Chapter 9 - The Night Lorenzo Chose His Son Over His EmpireChicago changed.
Lorenzo sold half his companies.
Closed the illegal operations.
Turned legitimate businesses over to independent boards.
The Moretti name stopped controlling the city.
People didn't know what to make of it.
The most feared man in Chicago was suddenly sponsoring hospitals.
Opening rehabilitation centers.
Funding scholarships.
He was still powerful.
But he wasn't dangerous in the same way.
One evening, we sat on the balcony.
“You regret it?”
He asked.
“No.”
“The empire?”
“No.”
“Me?”
I laughed.
“Sometimes.”
He smiled.
“Fair.”
I looked toward the city.
“Daniel is sleeping.”
“He finally stopped asking whether you're staying.”
I looked at him.
“What did you tell him?”
“That I hope so.”
I smiled.
Then he took my hand.
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“I love you too.”
He kissed me.
For once, there were no guns.
No secrets.
No enemies.
Just us.
Then Daniel appeared.
“Dad?”
“What?”
“I'm hungry.”
We laughed.
He walked into the kitchen.
I followed.
Lorenzo smiled.
A normal family dinner.
That was the dream.
But nothing stayed normal for long.
A package arrived.
Inside was a photograph.
My mother.
My father.
And a woman I didn't recognize.
The note said:
One final debt remains.
My father stared at the image.
“That's your grandmother's sister.”
“She died.”
“No.”
“She survived.”
“How?”
“Because she was the original architect.”
The woman was the true creator of the criminal network.
She had manipulated everyone.
She had disappeared.
And she was still alive.
Her name was Elena Moretti.
Lorenzo looked shocked.
“My grandmother.”
“Yes.”
She wanted the research.
She wanted the empire.
She wanted me.
May you like
The final enemy wasn't Victor.
It was the woman who had built the system before any of us were born.
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