyes tracked across the page, the color drained from his face. His arrogance melted, replaced by a profound, earth-shattering horror.
"No," Julian whispered, backing away from the paper as if it were on fire. "No, dad is my dad. This is a fake."
"It's real," Dante said softly. "Mom protected you. We all did."
Julian looked at Celeste. "You knew?"
Celeste smiled thinly. "I knew you were a liability, Julian. And now that Dante has the proof, you're worthless to me."
Julian stared at her, the ultimate betrayal finally breaking him. He dropped the paper, turned, and walked out the front doors, a broken, lost man.
Celeste turned to Dante, smoothing her coat. "Well, Dante. It seems we have a lot to discuss about my silence."
May you like
Dante smiled. It was a cold, terrifying smile.
"We don't have anything to discuss, Celeste," Dante said. He pointed toward the driveway, where two black SUV's with federal plates had just pulled through the open gates. "I called the FBI an hour ago to report an extortion attempt."
