Chapter 10 - WHAT HAPPENED TO LEOGabriel did not kill Leo Rinaldi.
Everyone expected him to.
Leo expected it too.
That became useful.
While Leo prepared for a war, Gabriel used something far more damaging.
Records.
Leo had been stealing from his own father’s accounts for years.
Skimming union payments.
Hiding money from partners.
Using company funds to cover gambling losses.
Vincent had evidence.
Gabriel sent copies to every senior partner Leo depended on.
Then to a federal attorney already investigating corruption around the transit contracts.
Within forty-eight hours, Leo had lost financial support.
Within a week, two of his own lieutenants agreed to cooperate with investigators.
Within a month, Leo Rinaldi was arrested.
Norah learned about it from the newspaper.
She called Gabriel for the first time since moving.
“You gave evidence to federal investigators?”
“Yes.”
“I thought people like you hated federal investigators.”
“I dislike Leo more.”
“That isn’t why.”
Silence.
Norah smiled despite herself.
“Why didn’t you kill him?”
Gabriel’s answer came slowly.
“Because I realized I had been teaching everyone around me that violence was the fastest way to restore control.”
Norah said nothing.
“That was exactly what Ray believed.”
The comparison clearly disgusted him.
“And Leo.”
“Yes.”
“And you didn’t want to be like them.”
“No.”
She leaned against the window of her new apartment.
“What happened to the attackers?”
“Two survived.”
She closed her eyes.
She hadn’t known.
“One died?”
“Yes.”
Gabriel’s voice changed.
“I wish that night had ended differently.”
Norah had never heard him express regret about violence.
Not once.
“What happens now?”
“Leo’s organization fractures.”
“And you?”
“I’m removing myself from the transit contracts.”
“Because they’re illegal?”
“Because I’m tired.”
Norah laughed softly.
“Honest answer.”
“The legal answer is also yes.”
That surprised another laugh from her.
They spoke for forty minutes.
Nothing romantic happened.
Nothing dramatic.
When the call ended, Norah realized she missed him.
Not the mansion.
Not the protection.
Him.
That distinction mattered.
The following week, Norah started work at a small hotel-management company.
Administrative operations.
Better pay than housekeeping.
Health insurance.
No armed guards.
No men calling her untouchable.
She loved it.
Mostly.
But whenever someone brewed dark roast coffee, she remembered a silent dining room.
May you like
A spilled silver tray.
And a man who noticed pain she had worked very hard to hide.
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