Don Bowed To Me Chapter 17
Don Salvatore wore a dark overcoat.
His face was grim.
Beside him, Rocco Barone. Mid-fifties. Hair already gray.
Same expression.
The moment Chiara saw her father, something shifted behind her eyes.
She finally understood.
Her face went white as paper.
Her knees gave out.
Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.
“Papa…”
Rocco didn’t look at her.
He walked to me first.
A small, formal bow.
“Dr. Vitale.”
“I’m Rocco. I’ve come to apologize.”
I stood up.
Returned the bow.
“Don Barone.”
“What my daughter did tonight, in front of you, is a disgrace to the Barone name,” he said.
“I ask for three minutes of your time.”
I nodded.
Rocco turned to face Chiara.
“Stand up.”
Chiara pushed herself to her feet, shaking.
“On your knees.”
The whole restaurant went still.
Tears spilled down Chiara’s face.
“Papa, I—”
Rocco didn’t blink.
“I said. On your knees.”
Slowly, Chiara sank down to the dark hardwood floor of Le Bernardin.
Rocco looked down at her.
“You spent six months in Positano. Before you flew home, did you do any homework?”
“Did you look up who Dr. Vitale is?”
“Did you look up why Matteo Marchetti’s wedding didn’t happen six months ago?”
“Did you look up why Don Salvatore Marchetti walked out of his own grandson’s wedding to escort Dr. Vitale to Ocean Drive?”
Chiara shook her head, sobbing.
“I didn’t know. I thought she was just… Isabella’s sister…”
“She is a tenured professor at MIT,” Rocco Barone said. “She’s the chair of a classified Department of Defense review panel.”
“The patent she holds. The Barone family tried to arrange a meeting with her last year. I went through three separate intermediaries. Not one of them got past her front door.”
“The only reason the Marchetti family closed that contract is because Sebastian personally staked his name on it.”
“And tonight, at Le Bernardin, you threatened her.”
“You didn’t just threaten Dr. Vitale.”
“You threatened everything the Marchettis have built over the past six months.”
“You threatened every breath the Barone family will take in front of the Feds for the next ten years.”
Chiara’s head dropped.
Beside them, Don Salvatore finally spoke.
“Rocco. Every word your daughter said tonight, I will take as a word spoken by the Barone family.”
“I want an answer.”
“Is she still one of you.”
Rocco looked at his daughter.
A muscle in his jaw twitched.
Chiara was his only child.
Twelve years of marriage before she was born.
He closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his eyes were hard and resolute.
He had a family to answer to.
“As of tonight, Chiara Barone is stripped from the Barone family.”
“She no longer has our protection. She no longer has our resources.”
“She is no longer one of us.”
Chiara’s head snapped up.
“Papa!”
Rocco didn’t turn.
“Salvatore. This is the answer of the Barone family.”
“If it’s not enough, tell me what else needs to be done. I’ll accept it.”
Don Salvatore looked at Chiara on the floor.
Then he turned to me.
“Dr. Vitale.”
“This is your decision.”
“You tell me whether the Barone family’s answer is enough.”
I looked at Chiara.
So young.
So certain of herself, right up until the moment she wasn’t.
I looked at Rocco.
“Don Barone.”
“The Barone family’s answer is accepted.”
“My work with the Marchetti family will continue as agreed.”
Rocco bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you, Dr. Vitale.”
He turned to Chiara.
“Get up. You’re coming with me.”
Chiara’s palms pressed against the floor.
She tried to stand.
Her legs wouldn’t hold her.
“Papa…”
Her voice had broken.
“Please. I didn’t know who she was. I thought she was just—”
Rocco didn’t look back.
He was already walking to the door.
Chiara scrambled to her feet.
Stumbled after him.
She reached for the Chanel bag on the floor.
Rocco didn’t wait.
She grabbed it. Followed him.
Straight through the middle of the dining room.
Every eye watching.
The door closed behind them.