Chapter 7 - The Betrayal That Shattered Saraphina
Rosa had not betrayed them willingly.
She had been threatened.
Silas had kidnapped her son twenty years earlier.
The boy was still alive.
He had become one of Silas's men.
"His name is Daniel."
Saraphina looked at her.
"You sacrificed everything for him."
Rosa nodded.
"I was afraid."
Saraphina sat beside her.
"I understand."
Lucien didn't.
He was furious.
But Saraphina stopped him.
"She was trapped too."
He looked at Saraphina.
Then nodded.
The flash drive contained financial records.
Names.
Payments.
Locations.
And one final video.
Saraphina's mother appeared again.
"Dominico did not kill Matteo."
She spoke directly to the camera.
"Enzo did."
Lucien stared.
"Silas is continuing his father's work."
She paused.
"But there is something else."
Her expression became serious.
"Lucien Moretti will be targeted next."
Saraphina looked at him.
"He already knows."
Her mother continued.
"The only way to stop Silas is to expose the original network."
Then the video revealed hundreds of names.
Politicians.
Police officers.
Judges.
Businessmen.
The corruption went farther than anyone had imagined.
Lucien stared at the list.
"If we release this, half the city falls."
Saraphina looked at him.
"Then let it fall."
He smiled faintly.
"That's my girl."
They spent three days organizing the evidence.
Dominico recovered enough to testify.
Rosa agreed to cooperate.
Daniel disappeared.
Then Saraphina received a call.
Daniel.
"I'm sorry."
She closed her eyes.
"Where are you?"
"With Silas."
"Why?"
"Because he has my family."
Saraphina understood.
"He has your children."
Silence.
Daniel whispered:
"I'm sorry."
The line disconnected.
Lucien stepped into the room.
"What happened?"
She told him.
He immediately mobilized his team.
They tracked Daniel.
The trail led to a private island.
Silas had built a compound there.
Lucien looked at Saraphina.
"You stay here."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Please."
It was the first time he had said please.
She stepped closer.
"I won't be kept behind."
He sighed.
"Then stay beside me."
They reached the island at night.
The assault began.
Gunfire.
Explosions.
Chaos.
Saraphina found Rosa's grandson hidden inside a bunker.
She freed them.
Then she heard Lucien shout.
She ran.
Silas had Lucien cornered.
A gun pointed at his head.
Silas smiled.
"Drop the weapon."
Saraphina stepped forward.
"No."
Silas laughed.
"You."
He lowered the gun toward Lucien.
"You will always be the reason people die."
Saraphina looked at him.
"You're wrong."
She lifted the flash drive.
"I already sent the evidence."
Silas's smile disappeared.
"To whom?"
"Everyone."
She had set an automatic release.
The files were already being published.
Phones across the city began ringing.
Silas stared in disbelief.
"You think that will save you?"
"No."
Saraphina looked at him.
"I think the truth will."
Silas raised his gun.
Lucien moved.
One shot.
Silas fell.
The war ended.
But something unexpected happened after.
The government arrested dozens.
The Duca empire collapsed.
Dominico publicly confessed.
Rosa's son surrendered.
And Saraphina was finally free.
Yet she still feared one thing.
Lucien.
Because the evidence had revealed something he had hidden.
A personal account.
A secret fund.
A payment made eleven years earlier.
To a woman.
Her mother.
Saraphina looked at him.
"You knew she was alive."
Lucien didn't answer.
"Lucien."
"I found her."
"When?"
"Six years ago."
Saraphina felt betrayed.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because she asked me not to."
"She was my mother."
"I know."
"You had no right."
"No."
He looked at her.
"But she was dying."
Saraphina's heart shattered.
May you like
"What?"
"She died six years ago."
