Chapter 23 Emilio #2
He studied me for a long moment. "Help me build a defense. You're not my attorney. But you're brilliant at strategy. I need your brain on this."
"Done. Let me call Diana. See if she'll take the RICO case too."
"She will. For the right price." He finished buttoning his shirt. "Emilio, this is serious. Life in prison serious. Are you sure you want to be part of this?"
"I'm sure. We handle it together. Like everything else."
The next two weeks were brutal.
I worked eighteen-hour days reviewing the evidence the FBI had compiled. Transaction records showing suspicious wire transfers. Recordings of conversations between the partners. Witness statements from former employees who'd turned informant.
Vincent Paglia had given them everything. Every financial irregularity. Every questionable transaction. Every piece of the organizational structure. The FBI had built a comprehensive case that would be extremely difficult to beat.
Diana agreed to represent all four partners. She brought in two additional attorneys from her firm. We set up a war room at her office and started building the defense.
I consulted on strategy. Reviewed every document. Identified weaknesses in the prosecution's timeline. Built arguments for why legitimate business transactions were being misconstrued as criminal activity.
Sandro watched me work with something like wonder.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked one night when I was still at his estate at 2 AM reviewing bank records.
"Because I love you."
"That's not enough of a reason to destroy your career completely."
"It's the only reason that matters." I looked up from the spreadsheet. "You're facing life in prison. I'm not going to sit on the sidelines and watch that happen. I'm going to fight for you with everything I have."
"Even though it means becoming exactly what you hated three months ago? A corrupt attorney who helps criminals avoid justice?"
"You're not a criminal. You're a businessman who operates in gray areas. There's a difference."
"The FBI doesn't see a difference."
"Then we make them see one." I went back to the records. "Now let me work. I think I found something in the wire transfer documentation that could help."
He came up behind me. Wrapped his arms around my shoulders. Rested his chin on top of my head. "I don't deserve you."
"Probably not. But you're stuck with me anyway."
One week after the verdict in the assault trial, federal agents arrived at Inferno at 6 AM with arrest warrants.
I got the call from Sandro at 6:23. "They're arresting me. Matteo, Elio, and Luca too. We're being processed downtown. Bail hearing's this afternoon."
"I'll be there. Don't say anything without your attorney present."
"I know the drill, Emilio."
"I know you do. But I'm telling you anyway because I love you and I'm terrified." My voice cracked slightly. "Please be careful."
"Always. I'll see you at the hearing."
I called Diana immediately. She was already on her way to the federal courthouse. I met her there at noon. We spent two hours preparing arguments for why bail should be granted.
At 2 PM, all four partners were brought into the courtroom in handcuffs. I watched Sandro shuffle in wearing an orange jumpsuit. Hair mussed. No tie. No expensive suit. Just another defendant facing federal charges.
Our eyes met. He gave me that small nod.
I nodded back. Tried to project confidence I didn't entirely feel.
The bail hearing was perfunctory. The prosecution argued all four defendants were flight risks with substantial resources and international connections. They recommended remand without bail.
Diana argued eloquently about ties to the community. Legitimate business operations. No prior convictions for violent crimes. She requested reasonable bail.
I sat in the gallery taking notes. Preparing additional arguments in case Diana needed them.
The judge—a stern woman in her sixties named Katherine Brennan—listened to both sides. Then she announced her decision.
"Bail is set at fifteen million dollars each. Cash or bond. Defendants will surrender their passports. Weekly check-ins with pretrial services. No contact with potential witnesses."
Sandro could pay fifteen million. So could the others. Within an hour, bail was posted for all four partners.
They were released just before 6 PM. I waited outside the courthouse with Diana.
When Sandro emerged, he'd changed back into his own clothes. Looked more like himself. Still exhausted but no longer wearing orange.
He came straight to me. In front of Diana. In front of the federal agents still milling around. In front of the reporters who'd been waiting all day for this shot.
He took my hand.
The cameras went wild. Flashes everywhere. Reporters shouting questions.
"Mr. Vitale! Are you worried about the RICO charges?"
"Mr. Rossi! Are you representing him again?"
"Is it true the FBI is investigating your relationship?"
Sandro ignored them all. Kept holding my hand. Led me to his car.
Diana watched with an expression I couldn't read. "You two realize this is going to make things more complicated, right? The public relationship?"
"Let it be complicated," Sandro said. "I'm done hiding."
We got in the car. Security held back the reporters. The door closed and we had privacy.
"You held my hand," I said. "In front of everyone."
"Yes."
"The photos will be everywhere by tonight."
"Good. Let them see. Let the FBI see. Let everyone see that I love you and I'm not ashamed of it." He pulled me close. "I'm done pretending we're just attorney and client or casual acquaintances. You're mine. I'm yours. Everyone might as well know it."
"This could affect the trial. The jury—"
"Will see that I'm capable of love. That I'm human. That might help more than it hurts." He kissed me softly. "Stop trying to protect me by hiding. I don't want to hide anymore."
I looked at him. This man who'd walked into my life three months ago and changed everything. Who'd corrupted me and loved me and turned me into someone I barely recognized. Who was facing life in prison and still chose to claim me publicly.
"Okay," I said. "No more hiding."
"No more hiding," he agreed.
We drove back to his estate. Walked inside together. Closed the door on the chaos waiting outside.
Our lives would never be normal. There would always be investigations and threats and people trying to tear us apart. The FBI was building a case that could send Sandro away forever. The media was documenting our every move. My career was permanently marked by my association with him.
But when he pulled me into his arms in the quiet of his home, none of that mattered.
I'd made my choice.
I'd chosen him over safety. Over certainty. Over the career I'd planned and the life I'd imagined.
I'd chosen love over everything else.
And standing there in his embrace, I knew I'd make the same choice again.
Every single time.
No matter what it cost me.