Chapter 12 - GABRIEL'S REQUEST
Gabriel Russo had not predicted his death.
Not exactly.
He had predicted a fight.
Three days before the boating accident, Gabriel and Julia argued about what would happen if the pregnancy became complicated.
Julia's mother was already ill.
Gabriel's family had money.
Control came with it.
Gabriel wrote two letters.
One to Domenico.
One to Angelo.
Domenico never received his.
Angelo apparently did.
Julia had kept a photocopy.
She handed it over.
Gabriel wrote:
Dad, if Julia needs help and I am not there, help her. Do not take over. Those are not the same thing.
Domenico almost smiled despite himself.
That sounded exactly like Gabriel.
Then:
If the baby needs somewhere safe, Dom and Elena first. Temporary unless Julia says otherwise.
Marco closed his eyes.
Gabriel had chosen Domenico.
Before he died.
That mattered.
Then:
Send her pictures if she is ever separated from him. I know how this family handles people once they become inconvenient. Don't let my kid become a punishment for whoever you're mad at.
Angelo had failed part of that request.
Honored another.
Julia explained.
After adoption, Angelo contacted her attorney privately.
He said he would send photographs if Julia did not contact Marco directly before eighteen.
She accepted.
Why?
Because she had already signed consent.
Because she wanted the pictures.
Because fighting every condition meant losing everything.
Elena hated the arrangement when she discovered it.
Not because she wanted Julia erased completely.
Because Angelo had negotiated behind Domenico and Elena's backs.
“He was controlling both sides.”
Julia said.
Victor did not know.
Domenico did not know.
Elena eventually tolerated it.
Sometimes she provided photographs.
Sometimes a housekeeper did.
Sometimes Angelo's assistant took them from family albums.
That explained the different angles.
The photos stopped at fourteen because Angelo became ill.
Elena did not continue.
Why?
Her journal:
I told myself Julia had enough. Really, I was afraid Marco would recognize how similar their faces were if he ever saw correspondence.
Marco laughed bitterly.
“My entire childhood was adults terrified of my face.”
No one corrected him.
Then Domenico asked about Gabriel's accident.
“What did you mean he knew he might not be there?”
Julia looked uncomfortable.
“The lake.”
“What about it?”
Gabriel had been fighting with Angelo and Victor about a family marina property.
Not dangerous.
Business.
Gabriel wanted out of the family's resort division.
He planned to sell his interest.
The night before the accident, he told Julia:
“If the lake meeting goes badly, I'm leaving for good.”
He went boating the next morning with Victor.
A storm came in.
The boat struck submerged timber.
Gabriel went overboard.
Victor survived.
Gabriel's body was recovered two days later.
Investigation ruled accidental drowning.
No credible murder theory.
Julia never believed Victor killed him.
She said that explicitly.
Good.
But she kept Gabriel's second letter.
The one addressed to Domenico.
Unopened.
Domenico stared.
“You had a letter for me for thirty-three years?”
Julia's face hardened.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because after Gabriel died, your father told me you agreed with him.”
“About what?”
“That I should sign temporary guardianship immediately.”
“You did.”
“I know.”
“Then?”
“He said you also agreed that Gabriel's marina shares should revert to the family rather than pass into a trust involving the baby.”
Domenico froze.
“I never agreed to that.”
Julia stared.
“I know that now.”
Another old decision.
Another story somebody had spoken in Domenico's name.
Then she placed Gabriel's sealed envelope on the table.
Not yellowed as badly as Elena's.
Still intact.
DOM
Domenico stared at his brother's handwriting.
Marco looked at him.
“Do you want to open it?”
Domenico answered:
May you like
“Not without you.”
Progress.
