Chapter 14
Rocco went to prison when Matteo was thirteen months old.
Old enough to recognize his voice.
Too young to understand absence.
Adeline did not promise daily calls.
She promised honesty appropriate to age.
When Matteo later asked where his father was, she said:
“Dad is in prison because he broke serious laws before you were born.”
Not:
Because Aunt Seraphine framed him.
Not:
Because he protected us.
Not:
Because the government hates men like him.
The truth was simpler and harder.
Rocco had broken serious laws.
He also loved his son.
Both could be true.
Adeline remained in the Bellandi house for a while, then moved to a smaller home purchased with her own funds and court-approved trust support for Matteo.
No family soldiers as drivers.
No cousins at the gates.
No inheritance dinners.
The corporate trustee managed Matteo’s assets.
Adeline managed bedtime.
That division worked.
The legitimate Bellandi companies stabilized under independent management.
Smaller.
Cleaner.
Less glamorous.
More boring.
Adeline liked boring.
Rocco called from prison twice a week.
He learned not to give orders through affection.
No “Tell your mother.”
No “When I get home.”
No “My son will inherit.”
He said:
“How was preschool?”
May you like
And listened.
That was new.
