Chapter 11 - Dominic's Apology
Beatrice agreed to hear Dominic.
Not alone.
Not with Gabriel deciding the room.
A courthouse conference room.
Certified interpreter.
Attorney.
Victim advocate.
Gabriel waited outside.
Chloe waited with him.
He paced.
"You hate not being in there."
"Yes."
"Good."
He glared.
She smiled.
Inside, Dominic looked older.
Beatrice had not seen him since Il Canto.
He signed only one word himself.
SORRY.
Badly.
Then used the interpreter.
"I loved Salvatore."
Beatrice watched.
"I thought his plan was panic."
He believed the family would be destroyed if Gabriel walked away from the criminal side.
Competitors would seize territory.
Old enemies would test them.
Employees would scatter.
So Dominic told himself he was preserving stability.
Then Salvatore died.
Gabriel was grieving.
Dominic told him what he wanted to hear.
Your father chose you.
Your father trusted you.
Your father wanted you in the chair.
Each sentence contained just enough truth to carry the lie.
Beatrice signed:
And me?
Dominic looked down.
"You were a problem."
The interpreter's voice stayed neutral.
Good.
Beatrice signed:
A person.
Dominic closed his eyes.
"Yes."
He admitted choosing Peter.
Directing omissions.
Misrepresenting Beatrice's consent.
Using her deafness because it made challenging him difficult.
No excuse.
Then Beatrice asked:
Did you ever plan to tell Gabriel?
Dominic answered:
"No."
That honesty hurt more than apology.
Beatrice nodded.
Then signed:
I believe you are sorry now.
Dominic looked up.
She continued.
That does not make me responsible for making you feel better.
He started crying.
She did not comfort him.
Outside, Gabriel saw his mother emerge.
He stood.
She signed:
DONE.
He nodded.
No questions.
On the elevator, Beatrice took his hand.
Then signed:
HE LOVED YOUR FATHER.
Gabriel looked confused.
She added:
AND STILL DID THIS.
Gabriel understood the lesson.
Love did not certify behavior.
Family did not make access safe.
Loyalty did not make lies honorable.
Dominic received a prison sentence for the financial and forgery offenses.
Not for Salvatore's death.
There was no evidence he killed him.
Gabriel publicly corrected rumors that Dominic had murdered his father.
That cost him the easier version of events.
He did it anyway.
Then his own legal reckoning arrived.
Federal prosecutors charged Gabriel with financial crimes connected to illegal operations he had personally approved.
Not everything.
Specific counts.
He could fight.
He could cooperate.
He chose a negotiated plea on offenses his lawyers agreed the evidence supported.
Chloe read the news sitting in class.
Her stomach dropped.
She called him.
"Are you going to prison?"
"Maybe."
That answer was real.
"How long?"
"Don't know."
"Are you okay?"
"No."
Good.
Human.
He asked:
"Do you regret dinner?"
Chloe thought.
"No."
"Dating me?"
"Ask me after sentencing."
He laughed.
Then his voice broke.
Chloe listened.
Not as interpreter.
Not as rescuer.
As herself.
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