Chapter 9 - The Federal Subpoena
Two days later, the financial news networks across the country erupted with breaking headlines.
Vanguard Holdings Implodes Under Federal Probe; Assets Frozen Amid Securities Fraud Investigation.
In a maximum-security visiting room at the federal correctional facility in Vermont, Adriano Moretti sat behind a heavy glass partition, staring at the television mounted on the concrete wall. His hair was cropped short, his face hollowed out by months of confinement, wearing an orange jumpsuit that bore the stark branding of the federal prison system.
The news anchor detailed the sudden collapse of Vanguard Holdings and highlighted the brilliant legal maneuvers executed by the current chairman of Moretti Atlantic Holdings: Isabella Romano Moretti.
A heavy, suffocating silence pressed down on Adriano.
He had spent twelve years believing his wife was a decorative asset—a quiet, predictable woman meant to furnish his life while he built an empire. Now, sitting in a concrete cell, he realized she had not only outsmarted his mistress, outmaneuvered his corporate rivals, and outplayed his father’s inner circle, but she was now running the entire global conglomerate with absolute, untouchable authority.
The heavy metal door behind him clicked open. A correctional officer stepped in.
“Moretti. Visitor.”
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Adriano looked up, expecting his lawyer or a low-level bail bondsman. Instead, stepping through the secure security door with quiet, unhurried grace, was Don Matteo Moretti.
The aging patriarch walked slowly with his mahogany cane, stopping before the glass partition. He didn't look angry. He looked profoundly, terminally disappointed.
