Chapter 50 DARK HISTORY

Chapter 50 DARK HISTORY

Adeline's POV

Sarah's testimony wasn't enough.

"It's hearsay," the lawyer Kayden consulted said.

"Without official records, without documentation, it's just one person's word against another."

"But she was the victim. She was there."

"I understand. But in court, with sealed juvenile records, her testimony alone won't hold up. The defense would argue she's misremembering. That the records were sealed for a reason. That she can't legally discuss details of a sealed case."

"So we're stuck."

"Unless you can unseal the records officially. Through proper legal channels.

"Can we do that?"

"You can try by filing a petition. But it'll take months or maybe years, and there's no guarantee a judge will grant it."

We didn't have months, we had six weeks.

"There has to be another way," I said to Kayden after the lawyer left.

"Legal channels are blocked. The system is designed to keep those records buried."

"Then we go around the system."

"You mean hack into it."

"I mean we get the information we need by whatever means necessary."

Kayden was quiet. "If we do this, if we illegally access sealed records, it could destroy any chance of using the information legally. It could even get us arrested."

"Only if we get caught."

"Adeline—"

"We're running out of time. Belle's wedding is in six weeks. We can't wait for the legal system to maybe, possibly, give us permission to access records that prove Grey is dangerous."

"You're right. But we need to be smart about this. If we're going to break the law, we do it carefully."

I called Stardust.

"I need you to hack into the Connecticut juvenile court system. Get me everything on Grayson Falco's case. The full record."

"That's a federal crime. Multiple federal crimes, actually."

"I know."

"If I get caught—"

"You won't. You're too good."

For a while, I could only hear her breathing.

"This is going to cost you. A lot."

"Name your price."

"Five hundred thousand."

"Done."

"And if this goes sideways, if someone traces it back to me, you never heard of me. We never spoke. Understood?"

"Understood."

"Give me forty-eight hours."

Two days later, encrypted files appeared in my secure inbox.

I opened them with Kayden leaning over my shoulder.

There were court documents, police reports, psychological evaluations. Everything from Grayson Falco's juvenile case.

"Jesus," Kayden breathed.

The assault on Sarah Mitchell wasn't isolated.

There were other incidents involving other girls, starting when Grey was twelve.

First incident, he followed a classmate home, became aggressive when she told him to leave and pushed her. Parents filed complaint but dropped it after "mediation."

I

Second incident at age thirteen. He cornered another girl at school, made explicit threats and was suspended for two weeks. Parents of victim paid off to not press charges.

Third incident was the assault on Sarah. The one that finally got him arrested.

"Three girls," I said. "At least three that we know of. And he was just a kid."

"A kid who showed clear signs of escalation, getting more violent and more dangerous."

I scrolled through the psychological evaluation done after his arrest.

Subject shows limited empathy, difficulty accepting rejection, obsessive tendencies regarding objects of interest, specifically young females.

Recommendation: intensive therapy and monitoring. High risk for repeated offense.

"High risk," Kayden read. "They knew. The psychologist knew he would do this again."

"But instead of getting help, he got Russio. Who taught him to hide it better…..to control it, to use it."

There was more documents. The sealed record petition, filed by expensive lawyers and granted by Judge Bellamy and the payment records.

Large sums transferred from Gravano accounts to Grey's legal team, to the judge, to the victims' families.

"My family paid everyone off," Kayden said. "Made sure Grey's record disappeared."

"Why? Why would Russio invest so much in a violent teenager?"

"Because he saw potential. Saw someone he could mold. Someone with darkness that could be weaponized."

I kept reading and found more incidents post-sealing, that were buried even deeper.

At age sixteen, there was another girl, handled "privately" by Russio. The girl's family relocated. They were given money and threatened into silence.

Age seventeen, he got into a fight with a boy who was dating a girl Grey was interested in. Put the boy in the hospital, and Russio made it go away.

Age eighteen was the last documented incident. He became obsessed with a girl from his community college and started stalking her.

Before it could escalate, Russio intervened and sent Grey away for "training."

"Training," I said. "That's when Grey disappeared from normal life. When Russio took him completely under his wing."

"And taught him to channel the violence. To use it for the family. To make it productive instead of reckless."

"But the pattern is clear. Grey fixates on women. Gets obsessive. And when they reject him, he gets violent."

"Which means Belle is in serious danger. Because eventually, she'll do something Grey interprets as rejection. And then..."

I couldn't finish the thought.

"We have to show her this….all of it. And make her understand."

"We can't. This is illegally obtained evidence. If we show her, she could report us. We'd be arrested. And Grey would know we're onto him."

"So what do we do? Just sit on this? Watch her marry a man with a history of attacking women?"

"We find another way to prove it. Something legal. Something that will hold up."

I kept scrolling. Looking for anything we could use without revealing how we got it.

I found a name I recognized.

Judge Marcus Bellamy, the judge who sealed Grey's records.

The same judge who'd sealed records in other Gravano cases. Including Emma Morrison's.

"Judge Bellamy is the key," I said. "He's sealed records for your family for years. If we can prove he's corrupt, that he's been taking bribes—"

"Then all his rulings come into question. Including Grey's sealed records."

"Exactly. And if Grey's records are unsealed through legal means, we can show Belle, prove who he really is."

"How do we prove the judge is corrupt?"

"We follow the money. Trace the payments and build a case against him."

"That'll take time."

"Less time than waiting for a petition. And it gives us a legal path."

Kayden nodded slowly. "Okay. We go after the judge. Prove he's been sealing records in exchange for money. Get his rulings overturned."

"And Grey's records become public."

"Which means Belle can see them and understand who she's really marrying."

I looked back at the files. At Grey's history of violence and obsession, of hurting women who rejected him.

"We need to move fast. If Grey suspects we're investigating the judge—"

"He'll tell my father. And they'll move to protect him."

"Or eliminate us."

"Either way, we can't waste time."

I pulled up a new document and started mapping out Judge Bellamy's financial history.

Payments from Gravano accounts going back fifteen years. Hundreds of thousands of dollars….maybe millions.

"This is it," I said. "This is how we prove corruption. How we get Grey's records unsealed."

"And how we save Belle."

We worked through the night. Documenting every payment, every case, every time Judge Bellamy had ruled in favor of the Gravanos, building a case that couldn't be ignored.

By morning, we had a file that was thick, damning and undeniable.

"Who do we give this to?" I asked. "If we go to the wrong person, if they're connected to your family—"

"I know someone. State attorney's office. She's clean….honest. She's been trying to build a case against organized crime for years. This would give her everything she needs."

"And in exchange?"

"We ask for Grey's records to be unsealed. As part of the investigation into judicial corruption."

"Will she go for it?"

"If the evidence is solid enough? Yes."

I looked at the file. At the proof of years of corruption, of judges bought and paid for, of records sealed to protect the guilty.

Including Grey's records, sealed by Russio's money. Sealed to hide a violent pattern that should have kept him locked up.

"Then let's give her the file and get those records unsealed."

"And hope we're not too late."

Six weeks until the wedding.

Six weeks to prove Grey was dangerous.

Six weeks to save my sister from making the biggest mistake of her life.