Chapter 15 - The Public MonsterBy afternoon, Gabriel Romano stood before more cameras than had ever gathered outside his estate.
Reporters crowded beyond the gates. Satellite vans lined the road. Helicopters circled over the frozen lake. Every outlet wanted the same picture: the alleged mafia boss exposed as a monster.
Gabriel gave them something else.
He walked out the front door holding Sofia’s hand.
Evelyn followed three steps behind with Titan at her side, though she had argued against being visible. Gabriel had listened, then asked Sofia what she wanted.
Sofia wanted Titan.
Titan wanted Evelyn.
So Evelyn ended up in front of every camera in Wisconsin with a bandaged hand, borrowed coat, bruised knee, and the expression of a woman one bad headline away from biting someone.
Detective Harris stood nearby, not smiling.
Gabriel approached the microphones.
The reporters shouted at once.
“Did you hide the child?”
“Are you under investigation?”
“Is the maid your employee or accomplice?”
“What is your relationship with Vanessa Sterling?”
“Are there more children?”
At that question, Sofia’s fingers tightened around his.
Gabriel waited.
He did not raise his voice.
He did not need to.
“Twelve years ago,” he began, “my sister Lucia Romano was declared dead after a car accident. Her infant daughter, Sofia, was declared dead with her. Last night, Sofia was found alive inside a sealed wing of my home.”
The shouting doubled.
Gabriel continued.
“I did not know she was there. That does not absolve me of failing to find her.”
The reporters quieted.
Evelyn looked at him.
That sentence cost him. She could hear it.
“Evidence recovered from my property indicates that Vanessa Sterling, Victor Sloane, Calvin Pike, Martin Kell, and others used my family’s grief, my name, and my property to commit crimes against children and families. I am cooperating with Detective Harris and every legitimate agency willing to find the victims.”
A reporter shouted, “Legitimate?”
Detective Harris stepped forward. “Because part of this investigation involves possible corruption within law enforcement. Until further notice, evidence is being transferred under multi-agency supervision.”
Another reporter pointed at Evelyn. “Who is she?”
Gabriel turned slightly.
Evelyn’s stomach dropped.
Do not make me part of this, she thought.
But Sofia answered first.
“She saved Titan.”
The cameras shifted.
“And me,” Sofia added.
Evelyn closed her eyes briefly.
So much for staying invisible.
A woman reporter called out, “Ms. Hart, did you know about the hidden child?”
Evelyn stepped to the microphone before fear could talk her out of it.
“No.”
“Were you romantically involved with Mr. Romano?”
Gabriel’s face darkened.
Evelyn leaned closer to the microphone. “I had worked here seven days. During that time, I broke a dessert cart, accidentally bathed his dog, and was shot at through a cottage window. So no, romance was not the schedule.”
For one stunned beat, even Detective Harris looked amused.
The clip would later go viral.
Vanessa’s supporters would call Evelyn vulgar.
Millions of strangers would call her honest.
But in that moment, Evelyn only cared that Sofia laughed.
A small laugh.
Her first.
Then a black sedan forced its way through the press line.
Officers moved immediately, but the rear door opened before they reached it.
An older man stepped out in an expensive gray overcoat.
Evelyn knew him before anyone said his name.
Martin Kell.
The man who had ruined her life smiled as if arriving at a friendly negotiation.
“Evelyn,” he called. “You look well for a dead witness.”
Gabriel’s body shifted in front of her.
Titan’s growl vibrated through the snow.
Kell raised both hands, enjoying the cameras. “Relax. I came peacefully.”
Detective Harris moved toward him. “Martin Kell, you need to step away from the gate.”
“I came to make a statement.”
“You can make it downtown.”
Kell smiled wider. “I prefer here.”
His eyes found Evelyn again.
“You should have stayed hidden.”
Evelyn stepped from behind Gabriel.
Her legs shook.
She stepped anyway.
“And you should have stayed afraid of honest women,” she said.
The cameras loved that too.
Kell’s smile thinned.
Then he looked at Gabriel. “You have no idea how deep this goes.”
Gabriel replied, “Everyone keeps telling me that.”
“Because you keep thinking depth matters when the ground beneath you is already gone.”
Kell lifted a folder.
“This is a court order freezing Romano estate assets pending investigation into trafficking, kidnapping, fraud, and obstruction.”
Reporters exploded.
Gabriel’s lawyers surged forward.
Detective Harris grabbed the document.
Kell looked at Evelyn with quiet triumph.
“Enjoy the mansion while it lasts,” he said. “By sunset, the state owns it.”
Behind them, Sofia whispered, “Where will I go?”
Evelyn turned.
The child’s eyes were huge with fresh terror.
Gabriel had promised no one would take her where he could not find her.
Now the house itself was being taken.
Titan pressed against Evelyn’s side.
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And Evelyn realized the next battle would not be fought in tunnels.
It would be fought in court, on television, and inside rooms where men like Kell had always expected women like her to break.
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