Chapter 6 - Lucien Revealed the Secret Dante’s Family Had Buried for Twenty Years
“I killed your father,” Lucien said.
The words echoed through the warehouse.
Nobody moved.
Dante lowered his weapon slightly.
“Why?”
Lucien smiled.
“Because he chose you over the family.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“It is the only answer that matters.”
Nicholas struggled against the ropes.
“Don't listen to him.”
Lucien struck him across the face.
Dante's weapon rose.
“Touch him again and you die.”
Lucien smiled.
“There you are.”
“Where?”
“The boy Matteo raised.”
Dante stepped forward.
“You wanted the trust.”
“I wanted what your father stole from me.”
“What did he steal?”
“My inheritance.”
“You had your own empire.”
“No.”
Lucien's voice changed.
“I built the shipping network. I negotiated the ports. I created the political protection. Matteo simply wore the crown.”
Dante shook his head.
“You killed people for money.”
“For power.”
“Same thing.”
Lucien laughed.
“That's where your father failed you.”
He looked at me.
“Samuel understood.”
“No,” I said. “He feared you.”
“Same difference.”
I raised the gun higher.
Lucien stared at me.
“You have your mother's eyes.”
I froze.
“You knew my mother?”
“She knew me better than anyone.”
“What happened to her?”
Lucien's smile disappeared.
“She found out what your father was doing.”
I stared.
“My father?”
Lucien nodded.
“He was trying to dismantle the organization from inside.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“My father worked for insurance companies.”
“He worked for everybody.”
The ledger suddenly made sense.
The ships.
The shell companies.
The payments.
But I still didn't understand.
Lucien walked closer.
“Your father was laundering evidence, not money.”
I frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“He moved documents through legitimate shipping channels. He hid information inside financial transfers.”
Dante looked at the ledger.
“He was building a case.”
“Yes.”
“Against you.”
“No.”
Lucien smiled.
“Against all of us.”
The statement stunned everyone.
Even Nicholas.
Lucien continued.
“Your father discovered that Matteo and I had been working together to build the family empire. But he also discovered something worse.”
“What?”
“That the government had infiltrated us.”
Dante stared.
“Who?”
Lucien pointed toward Elias.
Elias went still.
“What?”
“You.”
Elias shook his head.
“No.”
Lucien laughed.
“Did you really believe I hired you?”
Elias's face went white.
“You were planted by federal investigators.”
Dante looked at Elias.
“Is that true?”
Elias swallowed.
“Yes.”
The truth came out like a confession.
“I was undercover.”
Dante's face changed.
“How long?”
“Six years.”
“And all those payments?”
Evidence.
“All the reports?”
Evidence.
“You were collecting proof against us.”
“Yes.”
Dante looked betrayed.
Then at the ledger.
“My father knew.”
Elias nodded.
“Samuel knew.”
Nicholas spoke.
“He helped me hide it.”
I looked at Nicholas.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he die?”
“Because Lucien found out.”
Lucien laughed.
“Eventually.”
Dante stepped toward him.
“You killed him because he was helping Elias.”
“No.”
Lucien's answer was almost casual.
“I killed him because he was helping you.”
Dante stopped.
Lucien continued.
“Your father planned to dismantle the criminal side of the family and transfer the legitimate businesses to you.”
“That sounds familiar.”
“Because it was your inheritance.”
“What happened?”
“Your father died.”
Dante's voice shook.
“And you let me believe he abandoned me.”
“I wanted you angry.”
“Why?”
“So you'd become me.”
The words were chilling.
“You wanted me to become you?”
“You had the instincts.”
“No.”
“You're wrong.”
Dante shook his head.
“I built legitimate companies.”
“You built them because you wanted to prove you were different.”
“I am.”
Lucien smiled.
“That's why you're dangerous.”
Then he looked at me.
“Your father left you the ledger because he knew you would understand the numbers.”
I said nothing.
“But he left you one more thing.”
Lucien nodded toward the old metal box beside Nicholas.
Marco opened it.
Inside was a small tape recorder.
And a letter.
My name.
Again.
I took the letter.
The handwriting was my father's.
Alina,
If you're reading this, then the people I feared have finally reached you.
I am sorry.
I spent years trying to protect you by keeping you outside my world.
That was my greatest mistake.
Your mother was never weak.
Neither are you.
The truth is simple.
Dante is not the enemy.
Nicholas is not the enemy.
Marco is not the enemy.
The enemy is the man who believes fear is the same as loyalty.
Trust the one who gives you a choice.
I closed my eyes.
Dante looked at me.
Lucien laughed.
“Your father was sentimental.”
“No,” I said.
I looked at him.
“He was precise.”
I held up the letter.
“He told me exactly who to trust.”
Lucien's smile faded.
Dante turned toward Nicholas.
“Cut him loose.”
Marco moved.
Lucien raised his weapon.
Then a shot cracked.
Elias fired.
Lucien stumbled.
Not dead.
But wounded.
He looked shocked.
“You.”
Elias lowered his gun.
“You were right about one thing.”
“What?”
“I was sent to destroy your empire.”
Lucien smiled.
“And now?”
“I changed my mind.”
The lights came on.
Police flooded the warehouse.
Not corrupt men.
Federal agents.
Elias had called them.
Lucien stared at Dante.
“You think this ends here?”
Dante walked toward him.
“No.”
Lucien smiled.
“You'll become me.”
Dante shook his head.
“No.”
Then he looked at me.
“I already know what I don't want to become.”
Lucien was arrested.
Nicholas was freed.
The warehouse went silent.
But as the agents led Lucien away, he turned once.
“You still don't know the biggest secret.”
Dante stopped.
“What?”
Lucien looked directly at me.
“Your father never died in that accident.”
My blood froze.
“What?”
Lucien smiled.
May you like
“The body was his.”
“But Samuel Voss was never inside that car.”
