Chapter 10 - The Sentences of Two Brothers
Lucas’s sentencing came first.
Victims of the Valentasi organization filled the courtroom.
A restaurant owner described paying protection money for twelve years.
A dockworker described being beaten after reporting stolen cargo.
A widow described how her husband disappeared after refusing to transport weapons.
Lucas listened without looking away.
When allowed to speak, he did not describe his childhood or Salvatore’s influence first.
“I made decisions that harmed people.”
“I believed maintaining order justified fear.”
“I believed refusing greater violence made my lesser violence acceptable.”
“It did not.”
The judge credited his cooperation but emphasized the years before it.
Lucas received thirteen years.
He would become eligible for supervised release after ten.
Michael received six years.
His secret cooperation and injuries reduced the sentence.
The judge still described his conduct as serious.
“You chose criminal loyalty before choosing truth.”
“Your later assistance saved lives.”
“It does not restore the lives harmed earlier.”
Michael accepted the sentence.
He looked toward Hannah after the hearing.
He did not ask her to wait.
That absence mattered more than any promise.
Marco received limited immunity for his work with Michael but pleaded guilty to unrelated assault and surveillance charges.
Gabriel received ten years after cooperating.
Kodra received thirty-four.
Dozens of officers, judges, and port employees were convicted separately.
The Valentasi criminal organization collapsed.
Its legitimate properties entered federal receivership.
Many employees feared losing their livelihoods.
Lucas proposed that restaurants, apartment buildings, and transport companies become employee-owned cooperatives.
Seized illegal assets funded restitution.
The Rosewood Diner occupied a Valentasi-owned building.
The federal receiver offered the property to the diner workers at a symbolic price.
Hannah and Kayla signed the deed together.
Kayla held the papers against her chest.
“We own the building.”
“Yes.”
“Does this mean I can finally replace the coffee machine?”
“No.”
“You have become corrupted by property.”
Hannah laughed.
The diner did not become a Valentasi memorial.
It remained Rosewood.
The bullet hole beneath the counter was covered with a metal plate.
Table 6 stayed near the window.
May you like
Life continued in ordinary ways.
That was its own victory.
