Chapter 5 - The Man Behind the FoundationMarcus began cooperating after prosecutors showed him the evidence.
He named someone.
Anthony Santoro.
My uncle.
My father’s younger brother.
A man I had trusted since childhood.
Anthony ran large sections of property development.
He had designed the foundation scheme.
Marcus handled the money.
Anthony handled real estate.
Survivor pensions were reduced.
Families became financially unstable.
Housing defaults followed.
Santoro-linked companies purchased properties.
It was efficient.
Clean.
Cruel.
I confronted Anthony inside my father’s old office.
He poured himself whiskey.
“So you found the accounting problem.”
“Problem?”
“Don’t become sentimental.”
He smiled.
“That girl is why, isn’t it?”
I did not answer.
“Gabriel died doing his job.”
“He died saving my life.”
“He was compensated.”
“His family wasn’t.”
Anthony shrugged.
“Businesses cannot operate on emotion.”
I looked at him.
“For years, I believed that.”
“Then keep believing it.”
“No.”
I placed the records down.
“You turned dead men into investment opportunities.”
He stopped smiling.
“You think you’re different from me?”
That question mattered.
Because he was partly right.
I had inherited an organization built through coercion and fear.
I had approved ugly things.
Ignored others.
There was no clean hero in that room.
So I answered honestly.
“No.”
Anthony looked surprised.
“I’m not different enough.”
Then:
“That changes now.”
He laughed.
“You’ll destroy the family.”
“No.”
I stood.
“I’m going to stop calling corruption family.”
Anthony was removed.
Investigators received the financial records.
And for the first time in Santoro history—
the man in charge had voluntarily opened books outsiders were never supposed to see.
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That decision broke parts of my empire.
Maybe those parts needed breaking.
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