Chapter 26 - THE MAN WHO HAD ALREADY PAID ONCE
Dante went to Elias’s apartment with police.
Not bodyguards.
Police.
Elias opened the door before they knocked.
“I was expecting you.”
Inside was the old fuel can’s matching set.
Dante stared.
“You burned Pier 14.”
“Yes.”
Paolo looked devastated.
“Why?”
Elias sat.
“Because Celeste called me.”
Another connection.
Another person believing secrecy was efficient.
Celeste told Elias about the bodies.
About the dormant account.
About Gabriel’s proposed purchase.
She feared environmental excavation would expose the graves only after Gabriel owned the property, making him publicly associated with the discovery and the account.
Elias decided to force immediate investigation.
By burning the warehouse.
Gabriel stared.
“You burned my project to protect me?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel actually laughed.
“Are all of you insane?”
Nobody answered.
Correct answer was probably yes.
Elias had planted Paolo’s old fuel can deliberately.
That made everything worse.
“You framed my father.”
“I knew the print would force Paolo to reveal his history with the property.”
Paolo stepped forward.
Dante blocked him.
Not because Elias deserved protection.
Because violence would turn one wrong into another.
Elias continued.
“I knew Paolo had met me secretly. Once the police questioned him, everything would surface.”
Gabriel looked disgusted.
“You engineered everyone.”
“Yes.”
“You already went to prison for this kind of thing.”
“Yes.”
“And you did it again.”
Elias looked toward Dante.
“I changed some things.”
Dante’s voice was cold.
“Apparently not the important one.”
Elias had stopped stealing.
Stopped moving trust money.
Stopped profiting.
But he still believed he could choose other people’s fear for them.
Still believed good outcomes could justify manipulation.
The arson charge was real.
So was evidence tampering.
Elias surrendered.
No deal from Dante.
No family lawyer unless Elias hired one himself.
Before being taken away, Elias looked at Gabriel.
“I’m sorry.”
Gabriel asked:
“Would you do it again?”
Elias opened his mouth.
Stopped.
Then:
“I don't know.”
Gabriel nodded.
“That’s the first thing you've said I believe.”
The boatyard purchase was dead.
The property became a crime scene.
Gabriel's entire dream collapsed.
He stopped speaking to Paolo for two weeks.
Not because Paolo burned anything.
Because Paolo had hidden the meeting with Elias.
Paolo did not chase him.
Mara did not force reconciliation.
Alina did not give speeches.
Then Leo did.
“You're being mean to Paolo.”
Gabriel stared at him.
“You're nine.”
“Yes.”
“Go away.”
“No.”
Leo folded his arms.
“He's sad.”
“Adults survive sadness.”
Leo frowned.
“That sounds like Mommy.”
Alina shouted from the kitchen:
“I heard that!”
Gabriel almost smiled.
Then his phone rang.
Jonathan Renwick.
“I have a proposal.”
“No.”
“You haven't heard it.”
“Still no.”
“There's another boatyard.”
Gabriel paused.
Renwick Maritime owned an abandoned repair facility ten miles north.
Clean title.
No graves.
No hidden Rosselli history.
Jonathan wanted to donate it to the apprenticeship nonprofit.
Gabriel's suspicion hardened.
“Why?”
“Because my family helped destroy Pier 14.”
“Your company wants good publicity.”
“That too.”
Honest.
Gabriel asked:
“What do you get?”
“A tax deduction.”
“Anything else?”
Jonathan hesitated.
“Yes.”
“I knew it.”
“I want you to hire my son.”
Gabriel froze.
Jonathan’s son, Andrew Renwick, was nineteen.
And according to Jonathan—
May you like
he had been arrested the night before for stealing from Renwick Maritime.
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