Chapter 19 - The Final AuditTwo years after fleeing Chicago, Roman received a final piece of mail that didn't come from a bill collector or a local merchant.
It was a standard brown manila envelope, forwarded through Marco’s marine shop from a legal courier in Washington.
Roman sat at his desk in the home office while Celeste was downstairs reading a bedtime story to Maya. He opened the seal and pulled out a single, official document bearing the seal of the Department of Justice.
It was a certificate of final closure.
The federal investigation into Vascari Holdings and Vanguard Legal Consulting had been officially and permanently closed due to lack of sustainable evidence and the complete dissolution of all unlawful enterprise assets.
The ghosts of his old life were officially dead and buried.
Roman stared at the paper for a long moment, feeling a final, invisible weight lift off his shoulders. The empire of fear he had built in his twenties was entirely gone, replaced by something infinitely more durable—a life earned through honesty, sacrifice, and unconditional love.
He took a lighter from the desk drawer, touched the flame to the corner of the federal document, and dropped it into a metal ash tray.
He watched the official seals and case numbers turn to black ash, letting the last embers of his criminal past fade completely into nothingness.
When Celeste walked into the study a few minutes later, wiping flour from her hands after baking, she noticed the ash tray on the desk.
"What was that?" she asked, walking over.
"The last audit," Roman smiled, standing up and pulling her into his arms.
Celeste looked down at the tray, then up into his eyes, understanding immediately. A brilliant, radiant smile broke across her face.
May you like
"And how did the books look?" she teased softly.
"Balanced," Roman whispered, pressing his lips to hers. "Completely balanced."
