Chapter 11
Javier asked to cooperate.
Dante did not oppose it.
He also did not help him negotiate a better outcome.
“You make your own deal.”
Javier looked surprised.
“We’re family.”
Dante stared at him.
“You remembered that when Leo was under your knee?”
Javier looked away.
That ended the argument.
He resigned from Romano Development Partners.
He surrendered every management position in legitimate family companies.
Dante also removed him from operational family authority.
No crew.
No meetings.
No use of the Romano name to direct employees.
Javier did not fight the last part.
Maybe because he finally understood that the title had helped him convince himself ordinary rules did not apply.
Clara returned her engagement ring through her attorney.
Dante did not send it back.
The wedding was formally canceled.
She entered negotiations with investigators and the lender.
Her assets were reviewed.
The old CVC obligations were verified.
Some creditors agreed to structured settlements once the fraud case became public.
Others did not.
There would be no elegant exit.
The lender’s position was complicated.
Because Dante’s authorization appeared fraudulent, enforcing against the children’s property was legally uncertain.
But the money had been received by a Romano-controlled entity and used.
Dante refused to make the bank absorb a loss his family had benefited from.
He negotiated repayment from non-trust assets.
That cost him.
He sold a commercial property in Chicago and liquidated part of a private investment portfolio.
One capo called him insane.
“You could fight the lender for years.”
“Yes.”
“You might win.”
“Yes.”
“Then why pay?”
Dante looked at him.
“Because Leo and Mia’s property is not the place adults should argue over who gets stuck with the bill.”
The lake house was released from the lien four months later.
It would remain under independent trust administration.
Dante could still take the children there.
May you like
He simply could not use it as his personal financial tool.
That was exactly what he wanted.
