Chapter 8 - THE FLASH DRIVE DESTROYED ROMAN’S EMPIRE, BUT DANIEL’S FINAL FILE DESTROYED ME
Roman pleaded guilty six months later.
By then, Claire had filed for divorce.
He did not contest it.
Not one provision.
The Vale mansion remained Roman’s until forfeiture decisions were completed.
Claire wanted nothing from it.
Not jewelry.
Not cars.
Not the investment account Roman had created in her name.
Her lawyer made her accept what Illinois law entitled her to.
Claire hated that.
Evelyn insisted.
“Taking legally defined marital assets is not being bought.”
Claire knew.
Still difficult.
Groundwork remained hers.
It always had.
Roman had never touched ownership.
That detail mattered more now than before.
The federal case grew.
Victor Delaney faced charges connected to Daniel’s death.
Patrick Doyle’s murder.
Extortion.
Financial crimes.
Enzo Vale could not be charged because he was dead.
Roman became one of the government’s central witnesses.
Newspapers called him—
MAFIA BOSS TURNS ON FAMILY EMPIRE.
Claire hated headlines.
They reduced terrible lives to five exciting words.
Roman’s sentencing was scheduled for September.
Before it happened, Thomas brought Claire one final file from Daniel’s drive.
“You didn’t see this.”
Claire stared at the laptop.
“I saw everything.”
“No.”
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
“One folder was encrypted separately.”
“Password?”
“Maddie’s birthday.”
Claire’s throat tightened.
Of course.
They sat upstairs above Groundwork after closing.
Maddie slept in Claire’s room.
The shelf Daniel installed still leaned left.
Claire had still not fixed it.
Thomas opened the file.
A video.
Daniel again.
Claire’s heart hurt before he spoke.
This recording was different.
Home.
Their old kitchen.
Claire recognized the yellow wall.
Daniel sat at the table.
He looked frightened.
“Claire.”
She stopped breathing.
Not Roman.
Her.
“If you’re watching this, I either became much more dramatic than necessary…”
His crooked smile.
Claire cried instantly.
“…or I was right to be scared.”
Thomas looked away.
Daniel continued.
“I need you to know something first.”
“None of this is your fault.”
Claire covered her mouth.
“I didn’t tell you what I was working on because Maddie was two and you already thought my habit of checking emails at dinner was grounds for divorce.”
A sob escaped her.
Daniel smiled at the camera.
“I wanted to fix it before I brought danger home.”
His expression changed.
“That may have been arrogant.”
Claire whispered—
“Yes.”
Thomas pretended not to hear.
Daniel continued.
“I met a man named Roman Vale.”
Claire froze.
Thomas looked at her.
Daniel had met Roman personally.
Roman told her they knew each other through the investigation.
But not how well.
“He is not his father.”
Daniel said.
Claire’s chest tightened.
“He’s also not innocent.”
That sounded like Daniel.
No romanticizing.
“I think Roman genuinely wants out of whatever Enzo built.”
“I also think Roman still believes he can stand inside a burning house and stay clean because he didn’t light the match.”
Claire closed her eyes.
Exactly.
Daniel had understood him before Claire ever met him.
“I told him that.”
Daniel almost smiled.
“He did not enjoy it.”
Thomas quietly laughed.
Then Daniel became serious.
“If something happens to me, Roman may look for the evidence.”
“If he comes near you, be careful.”
Claire stopped breathing.
“But…”
Daniel paused.
“I think he will protect you if he knows the truth.”
Claire’s tears fell.
“I don’t know why I think that.”
“Maybe I’m wrong.”
“Maybe Thomas has convinced me Roman has some moral core hidden under twelve expensive suits.”
Thomas muttered—
“Eleven.”
Claire almost laughed through tears.
Daniel continued.
“But if Roman is watching this too…”
His expression hardened.
“Tell her everything.”
“You owe her that.”
Claire stared.
Then Daniel leaned closer.
“And Claire…”
His voice softened.
“If Roman tells you I was involved because I was trying to be a hero, he’s lying.”
“I was scared.”
“I wanted out.”
“I wanted to come home.”
Her shoulders shook.
“I love you.”
“I love Maddie.”
“I did not choose this over you.”
That sentence broke her completely.
Thomas stood.
