Led by John, the workers surrounded Derley.
They were furious, feeling deceived. Faced with a circle of burly, glaring men, Derley—never the hard type—spilled everything like a cracked kettle.
How much he lost at the casino, how Carlo roped him in, how he boosted Carlo's image among the workers—it all came out in painful clarity.
Carlo's eyes bulged with rage.
Leo patted Carlo on the shoulder with mock sympathy. "I had a supporting actor planned, but yours turned out even better."
Leo had indeed prepared someone—Turner.
Knowing a setup was coming, Leo had planned for two outcomes. His original scheme was to let the workers find Turner hiding in the house during their search and have him confess on the spot. The fake money in the bag was just backup.
He never expected Derley to steal the scene. Turner never had to show up—and Leo kept the ten thousand dollars as a happy bonus.
Carlo caught the implication. Turner, the so-called best thief in Campbell County, had failed.
Derley, having confessed everything, still didn't escape a beating from the angry workers.
John, however, didn't join the beating. With a grim face, he approached the restrained Carlo.
"So you weren't helping us seek justice, Carlo."
Without waiting for a reply, John punched him hard in the face.
Leo didn't intervene—he was glad to watch. And he was still curious about Carlo and Johnny's ultimate scheme. Turner, being an outsider, had limited knowledge.
With university and business plans ahead, Leo couldn't tolerate instability at home.
Carlo's nose cracked under the punch. He licked the blood from his lip and sneered, "Justice?"
"When my father was crushed to death by a log, when my mother and sister froze to death, where was justice?
Oh, I forgot—our family's justice was exchanged for that 20% union share. You all traded my father's death for the union!
John, tell me—what is justice?"
His tone grew more furious. Then he suddenly calmed down, voice cold and face twisted:
"I only wanted back the 20% my father died for.
I failed. But that share doesn't belong to me. It won't belong to you either."
The room fell into silence. Even those beating Derley turned and stared at the man who had led them in resistance against the Brown Lumber Mill.
Carlo ignored them, looking at Leo instead. "Unless you plan to kill me, let me go."
Leo shrugged and released him. "You're lucky this isn't the Pacific."
Carlo stiffened. He glanced at Leo one last time and walked to the door.
He had lost this round. But he was just a pawn on the board.
Once the Brown mill collapsed, he'd be back with new revenge.
At the door, Carlo turned and asked, "My money?"
Leo spread his hands. "Thanks."
The meaning was clear to them, even if others didn't understand. Carlo wanted the ten grand back—Leo played dumb.
Carlo left, knowing there was no point pushing it further. Leo already knew the plot to frame his father. But Leo also sensed there was more to it—something deeper.
"What was Carlo talking about with that 20% share?" Leo asked the group.
John sighed. "That's a long story."
During the Great Depression, Brown's refusal to invest in stocks let his mill thrive while others collapsed. He employed half the town. Carlo's father joined too.
One day, drunk on the job again, he got crushed by a tree he felled.
"Michael Brown paid a lot in compensation," John said. "But Carlo's dad owed the mob heavily. His widow and daughter couldn't keep anything."
"Everyone was struggling then. But we still took turns feeding them," added Riccardo.
Leo recalled this. Carlo had visited their house often, becoming Leo's 'best friend'.
Eventually, tragedy struck—his frail mother and sister died in the coldest winter in decades. Coal couldn't warm their drafty shack.
Leo didn't blame John or Riccardo—at the time, everyone lived in shacks. Goodwill had its limits.
"So many died," John said. "Even Dot's dad froze to death. Michael Brown donated 20% of the mill's shares to form the union, so workers wouldn't suffer again."
"Carlo was wrong," Leo murmured. "That share wasn't earned by his drunk father's death."
But Leo's mind was on something else.
Carlo's final words echoed in his mind:
That 20% doesn't belong to me, but it won't belong to you either.
What gave him the confidence to say that?
"What happened at the lumber mill?" Leo asked. "Why is Carlo bold enough to challenge it?"
Riccardo answered, "After the war began, the mill started losing business. The mayor suggested layoffs—Michael refused. He even went out to find clients, but results were poor.
Then his son Jack came back from college with big orders. Things improved.
Three months ago, he said he had a huge deal and asked us to work overtime for bonuses."
"We trusted him," John added. "Until the Lynchburg Environmental Protection Act passed.
The town wanted to go green—cutting trees was limited. We asked Michael—he said he voted against it, but the other six council members supported it."
Workers gathered around, adding their voices:
"Yeah! He said he'd find a way. But three days later, the mill was full of strangers.
Michael hired them, said we were laid off indefinitely. Some even had guns."