Chapter 11
Dominic changed his plea strategy the next morning.
He agreed to cooperate fully.
Not for immunity.
Prosecutors had already made clear he would not receive it.
His role in concealing the Relief Trust fraud and helping create the circumstances around Vincent’s attempted murder carried consequences.
But he could still decide whether the truth stopped with him.
Dominic provided passwords.
Corporate records.
Names of accountants.
Copies of messages he had kept because part of him never trusted Helena’s explanation.
He admitted creating the temporary succession resolution.
He admitted giving Helena Vincent’s route.
He admitted ordering the funeral materials after Helena told him Vincent would not survive Monday.
The funeral portrait became one of the most damaging pieces of evidence against him.
Its timestamp proved preparation.
Dominic did not contest it.
Helena reacted differently.
She blamed Renner.
Then Dominic.
Then Kessler.
Then Vincent.
Her attorney eventually stopped letting her give interviews.
The junior engineer from the old construction project agreed to testify.
So did two injured workers who remembered safety complaints disappearing before the collapse.
The criminal investigation expanded.
Vincent watched without interfering.
That was harder than any violent response would have been.
He had spent decades solving problems through pressure.
Now the most important thing he could do was leave the evidence alone.
The Caradonna council did not understand the new version of him.
Several older capos left.
Vincent accepted their resignations.
One accused him of sacrificing Helena to outsiders.
Vincent answered, “She hired a man to kill me.”
The capo said, “She’s still family.”
Vincent looked at him.
May you like
“So were the widows whose money she stole.”
That ended the conversation.
