Chapter 6
By morning, Bianca had filed her own story.
Through her attorney, she asserted that Dante had stormed into the home, attacked Luca without warning, frightened Theo, and then tried to take control of the child through intimidation. She described Theo as emotionally unstable and claimed that his allegations were coached.
The statement circulated among family acquaintances before any hearing. Dante's phone filled with messages asking whether he was still dangerous.
“Don't respond publicly,” Evelyn told him. “Not one word.”
“So she gets to call my grandson a liar?”
“We will respond where facts matter. And you did strike your son. We cannot pretend that part didn't happen.”
Dante looked at the bruise on his own knuckles. “I know.”
He did not sleep that night. In Chicago, his reputation had been built on never conceding weakness. Now the refusal to excuse a single punch might determine whether a judge trusted him near his grandson.
Hannah interviewed Luca separately. He admitted Bianca had put Theo outside on Christmas Eve but insisted it had lasted only seconds. When shown the access log indicating four minutes, he said he hadn't watched the clock. He denied knowledge of other incidents.
Rosa was also interviewed. She gave the original photograph, described the timer, and showed text messages from Bianca ordering her to leave early on the three relevant Tuesdays. One read: NO STAFF AFTER SIX. FAMILY TRAINING NIGHT.
The pattern was no longer based on one person's memory.
Dante's attorney hired a licensed forensic examiner to document the contractor-provided door records and preserve their metadata. They did not try to recover private indoor footage. The agency would decide what records to request, and investigators would seek legal process where needed.
Dante also discovered how quickly people could turn the story into entertainment. An acquaintance offered to leak photographs of the shattered trolley to make Bianca look unstable. Another proposed arranging a public interview with Rosa before investigators had finished speaking with her.
He refused both offers. Evelyn explained that public statements could contaminate witness memories, expose Theo's private medical information, and create avoidable disputes over motives. Dante had thought discretion was something powerful men bought to protect themselves. Now it meant leaving a vulnerable child's worst night out of strangers' mouths.
He told his office to forward any media inquiries without comment and instructed his remaining staff never to contact witnesses on his behalf. The instructions felt weak, almost passive, but they left the investigation where it belonged.
At a scheduled hearing, Dante sat at the back of the courtroom in a navy suit. Luca occupied a bench nearer the front. Bianca sat rigidly beside her lawyer, her hands folded over a pearl-colored purse.
The judge reviewed the emergency placement, the medical report, the agency's preliminary safety concerns, and the competing accounts. The judge authorized continuing protective supervision and temporary placement while the case progressed. There would be another review, not an instant custody award.
Evelyn explained afterward that the court was not declaring anyone guilty of a crime. Its immediate task was Theo's safety.
Bianca approached Dante in the corridor.
“You think you can buy your way into being his hero?” she whispered.
“No.”
“Your son begged you for help years ago. You told him to toughen up. Now you get to act righteous?”
The accusation landed because it was partly true. Dante had taught Luca that emotions made a man vulnerable. He had never imagined his son would use that lesson to excuse cruelty toward a child.
“You're right about what I taught him,” Dante said. “You're wrong if you think it excuses what happened.”
Bianca's smile thinned. “We will see who the court believes.”
Dante stepped away instead of answering with a threat.
Outside, Rosa waited with a folder. Inside were photographs of grocery lists, calendar notes, and a small receipt she had found in her own apron while packing after being fired.
“I paid for extra winter socks for Theo,” she said. “Bianca deducted the cost from my wages. I kept the receipt because I was angry.”
Evelyn examined the date. December 10, the day after one of the logged door incidents.
The socks had never appeared in Theo's dresser. Rosa had seen Bianca throw the unopened package into the white storage closet.
“It wasn't about teaching independence,” Rosa said. “She wanted him cold.”
Dante stared at the receipt's ordinary total: twelve dollars and forty-eight cents.
All the money in the mansion had not purchased that child a pair of socks when he needed them.
May you like
A call interrupted them. It was Theo's caseworker.
“Mr. Rinaldi,” she said, “we've reviewed the residential program referral. We need to ask your son about something he described as a consent form.”
