Vince laughed without humor.
“That ledger says Jack took the money.”
“The forged ledger says that,” I answered.
“The original shows the transfers were added after my father’s final reconciliation.
The metadata shows the altered file was created from your executive login.”
“That login was shared.”
“No, it wasn’t.
You changed the password two hours before the file was edited.
You changed it back the next morning.”
Vince’s mouth tightened.
I had found both password changes in an archived security report.
At the time, they had been dismissed as routine maintenance.
That was how Vince operated.
He hid crimes inside ordinary paperwork and trusted powerful men to ignore details that bored them.
My father had not ignored them.
Neither had I.
Sal continued.
“Jack came to me because he didn’t know whether Dante’s father would believe him over a Moretti.
I told him to make a copy of everything.
Before he could present it, an accusation packet appeared.
Missing money.
Secret messages.
Meeting details sent outside the family.”
“The same accusations Vince prepared against Dante’s attorney,” I said.
Dante’s eyes moved to the printer log from 6:12 that morning.
Sal nodded.
“The same pattern.
The same order.
First the accusation.
Then the evidence.
Then a room full of men who think hesitation looks like weakness.”
Dante absorbed the insult without reacting.
He knew Sal was not only describing the past.
He was describing that morning.
Vince pointed at the ledger.
“Jack ran.
Innocent men don’t run.”
Sal looked at him.
“Jack didn’t run until you made sure staying meant his daughter would be next.”
My hands went cold again.
“What did he threaten?” I asked.
Sal’s eyes returned to me.
“You.”
The room seemed to narrow around the word.
“He told Jack that if he tried to clear his name, the accusation would spread beyond the family.
Your home address, your school, every place you went would be placed in the wrong hands.
Jack believed him.”
I looked at Vince.
He did not deny it.
Instead, he straightened his jacket as though the threat had been a reasonable business decision.
Sal’s voice thickened.
“Jack disappeared the night before the family planned to question him.
Vince told everyone he had stolen money and fled.
Two days later, a body was found with Jack’s identification.”
Dante leaned forward.
“You identified it.”
