Chapter 10
Marcus came back after four months.
Not to work.
To speak.
He looked different without the capo pin.
Same suit.
Less certainty.
“I told my men.”
I waited.
“About what?”
“The winter route.”
The failure he had hidden.
The men he claimed he protected with the Vale bargain.
He told them he ignored my instructions.
Created the situation.
Then traded information later to keep the mistake from destroying his standing.
“What happened?”
“One punched me.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“Then?”
“We talked.”
Miracle.
Most stayed loyal to him personally.
Not because he hid the failure.
Because he finally owned it.
That irony was not lost on him.
“I almost risked children to protect something I could have survived losing.”
“Yes.”
He looked toward the window.
“Status.”
“Pride.”
“Same thing some days.”
Fair.
Then he asked about Lucy.
“She’s eating normally.”
His face tightened.
“Does she talk about me?”
“Sometimes.”
“What does she say?”
I almost refused.
Then gave him one sentence.
“Uncle Marcus took the bad map.”
He closed his eyes.
No animal.
No monster.
Just fact.
He asked again:
“Can I apologize?”
“Not yet.”
He nodded.
Better than last time.
No argument.
Then:
“What do I have to do to come back?”
“Wrong question again.”
He almost smiled.
“I know.”
Good.
“What should I do?”
“Build a life where returning is not the only proof you matter.”
That irritated him.
Useful.
Marcus had spent his entire adult life inside Bellafonte.
Capo pin.
Meetings.
Cars.
Men waiting for orders.
Without that, he did not know what remained.
He eventually started managing a construction business owned by one of his old friends.
No family title.
No political leverage.
For the first time, mistakes cost money instead of mythology.
Healthy.
Months later Rafe told me Marcus was good at it.
I pretended not to care.
May you like
I did.
Family is inconvenient.
