Chapter 34 - THE NEW TENANT
Back in Philadelphia, the grand iron gates of the Valente estate stood open for the first time in six months. A blue municipal utility truck idled in the gravel drive while two city inspectors carried clipboards up the stone steps of the grand hall.
With Dominic convicted and his assets seized under federal racketeering laws, the entire property had been placed under the administration of the Philadelphia Historical Commission and the District Attorney's restitution fund. The opulent chandeliers had been switched off permanently; the Persian rugs rolled up and stored in municipal warehouses; and the mahogany furniture tagged with yellow auction stickers.
Mrs. Gately, the housekeeper, supervised the removal of the last boxes from the service wing. As she walked down the central corridor for the final time, she paused outside the door of Dominic’s former study.
The door was unlocked. She pushed it open.
The room was stripped bare. The desk was gone, the bookshelves emptied of their leather-bound legal codes and financial ledgers, leaving pale rectangles on the dark walnut wall panels where the volumes had rested for decades.
Yet, in the exact center of the bare floor where the mahogany desk once stood, something had been left behind.
May you like
Mrs. Gately walked across the empty floorboards. Resting directly on the cold wood was the small green clay flowerpot containing the mint plant. Despite months without direct sunlight or professional care, the plant had somehow survived, its dark green leaves stretching upward toward the tall west window where a single shaft of winter light pierced the gray Philadelphia smog.
She reached down, picked up the pot, and tucked it gently into her canvas tote bag. She didn't leave it behind for the auctioneers. Some things, she realized, didn't belong on a municipal balance sheet.
