Chapter 11 - The Boy Outside Rome
Vittorio wanted to hate Isabella without complication.
Hatred was cleaner when the guilty had no fear of their own.
But Luca changed the shape of everything.
Isabella had sent photographs from Switzerland for years.
School uniforms.
Snow-covered courtyards.
Birthday cakes.
The images had been staged or altered.
Vittorio had spoken to his son through short video calls.
The background was always blurred.
Isabella claimed the school protected student privacy.
He had accepted the explanation because he trusted his wife.
Again, trust had become laziness.
Matteo traced the photograph to a former monastery outside Rome.
The property belonged to a charity controlled by Domenico Serra.
Vittorio called Renzo.
“I need you to take Sophia somewhere safe.”
Renzo refused.
“No place is safe while Domenico knows she saw the car.”
“Then stay inside the underground apartment.”
“The tunnels are compromised.”
Sophia took the phone.
“Bring the boy home.”
Vittorio closed his eyes.
“I will.”
She lowered her voice.
“And do not trust your brother because he tells one sad truth.”
The child understood Alessio better than most grown men.
Vittorio traveled to Rome with Matteo and six trusted guards.
Alessio followed in a separate car.
At the monastery, they found security cameras, armed men, and twelve children registered under false names.
Domenico was not only hiding Luca.
He had built a school for the children of powerful families.
Each child was leverage.
Each parent believed the child was protected.
Inside the eastern dormitory, Vittorio found Luca sitting at a desk.
The boy looked up without recognition.
“My name is Vittorio.”
Luca studied him.
“My father is dead.”
The words struck harder than any bullet.
“Who told you that?”
“Grandfather Domenico.”
Vittorio knelt.
“I am your father.”
Luca backed away.
Then he looked toward Alessio.
“I know him.”
Alessio smiled softly.
“He visited me.”
Vittorio turned.
May you like
Alessio had known where Luca was.
He had known for months.
