Chapter 9 - Victor Carbone’s Last Move
Victor Carbone had six weeks to live.
That was what his doctors estimated.
He intended to spend them winning.
Federal investigators found him in a private hospital under another name.
Before they could execute the warrant, Victor disappeared.
Again.
Adrian received the news during breakfast.
Evelyn watched his face change.
Old instincts.
Cold eyes.
Planning.
Violence.
Then Adrian looked at Noelle sleeping against Evelyn’s shoulder.
He picked up his phone.
“Call the investigators.”
Marcus blinked.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You don’t want our people searching?”
“No.”
Evelyn noticed Marcus smile.
“What?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Nothing.”
Adrian glared.
“Say it.”
“You’re becoming boring.”
“Good.”
But Victor did not need Adrian to search.
He came to Adrian.
Two days later, a package arrived.
Inside was an old photograph.
Adrian at age eight.
His father beside him.
Victor Carbone in the background.
On the back:
ASK YOUR MOTHER WHO REALLY STARTED THE WAR.
Adrian stared.
Victoria Moretti came to the townhouse that afternoon.
She saw the photograph and sat down immediately.
“I hoped he was dead.”
“Who?”
“Victor.”
“What happened?”
Victoria looked toward Evelyn.
“This is family business.”
Adrian’s voice hardened.
“Evelyn is my family.”
Victoria hesitated.
Then told them.
Thirty years earlier, Adrian’s father, Lorenzo Moretti, and Victor had been partners.
Not rivals.
Together they built early real-estate operations.
Then Lorenzo discovered Victor was laundering money through properties involving dangerous criminal networks.
He attempted to separate.
Victor refused.
A war followed.
Businesses burned.
Men disappeared.
Families were threatened.
Lorenzo eventually forced Victor out of Chicago.
“But he never left,” Victoria whispered.
“He waited.”
“For me?”
“For inheritance.”
Adrian frowned.
Victoria looked at Noelle.
“Victor believes Moretti belongs partly to him.”
Evelyn’s stomach tightened.
“That’s why he wants the trust.”
“Yes.”
Adrian stood.
“No.”
Victoria looked up.
“No what?”
“There is no Moretti empire to inherit.”
“What?”
“I’m selling the remaining private holdings.”
Victoria stared.
“You cannot.”
“I can.”
“Those companies belong to generations.”
“They belong legally to me.”
Her face tightened.
“You would destroy your father’s legacy?”
Adrian looked toward Evelyn.
Then Noelle.
“No.”
He smiled faintly.
“I’m choosing mine.”
The legitimate businesses would remain.
Employees protected.
Pensions funded.
But the concentrated family structure Victor wanted would disappear.
Ownership would be diversified.
Trusts independently managed.
No single Moretti heir would ever control everything again.
Victor’s thirty-year war would end because there would be no throne left to capture.
Victoria began crying.
Adrian had rarely seen his mother cry.
“You don’t understand what your father sacrificed.”
“I understand too well.”
She left without saying goodbye.
That night, Adrian received a phone call.
Victor.
“You disappoint me.”
Adrian sat on the back porch.
“I’ll survive.”
“You gave away your birthright.”
“No.”
“I removed the price from my daughter’s head.”
Victor laughed weakly.
“You think this ends because you signed paperwork?”
“Yes.”
“You’re still Adrian Moretti.”
“For now.”
Victor went quiet.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m considering changing Noelle’s surname.”
Victor laughed.
“You wouldn’t.”
Adrian smiled.
“Apparently I’ve become unpredictable.”
The line disconnected.
Evelyn had heard everything from the doorway.
“You’d change her name?”
“If you wanted.”
“Adrian.”
“What?”
“I’m not asking you to erase who you are.”
“I know.”
“You’re allowed to keep good things from your family.”
He looked down.
“I’m still figuring out what those are.”
Evelyn sat beside him.
“Your grandmother’s lasagna recipe.”
“That is definitely staying.”
“Your father’s habit of paying employees during layoffs.”
Adrian nodded.
“Your mother’s Christmas charity drive.”
“She would hate you calling that a good thing right now.”
“I’ll survive.”
Adrian smiled.
Evelyn leaned against his shoulder.
“You don’t need to destroy everything.”
“What do I do?”
“Choose.”
He looked at her.
“That’s harder.”
“Yes.”
For a man raised to conquer or eliminate, choosing carefully might be the hardest thing Adrian Moretti ever learned.
The following morning, Victor Carbone was found unconscious in a motel outside Milwaukee.
He had suffered a medical crisis.
Federal agents arrested him at the hospital.
He would never leave custody.
The war ended without Adrian firing a shot.
When Marcus delivered the news, Adrian simply nodded.
“That’s it?”
Marcus asked.
Adrian looked toward the kitchen, where Evelyn was dancing badly with Noelle.
“Yes.”
Marcus smiled.
“You really are boring.”
Adrian watched his wife.
His daughter.
His ordinary kitchen.
May you like
Then smiled.
“I’ve never been happier.”
