Chapter 8 - The Man Who Tried to Take Everything
Gregory Kane had one goal.
Control.
He had helped Adrian manipulate the justice system.
He had planted evidence.
He had paid witnesses.
He had delayed arrests.
And now that Adrian was trapped, Kane intended to claim everything himself.
He summoned Dante to a private meeting.
Dante went.
Without telling me.
I was furious.
“You promised no more secrets.”
“I knew you’d come after me.”
“You were right.”
He sighed.
“Kane wants a trade.”
“For what?”
“My life.”
I stared.
“What?”
“He wants me to accept responsibility for the old Moretti organization.”
“If you do, you go to prison.”
“I know.”
I stepped closer.
“No.”
“Emma.”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I can protect you this way.”
“You don’t get to sacrifice yourself and call it protection.”
“I have done terrible things.”
“But you are not going to take the blame for crimes you didn’t commit.”
He looked exhausted.
“Then what do we do?”
I smiled.
“What we always do.”
“What?”
“We let them think they won.”
The plan was simple.
Dante would publicly agree to Kane’s terms.
I would privately deliver the real evidence to federal investigators.
Miriam would release copies to multiple media outlets.
Kane would believe he had buried the case.
Then the trap would close.
It worked.
Kane arrived at the courthouse surrounded by cameras.
He announced that Dante had agreed to cooperate.
Reporters exploded with questions.
Then Miriam walked into the building.
“Before anyone reports that story,” she said, “there is something you should see.”
The evidence appeared on screens.
Payments.
Calls.
Messages.
Bank transfers.
Kane’s name.
His voice.
His instructions.
Everything.
He ran.
Federal agents caught him before he reached the parking lot.
For a moment, I thought it was over.
Then someone fired.
Dante turned.
I heard a scream.
He collapsed.
I ran to him.
“Dante!”
Blood stained his shirt.
He looked at me.
“Go.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Emma.”
“No.”
His hand found mine.
“I love you.”
“Don’t say that like goodbye.”
His eyes closed.
Emergency responders arrived.
He survived surgery.
Again.
When he finally woke, I was beside him.
He looked at me.
“You stayed.”
“Always.”
He smiled weakly.
“Even after everything?”
I leaned down.
“Especially after everything.”
He squeezed my hand.
“Then I’m never giving you a reason to leave again.”
The investigation concluded within weeks.
Kane was convicted.
Adrian received a lengthy prison sentence.
The old network collapsed.
And for the first time, Dante became legally free from the world that had defined his name.
The Moretti empire no longer existed.
There was only a legitimate business.
A foundation.
A family.
A future.
Dante later told reporters,
“My wife saved my life.”
I corrected him.
“No. He saved mine first.”
The headline the next day read:
THE WOMAN WHO LEFT THE MAFIA BOSS IS NOW THE REASON HE CHANGED EVERYTHING.
I laughed when I saw it.
Dante kissed my forehead.
“They never get the story right.”
“What’s the right version?”
“That I was a fool.”
I smiled.
May you like
“And?”
“And you were the smartest woman I ever met.”