“I’ll give you privacy.”
Claire barely heard him leave.
Daniel kept speaking.
He talked about ordinary things.
The café shelf.
Maddie’s habit of hiding crackers inside couch cushions.
The fact Claire always forgot to buy shampoo until the bottle was empty.
Then—
“One more thing.”
“If I’m gone…”
Daniel swallowed.
“I don’t want you to build your life around being loyal to a dead man.”
Claire stopped.
“You hear me?”
He pointed at the camera.
“I know you.”
“You’ll think moving on means deleting me.”
“It doesn’t.”
His eyes filled.
“Love again.”
Claire sobbed.
“Please.”
“Not immediately.”
“That would be weird.”
A wet laugh escaped her.
“But someday.”
“If somebody makes you laugh.”
“If somebody is good to Maddie.”
“If somebody stays…”
Claire closed her eyes.
Roman.
Daniel continued.
“Don’t punish him because I couldn’t.”
The video ended.
Claire remained at the table for nearly an hour.
Thomas eventually returned.
She looked at him.
“Did Roman see this?”
Thomas hesitated.
“No.”
“Why?”
“He asked me not to show him anything addressed to you.”
Claire stared.
“When?”
“After he surrendered.”
That hurt.
Good hurt.
“He said Daniel’s words to you belonged to you.”
Claire wiped her face.
“Where is Roman?”
“Federal detention.”
“No.”
“I mean emotionally.”
Thomas almost smiled.
“Still Roman.”
“That is unhelpful.”
“He asks about Maddie.”
Claire went still.
“Through me only.”
Thomas added quickly.
“Never asks me to tell her anything.”
“What does he ask?”
“If she’s healthy.”
“If preschool is okay.”
“If Groundwork’s back door was fixed.”
Claire looked away.
“He doesn’t ask about me?”
Thomas’s eyebrows rose.
“You want honesty?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Claire laughed weakly.
Then—
“What will his sentence be?”
“Government is asking for thirty months.”
Her chest tightened.
“Roman’s lawyers?”
“Eighteen.”
“He agreed?”
“He’s not contesting much.”
“Why?”
Thomas looked at the frozen image of Daniel.
“Because I think he finally understands consequence.”
Roman received twenty-two months.
Claire attended sentencing.
Not beside his family.
Alone.
Roman saw her.
His expression changed.
But he did not smile.
The judge spoke about cooperation.
Serious misconduct.
Years benefiting from criminal systems.
Roman stood before sentence.
He did not ask for mercy.
“I spent most of my life telling myself I was better than the men who raised me because I wanted different outcomes.”
He said.
“I now understand wanting different outcomes while using the same methods is not enough.”
Claire’s throat tightened.
Roman looked toward her.
Then away.
“I harmed people.”
“Some directly.”
“Some because I valued control more than truth.”
“One woman lost the chance to understand why her husband died because I decided information belonged to me.”
Claire cried silently.
“One child trusted me while I privately told myself she was not my responsibility.”
Roman swallowed.
“I was wrong.”
Then—
“I accept the sentence.”
Afterward, Claire did not speak to him.
Not because she hated him.
Because she finally understood love did not require immediate action.
Sometimes feeling something without doing anything was the healthiest choice available.
Roman was taken away.
Maddie asked that night—
“Did Mr. Roman go?”
“Yes.”
“Did he cry?”
Claire thought.
“Yes.”
“Are you still married?”
“No.”
The divorce had finalized two weeks earlier.
Maddie looked sad.
“Does that mean he’s not family?”
Claire had no easy answer.
“He was part of our family.”
“Was?”
Maddie frowned.
Claire kissed her hair.
“I don’t know what comes next.”
Maddie thought about that.
Then—
“Can we still send gummy bears?”
Claire laughed through tears.
“Yes.”
So every month, Maddie drew one picture.
Claire sent them through approved mail.
No romantic letters from Claire.
No promises.
No wait for me.
Just Maddie.
A dog.
A rainbow.
Groundwork.
One picture showed three people.
Claire.
Maddie.
Roman.
Then a fourth above them.
Daniel with a yellow halo.
At the bottom Maddie wrote with Claire’s help—
May you like
FAMILY IS COMPLICATED.
Roman kept that drawing for the rest of his life.
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