Chapter 18 - Evelyn’s Choice
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Morning arrived without anyone noticing.
By 5:00 a.m., statements had been taken.
Marcella was no longer allowed access to corporate systems.
Thomas had surrendered his credentials.
Dr. Cole had retained counsel.
Rebecca Sloan had agreed to cooperate.
Owen Carter’s role was under investigation.
The banquet room looked exhausted.
So did the people.
Evelyn did not.
She sat in her old chair.
The chair that started everything.
Its upholstery had been cut.
The hidden compartment hung open.
But she sat in it anyway.
Dominic brought her coffee.
“You should sleep.”
“So should you.”
“I’m younger.”
“Barely.”
He sat beside her.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Dominic asked the question he had avoided.
“Who are you going to name?”
Evelyn took a sip.
“I don’t know.”
He nodded.
No argument.
No disappointment.
That surprised her.
“You’re not going to campaign?”
“No.”
“Your father would.”
“I’m not Dad.”
She smiled.
“No. You’re not.”
Dominic looked toward the windows.
“I spent half my life thinking the family name belonged to him.”
“It belonged to all of us.”
“He was the legend.”
“He enjoyed being the legend.”
She smiled.
“You enjoy it too.”
Dominic almost objected.
Then shrugged.
“A little.”
Evelyn became serious.
“Marcella wasn’t wrong about everything.”
Dominic looked at her.
“She was wrong about how she handled everything.”
“That’s a large category.”
“It is.”
Evelyn touched his hand.
“But this family did become too centered around one man.”
Dominic understood.
“You.”
She laughed.
“You really are your father’s son.”
Then she pointed at him.
“You.”
His smile faded.
“People became afraid to disagree with you.”
“They disagree constantly.”
“Behind closed doors.”
Dominic said nothing.
“You protect people,” Evelyn continued. “But sometimes protection becomes control.”
That one landed.
He thought about Julian.
His brother who had never wanted the throne everyone assumed he envied.
He thought about Evelyn spending decades quietly owning an empire everyone credited to a man.
He thought about Marcella allowing jealousy to turn into entitlement.
“What do you want?” Dominic asked.
Evelyn looked around the room.
“I want the family business governed like a business.”
“Meaning?”
“Independent directors.”
Dominic groaned.
She ignored him.
“Outside audits.”
“Ma.”
“No intimidation.”
“I don’t intimidate auditors.”
“You intimidate furniture.”
He looked at the broken chair.
“That furniture started it.”
She laughed.
Then her eyes softened.
“And I want the controlling shares placed in a trust.”
Dominic waited.
“Who’s trustee?”
“You.”
He looked at her.
“But not alone.”
She named Harold.
Then a retired federal judge who had once advised the family foundation.
Then Evelyn herself for as long as she wished to serve.
Dominic stared.
“You’re limiting me.”
“Absolutely.”
A slow smile appeared on his face.
“Good.”
That answer brought tears to Evelyn’s eyes.
For the first time in years, she looked at her oldest son and saw not his father.
Not a successor.
Not a feared family name.
Just Dominic.
Then Detective Whitmore entered.
“Mrs. Vercetti?”
“Yes?”
“We need you downstairs.”
Evelyn’s smile disappeared.
“Why?”
Whitmore looked toward Marcella’s empty seat.
“Because she’s asking to speak with you before she’s taken away.”
May you like
👉 Marcella had lost the company, the merger, her allies, and her leverage — but before leaving the estate, she wanted one final conversation with the woman she had tried to erase.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
