Chapter 10 - The Plane That Never Left
Nathan denied helping Nicholas.
Airport records proved otherwise.
Vale Crest’s corporate jet filed a flight plan to a country without a simple extradition process.
The passenger manifest listed Nathan, Victoria and two executives.
Nicholas’s name did not appear.
Security footage showed him entering the hangar through a service gate.
Nathan intended to move his mother, their financial records and the Moretti traitor out of the country before lenders seized the company.
Elena learned about the flight from a Vale Crest pilot.
He had seen news of the stolen employee funds.
His own retirement account was missing money.
He contacted Miriam.
Federal agents reached the runway before departure.
The plane never moved.
Nicholas was arrested carrying three passports and an encrypted drive.
Victoria was detained for violating court orders and suspected financial conspiracy.
Nathan was arrested for obstruction, false investor statements and attempted flight.
The encrypted drive contained records far beyond Vale Crest.
Nicholas had continued siphoning money from Moretti businesses while serving as Dante’s adviser.
He used Dante’s reputation to intimidate partners and protect side deals.
Some transactions funded the original attack.
Others funded later violence committed without Dante’s direct knowledge.
Dante’s legitimate empire and criminal organization were both compromised.
Federal prosecutors offered him a difficult choice.
Cooperate fully.
Surrender illegal operations.
Reveal records that could expose his own conduct.
Or protect the Moretti organization and weaken the case against Nicholas.
Dante met Elena inside Julian’s office.
“If I give them everything, I may lose the businesses.”
“Which businesses?”
“Some legitimate. Some not.”
“Did you hurt people?”
He did not lie.
“Yes.”
Elena absorbed the answer.
Not every rumor was false.
Dante had ordered intimidation.
Illegal collections.
Retaliation against rivals he believed responsible for their parents’ deaths.
Nicholas had manipulated that belief, but Dante had still chosen the actions.
“You want me to say Nicholas made you do it?” Elena asked.
“No.”
“Then what do you want?”
“To know whether finding you means anything if I lose the family I built.”
Elena looked at him.
“You didn’t find me so I could help you keep people afraid.”
The words struck harder than accusation.
Dante sat silently.
Elena continued.
“Our parents died because powerful men believed law was optional. Rosa lost twenty-two years to fear. I will not join a family that survives by repeating that.”
Dante looked toward the city.
Then he called the federal prosecutor.
“I’ll cooperate.”
That decision threatened his freedom.
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It also gave investigators the proof needed to charge Nicholas with the conspiracy that destroyed their family.
👉 Dante chose truth over the Moretti empire, while Nathan and Victoria began blaming each other for every crime hidden inside Vale Crest.
