Chapter 9: The Years They Could Still Have
Six months later, Dominic sat beside Elena in Suffolk County Superior Court.
The four boys waited outside with Teresa and Malcolm.
Victor stood before the judge in a dark suit without his Moretti pin.
Sloane sat at the opposite table beside her attorney.
The prosecutor lifted the recovered ledger.
“Mr.
Moretti authorized illegal surveillance, forged a settlement, diverted company funds, and used explicit thr3ats to silence Ms.
Rossi.”
Victor looked at Dominic.
“Everything I did preserved your inheritance.”
Dominic rose when the judge permitted him to speak.
“You stole six years from four children.”
“I gave you an empire.”
“You gave me locked doors and called them protection.”
Victor’s attorney touched his sleeve, but Victor pulled away.
“When the companies collapse, remember that you chose sentiment over blood.”
Luca’s voice came from the open courtroom door.
“We are his blood.”
Teresa tried to guide the boys back, but the judge raised one hand.
Dominic walked to Luca.
“You were supposed to wait outside.”
“You were taking too long,” Matteo said.
A smile moved across the judge’s face before she addressed Victor.
“Under the accepted plea agreement, you are sentenced to seven years in state custody and ordered to repay $4.2 million diverted through fraudulent security contracts.”
Victor’s shoulders dropped.
The officers approached.
He looked once at the boys.
“You have no idea what your father surrendered for you.”
Dominic answered before Luca could.
“Nothing worth keeping.”
Victor was led through the side door.
Sloane stood next.
Her attorney confirmed her plea to stalking, evidence destruction, and conspiracy.
The judge imposed eighteen months in custody, three years of supervised release, and a permanent no-contact order protecting Elena and the boys.
Sloane turned toward Dominic before the officer took her arm.
“I did love you in my way.”
“You loved the place beside me.”
Her eyes filled, but her voice remained bitter.
“Elena will never forget that you stopped looking.”
Elena stood.
“No, I won’t.”
Sloane smiled faintly.
Elena continued, “And Dominic will never forget that fear kept me silent.
We are not building our future by pretending the past didn’t happen.”
Sloane’s smile disappeared.
“We are building it by refusing to let you own another day of it,” Elena said.
The officer led Sloane away.
She looked back at Owen.
“You betrayed your sister.”
Owen held the courtroom door open.
“I protected four children from her.”
Outside, Malcolm crouched to straighten Matteo’s bow tie.
“No tracker?” Matteo asked.
Malcolm checked beneath it with great seriousness.
“Only chocolate.”
Matteo gasped and wiped the spot.
His brothers laughed.
Teresa approached Elena with a small wooden box.
“These belonged to their grandfather.
I kept them after he d!ed.”
Inside were four silver medals, each engraved with a blank space for a name.
“I don’t expect forgiveness,” Teresa said.
“But if you permit it, I would like to know my grandsons.”
Elena looked at Dominic.
“The choice is theirs,” he said.
Luca studied Teresa.
“Do you know how to make pancakes?”
“Badly.”
“We can teach you,” Leo said.
Teresa covered her mouth.
Elena put an arm around her as the older woman began to cry.
One year later, Dominic stood in the restored Beacon Hill building where he and Elena had first argued about a wall.
Elena ran her fingers over the nineteenth-century woodwork.
“You finally admitted I was right,” she said.
“I preserved the wall.”
“After trying to remove it.”
“I’ve made worse decisions.”
The boys waited nearby, each holding a folded paper flower.
Dominic reached into his jacket, and Elena’s smile faded.
“If that is the same ring—”
“It isn’t.”
He opened a small box containing a simple gold band.
“No families waiting,” he said.
“No companies involved.
No bargain.”
Elena looked at their sons.
“Did you four know about this?”
Nico nodded.
Matteo shook his head at the same time.
“We’re not good at secrets,” Leo admitted.
Dominic took Elena’s hand.
“I cannot promise that our history will stop hurting,” he said.
“I can promise never to let silence make our choices again.
Elena Rossi, will you build the years we still have with me?”
Tears reached her smile.
“Yes.”
The boys cheered.
Matteo threw his paper flower too early, and it landed on Dominic’s shoulder.
Elena laughed as Dominic drew all five of them into his arms.
Luca looked up from the middle of the embrace.
“Does this mean we get one last name?”
“It means you may choose whichever name feels like home,” Dominic said.
Luca considered that carefully.
“Can home have two names?”
Elena kissed his forehead.
“The best homes can hold more than one.”
Dominic opened the preserved wooden door, and the boys raced through together.
Elena took his hand before following them.
Six years had been stolen, but when the door closed gently behind the family, not one more day was lost to fear.
Truth cannot return stolen years, but it can protect every year that remains.
May you like
Have you ever had to rebuild trust after a painful family secret?
Share your experience in the comments.
