What Justice Could and Could Not Give
Chapter 19 - What Justice Could and Could Not Give
By autumn, legal proceedings related to the financial scheme and Sofia's unlawful confinement had progressed substantially. Some participants accepted responsibility. Others contested the accusations. The crash investigation remained more difficult, constrained by years of lost evidence and conflicting accounts.
Vincent faced consequences for documented financial wrongdoing after proceedings that examined his role. The separate questions surrounding Gabriel's death remained subject to the evidence investigators could prove. Angelo learned to live with that distinction, however painful it was.
He had once imagined justice as an enemy kneeling before him. Now he understood it as a process that had to be accurate even when accuracy was unsatisfying.
Sofia told him she was relieved the family could speak openly about Gabriel's concerns.
"But I still wish he were here," she said.
"Every day," Angelo answered.
They visited Gabriel's grave on what would have been his thirty-eighth birthday. Matteo brought a wooden airplane he'd made in the workshop, with a bright yellow tail and a little star beneath the wing.
"This one's for Daddy," he said.
He placed it beside the flowers.
"I learned to sand the wood. Nonno says I have to wear safety glasses. Mama says I can paint it any color."
Angelo laughed softly through tears.
Matteo looked at the headstone. "I wish you could see it."
They stayed a while, telling stories about Gabriel: the time he'd tried to repair a toaster and broken three others; the summer he taught Sofia to swim; the terrible jokes he told at Thanksgiving.
On the drive home, Matteo fell asleep with his head against the car seat. Sofia watched him through the mirror.
"He's changing," she whispered.
"So are we," Angelo answered.
A few weeks later, the family's independent nonprofit held its first open day. It provided referrals and practical support for people navigating child safety, housing instability, and coercive family situations. Sofia volunteered with the education team, while Angelo worked behind the scenes rather than lending the organization his old reputation.
At the closing gathering, Matteo gave a handmade paper airplane to a child who had arrived shy and frightened.
"You can have this one," he said. "It flies better if you try again after it falls."
May you like
Angelo stood in the doorway and watched.
It was the kind of lesson Gabriel would have loved.
