Chapter 7
Renato asked for a private meeting.
Matteo refused.
Julia attended.
So did Renato’s attorney.
Elena chose not to.
“I’ve heard enough men explain why decisions about my life were reasonable,” she told Matteo.
He did not ask again.
Renato arrived without his capo pin.
The bruise from Matteo’s punch was fading.
Neither man mentioned it.
Matteo placed the seven months of support summaries between them.
“Why?”
Renato looked at Julia.
Then at his lawyer.
His attorney nodded once.
“We thought Elena was going to take Emma.”
Matteo felt his jaw tighten.
“Where?”
“Out of Illinois.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“No.”
“Then who did?”
“Lucille.”
Matteo leaned back.
Renato continued.
“She said Elena was talking about Oregon. New York. Anywhere away from the family.”
Elena had once discussed moving closer to her sister in Oregon.
Matteo knew that.
They had argued about it.
But no decision had been made.
Renato said Lucille became convinced Elena would eventually seek court permission to relocate Emma permanently.
“She said once Emma was gone, you would let it happen because you were tired of fighting Elena.”
Matteo stared at him.
“And your solution was to starve them?”
“That wasn’t the plan.”
“Emma was eating discarded bread.”
“I didn’t know it had gotten that bad.”
“You kicked it out of her hands.”
Renato looked away.
There was no defense for that.
He tried another path.
“The money wasn’t gone.”
Matteo went still.
“What?”
“Most of it still exists in services, retainers, deposits, contracts.”
“Services Elena never received.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Renato looked toward his attorney again.
Matteo waited.
Finally Renato said:
“Because Lucille needed the expenses documented.”
“For what?”
Silence.
Then Renato made another mistake.
“The hearing.”
Julia looked up immediately.
“What hearing?”
Renato’s lawyer interrupted.
“We’re done.”
Matteo stood.
Renato stood too.
“What hearing?” Matteo repeated.
His cousin would not answer.
But he no longer needed to.
May you like
There was no hearing scheduled.
Which meant Renato had been preparing for one that had not happened yet.
