Chapter 12 - Alessio’s Visits
Luca said Uncle Alessio came every few weeks.
He brought books, sweets, and stories about the Morelli family.
He told Luca that Vittorio abandoned him in Switzerland.
He told him Isabella was trying to bring him home.
He told him Alessio would become head of the family after Vittorio died.
Vittorio faced his brother.
“You were preparing my son to accept you.”
“I was keeping him alive.”
“You used a child to build your claim.”
“I gave him a family when you did not know where he slept.”
That truth did not excuse the betrayal.
But it cut.
Gunfire erupted outside the dormitory.
Domenico’s guards had discovered them.
Matteo secured the children inside the chapel basement.
Vittorio moved Luca behind a stone pillar.
Alessio took position beside the door.
For several minutes, the brothers fought together the way they had as young men.
No speeches.
No hesitation.
Only movement and memory.
When the shooting stopped, three guards surrendered.
Domenico had escaped through a northern road.
Isabella had arrived twenty minutes earlier and taken Luca’s identification papers.
She was heading toward an airfield.
Luca gripped Vittorio’s sleeve.
“Mother said she would come back.”
“She will.”
Vittorio did not know whether it was a promise or a lie.
They moved the children toward waiting vehicles.
One girl handed Matteo a black envelope found beneath the headmaster’s desk.
Inside was a list of parents, payments, and future targets.
Sophia’s name appeared at the bottom.
Domenico planned to take her after the failed assassination.
Renzo’s knowledge made him dangerous.
Sophia’s observations made her valuable.
Vittorio called the villa.
No one answered.
He called the underground apartment.
The line rang until a man picked up.
Marco’s voice said, “You should have left the gardener in the chair.”
May you like
A scream sounded behind him.
It was Renzo.
