Chapter 18 - Friday
The new Romano Youth Center was supposed to open Friday morning.
Alessandro canceled the ceremony within minutes of leaving the jail.
The city inspector found the first problem before midnight: bolts missing from a second-floor railing. Then came improperly secured ceiling panels, disabled fire sensors, and temporary supports hidden behind finished walls.
Carlo’s preferred contractor had cut corners everywhere.
If Alessandro had missed the vote and the contract had gone through without scrutiny, hundreds of children would have entered a building that was not safe.
The poisoning had never been only about money or control.
It was about removing the one person who kept saying no.
Alessandro held a press conference Friday outside the closed center.
His advisers begged him to say as little as possible.
He ignored them.
“My family name is on this building,” he told the cameras. “That does not make it trustworthy. Inspection does.”
He announced an independent review of every project approved under Carlo and Enzo’s influence. He also admitted he had previously protected Carlo from public consequences.
A reporter shouted, “Are you admitting negligence?”
“I’m admitting I was wrong.”
It cost him exactly what his advisers warned it would cost: three board members resigned, donors suspended commitments, and the Romano name spent forty-eight hours being torn apart on television.
But the center stayed closed.
No child got hurt.
After the cameras left, Maria and Emma appeared across the street.
Alessandro walked over.
Emma held Rosie, now patched with bright red thread.
“You told everybody,” she said.
“I did.”
“Were you scared?”
“Yes.”
She considered that. “Good.”
He laughed. “Why good?”
“Because I was scared too.”
Maria gave him a tired smile.
Then a black SUV pulled to the curb.
Isabella stepped out under court supervision, accompanied by her attorney.
Emma moved behind her mother.
Alessandro’s body went rigid.
Isabella did not approach the child.
She looked at Alessandro from twenty feet away.
“I came to testify at the safety hearing,” she said. “Carlo told me what they hid in the building.”
Alessandro’s voice was cold. “You don’t get redemption because you finally tell the truth.”
“I know.”
Her eyes moved to Emma.
“I came because she did it before any of us.”
Then Isabella handed Grant a phone.
On the screen was one unsent video.
May you like
Carlo was speaking directly into the camera.
And behind him stood a city inspector Alessandro knew by name.
