Chapter 107 Nico
NICO
By the time we got in the house, the living room was packed.
Luis must have called everyone over to watch the news.
Mom and Dad sat together in the loveseat.
My brothers were all spread across the sofa.
Felipe stood behind the couch, looking apprehensive.
Abi and Maddy’s parents sat at the kitchen table, staring at the TV in rapt silence.
Gabriella was sitting cross-legged on the rug in front of the couch along with Sinthy.
If things weren’t so screwed up with the world, you’d think we were all here for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner or something.
The news channel Luis had set the TV to was currently running a commercial. Once Maddy and I came in, Mateo and Rafael got up to give us their seats on the couch. We’d just gotten settled when the theme music for the nightly news blared through the speaker.
On screen a middle-aged female reporter greeted the audience.
“Good evening. I’m Rochelle Carmichael, and this is World News Today.
We start our program with a report of the viral support the shifter community has received over the last few days.
Actors like Reese Lloyd, along with professional athletes like Brandon Tulloch and musicians like Marion Drudge, have all come out in support of the shifters.
They’ve railed against the treatment of these citizens and are calling for an end to the mandated FEMA testing and containment centers.
“The celebrity outcry has helped fuel protests around the country among the average citizens. The tides seem to be turning. Only a few days ago, it looked as though everyone was in agreement that the quarantine of this portion of our country was necessary for safety. Now things are changing. Along with the well-known celebrities, other philanthropists have come forward to show their support. That brings me to tonight’s special guest. Many will not know his name, but they surely know him by his many business holdings. Welcome, Mr. Donatello Moretti.”
A collective gasp sounded through the living room.
My own jaw fell open. When the camera angle changed, Donatello’s calm and collected smile greeted us.
He was actually on the news. I’d never expected that he’d put his own life on the line like this.
It had been my assumption that he’d continue working in the shadows.
“Holy shit,” Luis muttered, echoing my thoughts.
“Mr. Moretti,” the reporter went on. “Thank you so much for joining us.”
Donatello waved her thanks away. “It’s a pleasure to be here, Rochelle.”
“Well, you are well-known in financial areas. You manage three different hedge funds. You also have holdings in the military-industrial complex, nanotechnology, and advanced science research companies. But what many don’t know is the massive yearly donations you contribute to charity.
The United Way, The Red Cross, and Saint Jude’s Research Hospital, to name just a few. ”
“I prefer to keep my name out of those areas. Those foundations deserve my monetary assistance to help those in need. My name is unnecessary to their daily functions.”
The reporter lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “Most people of your means like to see their names in the paper. You’ve kept a very low profile over the years. In fact, our team couldn’t find a single interview or video clip of you. Why come forward now?”
“Fantastic question, Rochelle. I’d love to start by discussing the unfair treatment of our shifter neighbors.”
“You disagree with the containment and testing centers?”
Donatello sighed and gave the reporter an irritated smile. “Disagree? That’s putting it mildly, I would say. Words with a bit more venom might be: disgusted, horrified, or heartbroken. This is a fear tactic, nothing more. Innocent people are paying the price for this.”
“But don’t the videos of feral shifters give you pause? This disease is still new, and we know very little. Can the government really allow the shifter population to remain unchecked when any of them, at any time, could go feral?”
Donatello shrugged and looked wholly at ease.
I couldn’t even tell he was on the news being watched by millions of people.
He looked the same as when we’d been sitting in his smoking room having cocktails a few weeks ago.
He cocked an eyebrow at the reporter. “I’m glad you asked that.
It brings me to the real reason I’m here tonight.
What the nation and the world need to know is that our shifter friends are not going feral, and there is no disease. That story is nothing but a coverup.”
The reporter frowned and glanced somewhere off-camera before turning her gaze back to Donatello. “Mr. Moretti, I don’t think I understand. You’re saying that—”
“That everything you’ve heard is a lie. The shifters aren’t sick. They’re being poisoned.”
“Poisoned?” the reporter sounded like she was having a hard time believing what he was saying.
