Chapter 18
After Dominic went to prison, the club stayed closed for three months.
We cleaned more than rooms.
We cleaned records.
Staff contracts.
Accounts.
Membership lists.
Every person tied to the old crimes was removed.
Some threatened lawsuits.
Rocco welcomed them.
“Discovery goes both ways,” he said.
They disappeared quickly.
My new office was the same room where Rocco had found the recorder.
I kept the seven coins framed on the wall.
Not as decoration.
As warning.
Whenever someone complained that staff rules were too strict, I pointed to them.
Every employee now had a direct complaint line.
Every guest signed a conduct policy.
Nobody could be thrown out because they looked poor.
Nobody could mistreat staff and hide behind money.
The first night we reopened, I stood near the entrance in a black dress I had borrowed from Serena.
My mother was well enough to attend in a wheelchair.
Rocco greeted her personally.
“You raised a brave daughter.”
My mother squeezed my hand.
“She raised herself when I got sick.”
I nearly cried before the doors even opened.
Alina entered with Serena.
They were not fully healed.
No one was.
But Serena wore a small necklace with a baby photo inside.
Alina had given it to her.
Rocco gave a short speech.
“This club once mistook power for worth,” he said. “That ends tonight.”
May you like
Then he looked at me.
“Maeve reminded us worth can kneel on marble and still stand higher than cruelty.”
