Chapter 9 - The Last Cup of Tea
Nia didn't scream.
She stepped backward.
Carlo closed the distance between them.
"Not a sound."
His voice was almost pleasant.
Just like it had been when he served Matteo tea.
Nia glanced toward the nurses' station.
Empty.
The backup lighting cast long shadows across the corridor.
Carlo followed her gaze.
"Don't bother."
"What do you want?"
He smiled.
"To finish what you started."
Nia forced herself to breathe.
"Matteo knows everything."
"Matteo knows what I've allowed him to know."
"The police have the records."
"Records can be challenged."
"Rosa talked."
His smile vanished.
For one second, Nia saw the cruelty beneath the expensive clothes and practiced manners.
"That stupid woman."
Nia took another step back.
Carlo reached into his toolbox.
She froze.
He removed a folded document.
Not a weapon.
"Sign this."
Nia stared.
"What is it?"
"A statement saying you fabricated your poisoning accusation after being promised money."
She almost laughed.
"You think I'm going to sign that?"
"You will."
"Why?"
He pulled out his phone.
A video appeared.
Elena and Sophie were sitting together in a room.
Both looked frightened.
Nia's chest tightened.
"Where are they?"
Carlo's expression remained calm.
"Somewhere you'll never find them unless you cooperate."
Nia stared at the video.
Then something caught her eye.
A clock.
A particular wooden clock hanging behind Sophie.
She recognized it.
It belonged to the conference room at the safe location where she'd spoken to them earlier.
The video had been recorded before they were moved.
Carlo was bluffing.
Nia kept her face still.
"You wouldn't hurt your own daughter."
He laughed bitterly.
"You know nothing about my daughter."
"I know she's alive."
Carlo's eyes narrowed.
"I know she remembers what you did to her mother."
"Careful."
"I know she spent twelve years afraid of you."
He stepped closer.
"Sign."
Nia glanced toward a ceiling camera.
A small red light blinked.
Carlo noticed.
He smiled.
"Disabled."
Nia looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
His expression changed.
And she realized he wasn't sure at all.
Nia suddenly dropped the document.
It fluttered between them.
Carlo instinctively looked down.
She ran.
"HELP!"
Her voice echoed down the corridor.
Carlo lunged after her.
Nia reached a fire door and shoved it open.
An alarm sounded.
At the nurses' station, two staff members looked up.
"Call security!" she shouted.
Carlo caught the edge of her jacket.
The fabric tore.
She stumbled forward.
Then a voice roared from behind him.
"LET HER GO!"
Enzo.
He had come up the stairwell after receiving an alert that an unauthorized maintenance badge had been used on the floor.
Carlo released Nia.
He turned.
Enzo stopped several feet away, hands visible.
"Don't move."
Carlo laughed.
"Still playing Matteo's loyal dog?"
Enzo said nothing.
Security personnel appeared behind him.
Carlo looked toward the fire exit.
Blocked.
Toward the elevators.
Closed.
He slowly raised his hands.
"All right."
Police officers arriving in response to the emergency took him into custody.
Nia leaned against the wall, struggling to breathe.
Enzo approached.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"My jacket."
He looked at the torn fabric.
Then at her face.
"You're shaking."
"I know."
He removed his own jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
She clutched it tightly.
For a moment, she allowed herself to cry.
Inside Matteo's room, the monitors continued their steady rhythm.
He had heard the alarm.
When Nia entered, his face went pale.
"What happened?"
She sat beside his bed.
"Carlo came."
Matteo gripped the blanket.
"Did he touch you?"
"He grabbed my jacket."
"Where is he?"
"In police custody."
Matteo closed his eyes.
The room became quiet.
Then he whispered, "It's over."
Nia looked at him.
"No."
He opened his eyes.
"Not yet."
She leaned forward.
"Carlo getting arrested doesn't fix what happened to those families."
Matteo said nothing.
"It doesn't bring back my grandmother."
His expression tightened.
"And it doesn't change what your organization did."
He looked down.
"I know."
Nia took a breath.
"Then finish what you started."
Matteo nodded.
"I will."
Over the following weeks, the investigation expanded.
Carlo faced charges tied to the alleged poisoning, financial crimes, and threats against witnesses.
Beatrice and Mercer became subjects of separate proceedings.
Authorities examined Elena's original allegations and the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
The inquiry into Evelyn's death continued, though investigators did not immediately establish that her death was criminal.
Nia accepted that some answers might take time.
She refused to turn uncertainty into a conclusion simply because she wanted one.
Matteo continued providing information.
With legal oversight, restitution plans began to take shape for residents and workers harmed by the fraudulent businesses.
Some of his own conduct was under investigation.
He didn't ask Nia to excuse it.
For the first time, he seemed willing to live without controlling the ending.
One evening, Nia arrived at the hospital carrying a small paper bag.
Matteo looked up.
"What's that?"
"Something you're probably not going to like."
He frowned.
"Another hospital bill?"
She smiled faintly.
"No."
She removed a plain ceramic mug.
Blue.
Slightly crooked.
With a tiny painted flower near the handle.
"My grandmother made this."
Matteo stared.
Nia placed it on his bedside table.
"She told me every person deserves the chance to make a better choice."
He reached toward the mug.
Stopped.
Then looked at her.
"Are you sure?"
Nia nodded.
"She also said a better choice doesn't erase the old ones."
His eyes grew wet.
"I remember."
Nia smiled sadly.
"Good."
Matteo picked up the mug.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then he whispered:
"Thank you for not letting me die."
Nia looked toward the window.
"I didn't save you so you could stay the same."
He nodded.
"I understand."
Before she left, he stopped her.
"Nia?"
"Yes?"
"There's something in my estate records."
Her stomach tightened.
"What?"
"A trust Evelyn helped establish years ago."
Nia stared.
"What trust?"
Matteo looked at her.
"One that Carlo never knew existed."
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And inside that trust was something that would change the lives of hundreds of families.
Including hers.
