Chapter 5
Matteo had heard rumors of federal interest before.
Men in his position always did.
Subpoenas reached contractors.
Former associates became cooperative.
Agents asked questions.
But his criminal attorney had seen nothing suggesting an imminent indictment.
He called her immediately.
She confirmed it.
“No target letter. No invitation to surrender. Nothing suggesting December.”
“Could something exist that you don’t know about?”
“Of course.”
“Would my mother know before you?”
“That would be unusual.”
Unusual was not impossible.
But Helena had spoken with confidence.
Before Christmas.
Specific enough to scare Dominic.
Vague enough to avoid proof.
Matteo met Dominic again.
“Where did she get the information?”
“She said someone close to the investigation warned her.”
“Who?”
“She wouldn’t tell me.”
“And you believed her.”
Dominic laughed bitterly.
“She’s Helena Bellini. Half the judges in Chicago attended her charity dinners.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“I believed her because she showed me paperwork.”
“What paperwork?”
Dominic hesitated.
“A draft guardianship petition.”
Matteo stared at him.
Dominic explained.
Helena told him that if Matteo were detained suddenly, Ava could become vulnerable to an emergency placement battle.
She wanted Dominic prepared to petition for temporary guardianship immediately.
The document described Dominic as a consistent paternal figure already emotionally bonded to Ava.
Matteo’s anger sharpened.
“Already?”
Dominic looked ashamed.
“That’s why she wanted Ava comfortable calling me Dad.”
There it was.
The rehearsals had a practical purpose.
Not merely emotional manipulation.
They were building a future claim.
“Did you sign anything?”
“No.”
“Did you agree to become her guardian?”
Dominic took a breath.
“Yes.”
Matteo stood so quickly the chair moved backward.
Dominic did not flinch.
“I thought you were going to prison.”
“You thought that gave you permission to become my daughter’s father before I was even charged?”
“I thought somebody needed a plan.”
“You thought wrong.”
Dominic’s expression hardened slightly.
“You don’t plan for anything involving yourself, Matteo. Everyone else does.”
That landed because it was partly true.
Matteo handled threats.
He did not prepare for helplessness.
Helena had filled that gap.
Dominic continued.
“She said if we waited until you were arrested, strangers could decide where Ava went.”
“So you decided for me.”
“I agreed to protect her.”
“By teaching her I was going away?”
Dominic had no answer.
Matteo looked at him.
For the first time, he understood Dominic’s motive.
Fear.
Loyalty twisted into entitlement.
And the belief that family authority could substitute for a father’s consent.
May you like
It explained Dominic.
It did not explain Helena.
