Chapter 11 - The Name Hidden in the Moretti Family
Vale refused to say more.
His lawyer arrived.
Silence began.
Federal prosecutors took over.
Margaret was safe.
Emma spent the next morning beside her.
Daniel stayed nearby.
Not because Emma asked.
Because leaving felt impossible.
Margaret woke.
She recognized Daniel immediately.
"You."
He smiled faintly.
"Me."
"You look less angry."
Emma laughed.
"He isn't."
Margaret looked at Daniel's legs.
"Can you feel them?"
Daniel stopped.
"Some."
She smiled.
"Nathan said you would."
"Mercer?"
Margaret nodded.
"Good man."
Emma grabbed her mother's hand.
"Mom, who hired the shooter?"
Margaret's smile disappeared.
"What shooter?"
"The man who hurt Daniel."
Her eyes drifted.
Then fear.
"Anna."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
Margaret whispered:
"Anna said she could stop it."
"Who is Anna?"
Margaret began crying.
"Roses."
Then confusion returned.
Daniel looked at Michael.
Michael had gone pale.
"You know that name."
Michael nodded slowly.
"Our aunt."
Daniel stared.
"We don't have an aunt."
"Yes, we do."
Michael sat.
"Our father's sister. Anna Moretti."
"Dad said she died before I was born."
"That's what he told you."
"And you knew?"
"I heard the name once."
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Excellent family."
Luke began investigating.
Anna Moretti was alive.
Seventy-four.
Arizona.
No public connection to Moretti Holdings.
Until they found an old corporate record.
Vale Strategic's first incorporation attorney:
Anna Moretti.
Daniel stared.
"She helped build his company."
Michael nodded.
They flew to Arizona.
Emma came.
Daniel didn't ask her not to.
He'd learned.
Anna lived in a small desert house.
No guards.
No luxury.
She opened the door before they knocked.
Her eyes moved to Daniel.
"You look like your father."
Daniel said:
"Did you hire Anthony Voss?"
Anna closed her eyes.
"Come in."
She told them a story spanning forty years.
Vale had started small.
Fraud.
Political bribes.
Construction kickbacks.
Anna handled accounts.
Then he escalated.
She wanted out.
He threatened Daniel's father.
Then Michael.
Then everyone.
When Michael resurfaced two years ago, Vale planned to kill Daniel.
"Why?"
"Because he believed Michael had already contacted you."
"He hadn't."
"I know that now."
Daniel's voice hardened.
"Did you hire Voss?"
"I found him."
"Same thing."
Anna's eyes filled.
"I told him to miss."
Daniel stared.
"You told a sniper to miss."
"Vale had ordered a head shot."
Emma's face changed.
Anna continued:
"I paid Voss separately. I told him to wound you."
Daniel looked down at his legs.
"So this was your mercy?"
"No."
She cried.
"I told him shoulder. Arm. Anything survivable."
"What happened?"
"Vale doubled the money."
Daniel already knew.
"Voss chose the spine."
Anna nodded.
Silence.
Daniel wanted to hate her.
He did.
But hatred had become exhausting.
"Where is Voss?"
"Chicago."
Luke found him within two days.
Anthony Voss.
Alive.
Living under another name.
He surrendered surprisingly easily.
Age had softened nothing in his face.
Daniel watched the interrogation behind glass.
Voss admitted everything.
Vale.
Anna.
Route.
Shooting.
Then one detail.
"Luke didn't just give me the route."
Daniel turned.
Luke went still.
Voss continued:
"He told me not to kill Danny."
Luke's face changed.
Daniel stared.
"You did?"
Luke nodded.
"I knew Vale might break his promise."
"You tried to protect me?"
"After betraying you."
Daniel looked away.
Life rarely gave clean villains.
Voss was charged.
Vale's case became almost impossible to escape.
Anna agreed to testify.
The network began collapsing.
Doctors arrested.
Executives indicted.
Judges investigated.
Property seized.
Daniel should have felt victorious.
Instead, he felt tired.
One evening, Emma found him alone in the rehabilitation room.
He stood between bars.
"How long?"
"Six minutes."
"Reeves said three."
"Reeves is weak."
Emma smiled.
"You climbed stairs during a shootout. Now you think you're Superman."
"I never liked Superman."
"Obviously."
She stepped closer.
"What's wrong?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Vale's going to prison."
"Yes."
"Voss too."
"Yes."
"Michael is alive."
"Yes."
"Your mother is safe."
"For now."
"My legs are improving."
"Yes."
He exhaled.
"Why don't I feel better?"
Emma leaned against the bar.
"Because revenge doesn't give years back."
Daniel looked at her.
She continued.
"Winning isn't the same as healing."
"You're annoyingly wise for someone who stole steak."
"I rescued steak."
He smiled.
Then reached for her.
Emma stepped closer.
Daniel touched her cheek.
"Thank you."
She blinked.
"For?"
"Staying."
Her expression softened.
"You're welcome."
Daniel kissed her.
Not rushed.
Not dramatic.
A quiet kiss.
Then he pulled back.
Emma whispered:
"What was that?"
"I believe humans call it kissing."
"I know that."
"Then why ask?"
She laughed.
"I mean what are we doing?"
Daniel stared.
"I don't know."
"Good answer."
"I'm new."
"At relationships?"
"At healthy ones."
Emma smiled.
"Me too."
They kissed again.
Outside the room, Michael walked past.
Saw them.
Smiled.
May you like
And kept walking.
For the first time, Daniel didn't care who knew.
