Chapter 6 - THE CONFESSION AT THE GATE
The handcuffs clicked shut around Gabriel's wrists.
Two federal agents hoisted him up by his arms.
He didn't fight them.
His eyes were dead, fixed entirely on me as they dragged him toward the balcony exit.
“You'll regret this, Claire,” he whispered hoarsely.
“When I get out—”
“You won't,” Agent Vance interrupted, shoving him forward.
“Federal RICO charges carry no parole, Moretti.”
I stood in the center of the ruined study, rubbing my bruised throat.
Nonna Antonella walked over and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“You were magnificent, my girl,” she murmured.
“It's not over yet, Nonna,” I replied, looking down at the scattered papers.
We walked downstairs together.
The twenty-six relatives had already fled, abandoning the untouched Sunday roast.
Outside the front gates, red and blue lights still pulsed against the wrought iron.
A commotion drew our attention toward the driveway.
Isabella Romano stood beside a sleek black Mercedes.
She had her designer suitcase packed.
She was shouting at a federal agent blocking her path.
“I am a witness! I demand immunity!” she shrieked.
Agent Vance walked over to her, crossing his arms.
“You're an accessory to corporate fraud and racketeering, Ms. Romano.”
Isabella paled.
She looked frantically toward the house as Nonna Antonella and I stepped out onto the porch.
“Claire!” Isabella cried out, rushing toward the steps.
“Claire, listen to me! I can help you!”
I stopped at the top of the stairs, looking down at the woman who had tried to steal my husband and my home.
“Help me do what, Isabella?” I asked coldly.
“Help you take everything Gabriel hid!” she blurted out.
She grabbed the iron railing, her mascara running from tears.
“He has millions stashed in offshore accounts in the Caymans! I have all the passwords!”
Agent Vance raised an eyebrow.
“Is that a formal statement?”
“Yes!” Isabella wept.
“And I'll give you his criminal contacts in the Chicago syndicate! Just get me out of this!”
Gabriel, who was being pushed into the back of an SUV, let out a furious roar.
“Traitor!” he yelled.
Isabella flinched, but she didn't care.
She looked at me with desperate, pleading eyes.
“I saved you, Claire. I gave you the proof!”
I walked down the steps, stopping just two feet away from her.
“You didn't save me, Isabella,” I said softly.
May you like
“You just betrayed the wrong monster.”
[CLIFFHANGER: Agent Vance arrests Isabella anyway, but hands Claire a sealed Manila envelope left behind in Gabriel's office containing a secret neither of them knew.]
