Chapter 20 - WHAT COMES NEXT Two years later, Leo was no longer afraid of the game room.
He was five now.
Almost six.
His blue race car still sat on the wooden table.
The emergency device remained beside it.
Jackson had considered removing it.
Leo wouldn't let him.
"It helps people."
So it stayed.
One evening, Jackson watched his son race the little blue car across the table.
The house was quiet.
Safe.
Alive.
Jackson thought about everything that had changed.
The family had lost power.
The company had gained accountability.
Chad had gone to prison.
The old Bellandi world was gone.
And somehow, despite everything, Jackson felt that he had finally given his son something more valuable than wealth.
A home where truth didn't have to be afraid.
Leo suddenly looked up.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"When I get big, can I work with you?"
Jackson smiled.
"Maybe."
"Can I have your office?"
"Absolutely not."
Leo laughed.
Jackson laughed with him.
Then the house phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Jackson's smile disappeared.
That line was almost never used.
He walked to the desk.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then a woman's voice.
"Mr. Bellandi?"
Jackson straightened.
"Yes."
"I think you need to know something about your cousin."
His eyes moved toward the drawer.
The unopened letter was still inside.
"What about him?"
The woman hesitated.
"He wasn't working alone."
Jackson's entire body went still.
"Who are you?"
The line went dead.
For several seconds, he didn't move.
Then Leo called from the other room.
"Dad! Come see!"
Jackson looked toward his son.
Then toward the phone.
For the first time in two years, the past had reached through the walls again.
But this time, Jackson wasn't afraid.
He walked back into the living room.
Leo held up his blue race car proudly.
"I fixed it!"
Jackson crouched beside him.
"You did?"
Leo nodded.
"All by myself."
Jackson smiled.
"That's my boy."
Outside, evening settled over the Bellandi estate.
The lights came on one by one.
The gates remained locked.
Security remained alert.
And somewhere beyond those gates, someone was carrying a secret that could reopen everything Jackson thought he had buried.
He didn't know who the woman was.
He didn't know who else had been involved.
He didn't know whether Chad had told the truth about the limits of his plan.
But this time, Jackson would not hide.
He would not protect a name at the expense of the truth.
And he would never again ignore the sound of a child calling for help.
He looked at Leo.
Leo looked back.
For a moment, everything was peaceful.
Then Jackson's phone vibrated.
One new message.
No name.
No number.
Just a photograph.
Jackson opened it.
His face changed.
It was a picture of the Bellandi estate.
Taken from outside the gates.
Taken that night.
And in the bottom corner of the photograph was a small blue race car.
The exact same car Leo was holding.
Jackson slowly raised his eyes toward the dark windows.
Someone was watching.
But whoever they were had made one mistake.
They had threatened the wrong family.
Because this time, Jackson Bellandi wasn't going to protect the past.
He was going to protect the future.
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And the story of the Bellandi family was far from over.
THE END… FOR NOW.