I could feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering like crazy. Donatello was doing it. On live fucking TV. Viola had to be watching this. “Shuffle the deck, my ass,” I murmured.
“What?” Maddy asked, looking at me.
I shook my head. “Nothing. Let’s see what he does next.”
“The crazy son of a bitch,” Luis said with half a laugh on his voice.
“Crazy, for sure. Viola’s going to want his head on a platter after this,” I said.
“Mr. Moretti, I’m sorry, but this is a news network. We are not here to debase ourselves or our viewers with wild conspiracy theories. You have no evidence to back up these claims, sir.”
Donatello smiled at her in a placating way. “Rochelle, I did not make my fortune by not crossing my Ts and dotting my Is. So let’s talk about proof, shall we? First thing’s first—The Monroe Group?”
“Oh shit. Here it comes,” my brother Mateo said, pumping a fist.
“The Monroe Group?” Rochelle asked, looking even more confused.
“Do follow along, dear,” Donatello said.
“They have billed themselves, for the past thirty or forty years, as a foundation that does good in the world. This is a facade. They are truly nothing more than a very rich, very powerful front for a bigoted organization that has plans to not only frame shifters for these feral crimes but to exterminate them by twisting the narrative and playing the world governments. They’ve used what is basically blood money to further their anti-shifter agenda. ”
“Mr. Moretti, I have to ask again, do you have any proof of this? If not, I will have to cut this interview short.”
Donatello raised a hand and gestured to someone off-camera.
“I have one of my people giving your producer a thumb drive containing videos I procured at great personal danger and expense. These videos will show that not only was the Monroe Group complicit in pushing the feral storyline, but they were, in fact, the ones who created this poison to begin with.” Donatello had a grin on his face that would have been terrifying had he not been on our side.
I would have given every dime I had to be able to see Viola’s face right then.
The reporter was completely at a loss and losing control of her own show.
She glanced off to the side. “Danny? Video? Can we play it?” A muffled voice called out from the side, and she nodded.
“Very well, Mr. Moretti.” She turned back to the screen.
“We are about to play the so-called proof our guest has brought. Our team has not had a chance to review the footage, which means we must tell you that viewer discretion is advised.”
The security videos started playing, and the room went crazy.
Everyone cheered as all the secrets Viola and her entire family and organization had tried to hide were plastered all over the screen.
The best part was the clip showing Viola screaming about how the drug wasn’t working right.
She’d been caught red-handed. There was no way to spin this any other way.
Once the videos ended, the camera shifted back to the newsroom. The reporter’s face was ghost-white, with shock and horror written all over her features. They’d devolved away from professionalism, and you could hear the other members of the news crew openly discussing the footage with each other.
The dull hum of activity faded as she turned back to Donatello.
“Mr. Moretti… this is—” She shook her head in astonishment.
“Earth-shattering news. These revelations—if the footage proves to be authentic, are grounds for not only lawsuits but prison terms for all involved. Why bring this to light now?”
Donatello straightened his suit and gazed back at her.
“Because I’m sick and tired of watching Viola Monroe live like she’s untouchable simply because she has money and power.
It makes me sick that she’s bribed and threatened her way into making her family business into its own shadow government.
I was tired, most of all, of watching what she was doing to those I cared about.
As a shifter myself, I couldn’t sit back any longer. ”
A deadly silence fell over the room. I turned to look at Luis so fast that my neck popped. He was on his feet, frowning at the TV screen, his mouth hanging half open, a look of complete and total confusion on his face.
“Donatello’s a shifter?” I asked him.
He shook his head without looking at me. “I… never knew.” He finally turned to look at me. “He doesn’t have the scent of a shifter. What the fuck, Nico?”
“You’re the one who knew him first,” I said. “But you’re right. He never had the scent. As far as I could tell, he was human.”
The news report had ended, but Mateo and Felipe were already on their phones checking the fallout. Felipe laughed and looked up. “The Monroe Groupe has shut down all their social media accounts and their website. They’ve gone dark.”