Chapter 7 - A New Beginning
Three months later, Romano’s Diner was crowded again.
Daniel was recovering.
Claire had been elected manager of the newly formed tenant cooperative.
Northstar’s records had exposed twenty-seven fraudulent property transfers and sent several officials to prison.
Marco awaited trial.
Vincent sat in his usual booth drinking coffee.
Emily appeared beside him.
She placed something on the table.
A glass jar.
Vincent eyed it suspiciously.
“What are you buying now?”
“A dog.”
Vincent nodded.
“More affordable than real estate.”
“I have twelve dollars.”
“Strong opening position.”
Emily climbed into the opposite seat.
Then she leaned toward him.
“I have another question.”
Every man at Vincent’s table groaned.
Vincent sighed.
“What?”
Emily whispered dramatically:
“Are you still mafia?”
Vincent looked across the diner.
At Claire laughing behind the counter.
At Daniel walking carefully beside her.
At tenants who no longer feared losing their homes.
Then he looked at Emily.
“No.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“That sounds suspicious.”
“It probably does.”
“What are you now?”
Vincent took a slow sip of coffee.
He had spent his entire life believing men like him were defined by what they controlled.
Territory.
Money.
Fear.
But an eight-year-old girl with $47.83 had walked up to his table and asked him to use power for something entirely different.
So Vincent Romano smiled.
“A terrible real-estate investor.”
Emily grinned.
And beneath the table, she pushed the jar toward him.
“Good.”
“Why?”
“Because after the dog…”
Vincent closed his eyes.
“…Mom says our kitchen needs fixing.”
From behind the counter, Claire shouted:
“Emily!”
The diner erupted in laughter.
May you like
And Vincent realized that the most dangerous deal he had ever made had not begun with guns, threats, or millions of dollars.
It had begun with a little girl, a jar of coins, and forty-seven dollars and eighty-three cents worth of faith.
