Chapter 14 - The Last Night of the Moretti Name
Luca recognized them.
Not Dominic’s men.
His own.
Or former own.
Men who believed his cooperation with federal authorities was betrayal.
Enzo looked through the broken window.
"Sal DeMarco."
Luca sighed.
"Of course."
"Who?" Isabella asked.
"My father’s cousin."
"How many relatives do you people have?"
"Too many."
Sal entered alone.
Sixty.
Heavyset.
Beautiful coat.
Old-fashioned manners.
"Elena."
He nodded.
She stared.
"You knew I was alive."
"No."
"Would you have cared?"
Sal looked genuinely hurt.
"Of course."
Luca stepped between them.
"What do you want?"
"You know."
"No."
"Then I’ll say it."
Sal removed his gloves.
"You withdraw cooperation. You keep your mouth shut. We handle Dominic internally."
"Dominic is in federal custody."
"Not forever."
"Yes."
Sal looked around Bellaforte.
"This place turned you soft."
"No."
Luca glanced at Isabella.
"It made me tired of being stupid."
Sal’s mouth tightened.
"You think you can dissolve a family?"
"I can dissolve my part."
"Men rely on you."
"Then they should find honest work."
Enzo coughed to hide a laugh.
Sal did not appreciate it.
"You were born to lead."
"Apparently I wasn’t even born a Moretti."
That landed.
Some men outside looked at one another.
Sal stared.
"What?"
Luca almost smiled.
"My mother kept more secrets than your intelligence network."
"Luca."
"No."
His voice changed.
Command returned.
The old Luca.
But aimed differently.
"I am done."
Silence.
Sal stepped closer.
"You walk away, someone replaces you."
"That is their choice."
"You testify, people go to prison."
"They made choices too."
"And you?"
"I go where mine take me."
Sal studied him.
Then looked toward Isabella.
"This because of her?"
Isabella rolled her eyes.
"Please do not make me responsible for a forty-eight-year-old man developing a conscience."
Rosa laughed loudly.
Even Elena smiled.
Sal looked offended by the entire room.
Luca said, "It’s because I finally learned family is not the same thing as obedience."
Sal’s hand moved inside his coat.
Agents outside stepped forward.
Luca did not flinch.
Sal removed an envelope.
Not a weapon.
He set it on table six.
"My resignation."
Luca blinked.
"What?"
Sal looked exhausted.
"You think you’re the only one tired?"
Behind him, two older men laughed.
Tension broke.
Not completely.
But enough.
Sal turned.
"I want no part of your testimony."
"Fine."
"I also want no part of Dominic."
"Better."
"And the card room in Queens is closing."
Luca raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"My wife found the books."
Enzo burst out laughing.
Sal glared.
"Tell anyone and I shoot you."
"Noted."
One by one, men who had built lives around Luca’s name began choosing.
Some left angry.
Some left relieved.
Some would undoubtedly continue elsewhere.
Luca did not pretend he had ended organized crime.
He had only ended his role.
That was enough for one night.
Two weeks later, Dominic was indicted on kidnapping, conspiracy, witness tampering, attempted murder, and decades of financial crimes.
Frank Caruso cooperated.
Anthony Russo cooperated too.
Neither escaped consequences.
Daniel provided the original context for the tape and other records.
The Romano property case moved quickly because Rebecca Grant was terrifying in court.
Bellaforte was returned to the new family trust.
Isabella rehired every employee.
Except herself.
"I quit."
Rosa nearly dropped a tray.
"What do you mean you quit?"
"I own part of the building now."
"So?"
"So I’m not waiting tables."
"You’re good at it."
"I’m opening the restaurant."
"You know nothing about management."
"I know everything about this restaurant."
"Fair."
They renamed it.
Not Romano.
Not Moretti.
Sofia’s Table.
Isabella cried when the new sign arrived.
Daniel cried harder.
Their relationship remained complicated.
He moved into a nearby apartment.
He did not demand a place in her life.
He earned one slowly.
Coffee.
Repairs.
Stories about Sofia.
Apologies without excuses.
Elena moved in with Rosa.
That lasted nine days.
Then both sisters declared the arrangement impossible.
Elena rented the house next door.
They still ate every meal together.
Luca prepared for sentencing.
On the night before his plea hearing, he met Isabella at Sofia’s Table.
The restaurant was empty.
Only table six remained set.
She found him there.
"Why table six?"
"Sentimental punishment."
She sat across from him.
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow."
"You could still fight."
"I could."
"But?"
"I don’t want another lie."
She looked at his bruised hands, nearly healed.
"Do you regret meeting me?"
"No."
"Even with prison?"
"Especially because of prison."
She frowned.
"That is a terrible line."
"I rehearsed it."
"Ask for your money back."
He laughed.
Then became serious.
"I don’t know what happens after."
"I do."
"You do?"
"You serve whatever sentence you receive."
"Practical."
"I run the restaurant."
"Obviously."
"Your mother annoys my grandmother."
"Mutually."
"Daniel keeps trying."
"Good."
"And when you come home, you decide who you are without table six."
He looked at her.
"You make that sound easy."
"It won’t be."
"Would you be here?"
She knew what he meant.
"Maybe."
He nodded.
Not asking for promises.
That was new too.
The next morning, Luca pleaded guilty.
He accepted responsibility.
No dramatic speech.
No excuses.
The judge sentenced him to thirty months, reduced for extensive cooperation and evidence that dismantled several long-running operations.
Elena wept.
Rosa complained that thirty months was "ridiculous but survivable."
Isabella watched Luca turn before marshals took him away.
He looked at her.
She lifted one hand.
He smiled.
Then he disappeared through the side door.
That evening, Sofia’s Table opened for the first time.
Every seat filled.
Table six remained empty.
At closing, Isabella found an envelope beneath the wineglass.
No one had seen who left it.
Her name was written across the front.
Inside was one line.
You think this is over because Luca went away.
Below it was an address.
And a date.
Tomorrow.
Isabella looked through the restaurant window.
A woman stood across the street.
May you like
Watching her.
The woman had Sofia’s face.
