Chapter 8 - The Woman Who Refused to SignNora woke in an unfamiliar room.
Matteo Moretti sat across from her.
He was older than Gabriel's father.
Silver hair.
Calm eyes.
No visible weapon.
“You have your father's courage.”
“I have his stubbornness.”
Matteo smiled.
“I like you.”
“I don't care.”
He laughed.
“Gabriel said the same thing.”
Nora froze.
“What?”
“I know him.”
“You've been controlling him.”
“Protecting the family.”
“You killed people.”
“For stability.”
“You don't get to call murder stability.”
Matteo sighed.
“You people think morality is simple.”
He placed the inheritance documents on the table.
“Sign.”
“No.”
“Your father signed.”
“He regretted it.”
“He understood.”
“He hid for twenty years.”
Matteo's smile faded.
“You're wasting time.”
Nora looked at the clock.
Gabriel had taught her something.
When someone controlled a room, time was usually the only weapon they didn't control.
She asked:
“Why did my father trust the Morettis?”
“Because your father was a fool.”
“Then why did you need him?”
Matteo leaned closer.
“Because he was brilliant.”
Nora smiled.
There.
A contradiction.
Matteo didn't believe her father was a fool.
He was afraid of him.
So was everyone else.
She kept talking.
“Where is the Blackstone account?”
Matteo frowned.
“I already have it.”
“No.”
His expression changed.
“You have the records.”
“I have the location.”
He stared.
“You don't.”
Nora smiled.
“Exactly.”
She had no idea whether it was true.
But she needed time.
And she had learned to make powerful men talk.
Matteo eventually revealed enough.
The account wasn't in a bank.
It was in a private storage facility beneath an old Moretti property.
He needed Nora to access it.
That was the missing piece.
Then the door opened.
Gabriel walked in.
Matteo smiled.
“I knew you'd come.”
Gabriel stopped.
“Let her go.”
“You could have been more obedient.”
“You should have been more honest.”
Matteo raised a gun.
Gabriel didn't move.
Nora saw something behind him.
Federal agents.
Matteo looked around.
His face changed.
Gabriel smiled.
“You spent years teaching me that silence was power.”
He looked at Nora.
“You were wrong.”
Matteo fired.
Gabriel ducked.
The agents rushed in.
Matteo was arrested.
Nora ran to Gabriel.
He caught her.
“You okay?”
She nodded against his chest.
“You took too long.”
“I know.”
“I was scared.”
“I know.”
She looked up.
“Thank you.”
He touched her cheek.
“I told you.”
“What?”
“I heard you.”
The Blackstone account was recovered.
The network collapsed.
Dozens of arrests followed.
For the first time in decades, the Moretti name was no longer protected by silence.
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But another question remained.
What would Gabriel do with the empire?
