Chapter 7 - THE RETURN OF GABRIEL FALCONE
Gabriel returned to Chicago six days later.
Not to reclaim his empire.
To surrender.
He entered the federal building wearing a dark suit, with Luca beside him and Sofia carrying the financial records.
I walked a few steps behind them.
My hands were trembling.
Gabriel noticed.
He stopped.
"Matilda."
I looked up.
"What if they arrest you?"
"They probably will."
"What if they never let you go?"
He took my hands.
"Then I'll face the consequences."
I swallowed.
"Are you afraid?"
"Yes."
The answer surprised me.
He gave a small smile.
"But I'm more afraid of becoming the man Carmine believes I am."
I squeezed his hands.
"Then keep choosing differently."
He kissed my forehead.
Then he walked through the doors.
The investigators questioned him for hours.
He provided names, account records, internal communications, and evidence linking senior members of his organization to illegal activity.
He admitted that he had knowingly benefited from criminal operations and had used intimidation to maintain control.
He did not ask for immunity.
He did not blame Carmine for every choice he had made.
By evening, prosecutors had enough information to issue warrants for Carmine and several of his associates.
But Carmine had disappeared.
His mansion was empty.
His phones were disconnected.
And the men who had once followed Gabriel were now divided between those who wanted to surrender and those who wanted to fight.
That night, I returned to the estate to collect my belongings.
The house felt different without Gabriel.
The marble floors gleamed beneath the chandeliers. The expensive paintings still hung on the walls. The servants moved quietly through the rooms.
But the fear had changed shape.
Some people were relieved.
Others were terrified.
A young housekeeper named Rosa approached me in the corridor.
"Miss Higgins?"
I turned.
"Yes?"
She glanced toward the stairs.
"Is it true? Is Mr. Falcone alive?"
I nodded.
She covered her mouth.
"Thank God."
I stared at her.
"You were worried about him?"
Rosa looked embarrassed.
"He paid for my father's surgery last year. He never told anyone."
I hadn't known that.
She lowered her voice.
"People say terrible things about him. Some of them are true. But he helped my family when nobody else would."
I touched her shoulder.
"People can be complicated."
She nodded.
Then she handed me a small envelope.
"I found this in his study. It has your name on it."
I opened it.
Inside was a letter in Gabriel's handwriting.
Matilda,
If you're reading this, I have either failed to return or finally learned that I cannot keep asking other people to pay for my mistakes.
You once told me that everyone around me was afraid because I had taught them to be afraid.
I have thought about those words every day.
I don't know what will happen to me. I may lose the businesses. I may lose my freedom. I may spend years answering for things I should have answered for long ago.
But I want you to know that the night you climbed onto that steel table, you gave me something I had not felt in years.
You made me want to live for a reason other than winning.
I won't ask you to wait for me. You owe me nothing.
But if I ever earn the right to stand beside you again, I hope you'll let me try.
Gabriel.
I pressed the letter against my chest.
Then I heard a noise downstairs.
A crash.
A shout.
I ran toward the foyer.
Two men were struggling with a security guard.
One of them turned.
Carmine.
He looked thinner than before, his face twisted with fury.
He held a pistol.
"Where is Gabriel?"
I froze.
"He's not here."
Carmine laughed.
"Of course he isn't. The great Gabriel Falcone is hiding behind lawyers and government agents."
He grabbed my arm.
"You're going to tell me where he is."
"I don't know."
He tightened his grip.
"You're lying."
"I haven't seen him since this morning."
Carmine pressed the gun against my side.
"Then you'll be useful as bait."
I felt my blood turn to ice.
He dragged me toward the rear corridor.
The security guard tried to intervene, but Carmine's accomplice struck him across the face.
I stumbled.
Carmine leaned close.
"You should have stayed a maid."
I looked at him.
"You should have stayed loyal."
His expression twisted.
He raised the gun.
Then a voice filled the foyer.
"Let her go."
Carmine froze.
Gabriel stood at the top of the stairs.
His face was pale, and his left hand rested against the railing. He was still recovering, still weaker than he wanted anyone to know.
But his eyes were steady.
Carmine smiled.
"There he is. The dead man."
Gabriel descended one step.
"Release her."
"You have no authority here anymore."
"You're right."
Gabriel stopped.
"I don't."
Carmine looked confused.
Gabriel continued.
"The accounts are frozen. The federal investigators have the records. Your men are being arrested. There's nothing left for you to inherit."
Carmine's smile vanished.
"You're bluffing."
"No."
Gabriel looked directly at him.
"I gave them everything."
For the first time, Carmine looked afraid.
Then he pulled me closer and raised the gun toward Gabriel.
"You're going to pay for that."
Gabriel didn't move.
Neither did I.
And from somewhere outside, I heard the unmistakable sound of sirens.
Carmine's eyes darted toward the windows.
Gabriel spoke softly.
"It's over."
Carmine's hand shook.
Then he made one final, desperate mistake.
He turned the gun toward me.
Gabriel lunged.
The shot rang through the foyer.
I screamed.
Gabriel fell against the banister.
Carmine ran toward the back door.
Federal agents stormed through the entrance seconds later.
They tackled Carmine before he reached the garden.
But I barely saw them.
I was on my knees beside Gabriel.
Blood spread across his shirt.
"No," I whispered. "No, no, no."
His eyes fluttered.
"Matilda?"
"I'm here."
He tried to smile.
"You're still bossy."
I sobbed.
"Don't you dare die on me again."
He lifted his hand to my cheek.
May you like
Then his eyes closed.
And for the second time in my life, I felt Gabriel Falcone slipping away.
