Chapter 5 - The Fiancée Confessed Why She Pushed Elena Into the Lake
Bianca lowered the weapon.
Adrian did not.
Dante kept his gun trained on him.
“Give me the box,” Dante said.
Adrian laughed.
“You still think you have control.”
“No.”
Dante's eyes hardened.
“I know I do.”
Adrian looked around.
He had 12 armed men.
Dante had 8.
The numbers were close.
But numbers were never what decided conflicts like this.
Loyalty did.
Dante gave Marco a subtle signal.
The lights around the cemetery exploded.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Gunfire followed.
Dante grabbed Elena and pulled her behind the stone wall.
Sofia dropped beside them.
Marco and Dante’s men fired from 3 directions.
Adrian’s men scattered.
Bianca screamed.
“Elena!”
She crawled toward her.
Dante stopped her.
“Stay down.”
Bianca looked at Elena.
“I need to tell you something.”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
Another burst of gunfire.
Bianca screamed.
“I didn't know who your mother was.”
Sofia stared.
“You knew?”
“Not at first.”
She looked at Elena.
“My father told me Sofia had betrayed the family.”
“And you believed him.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I was 15 when he told me.”
Elena frowned.
“He said your mother had stolen money.”
Sofia closed her eyes.
“Victor lied.”
Bianca nodded.
“He convinced everyone.”
“Why?” Elena asked.
“Because Sofia had proof.”
“Proof of what?”
Bianca swallowed.
“That Victor had ordered Luca’s murder.”
The world stopped.
Sofia whispered:
“He knew.”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he pretend your father ordered it?”
“Because the Moretti family had more power than ours.”
Bianca looked at Dante.
“Victor wanted the families at war.”
Dante understood.
“So he could take control.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you help him?”
“I didn't know.”
“Until?”
“Until I found the file.”
She looked at Elena.
“The night of your engagement celebration.”
Dante stared at her.
“You told me you were visiting your father.”
“I was.”
“You were actually looking for the ledger.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“I found Victor’s name.”
Bianca began crying.
“I panicked.”
“So you pushed Elena?”
“Yes.”
Elena stared at her.
“Why?”
“I thought you were the key.”
“You wanted me unconscious.”
“I wanted you away from the party.”
“But you pushed me.”
“I lost control.”
Elena shook her head.
“You could have killed me.”
“I know.”
Dante looked at Bianca.
“And you still don't understand.”
She stared.
“What?”
“You didn't lose me because of Elena.”
His voice was quiet.
“You lost me because of who you became.”
Bianca lowered her eyes.
Marco shouted.
“Boss!”
Adrian was escaping.
Dante stood.
“Stay here.”
Elena grabbed his arm.
“No.”
He looked at her.
“I can help.”
“No.”
“You need the box.”
“You don't know how dangerous this is.”
“My entire family is involved.”
“That doesn't mean you have to become part of this world.”
Elena held his gaze.
“I already am.”
He couldn't argue.
They chased Adrian.
He reached the mausoleum.
Dante cornered him.
“Give me the box.”
Adrian raised it.
“It's too late.”
“Why?”
“Victor already has the original ledger.”
Dante stopped.
“How?”
“Because the box was never the real target.”
Elena stepped forward.
“What is?”
Adrian looked at her.
“You.”
A shot rang out.
Adrian dropped.
Everyone froze.
Sniper.
Dante looked around.
“Get Elena down!”
He covered her.
Sofia shouted.
“Move!”
They ran.
Back at the safehouse, Dante paced.
“He could have killed you.”
Elena sat quietly.
“I know.”
“You're not trained.”
“I know.”
“You don't know how these people think.”
“Maybe not.”
She stood.
“But I know how they think about people like me.”
Dante looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“They think I'm invisible.”
She looked toward the window.
“They've spent 20 years believing I'm a nobody.”
Dante understood.
“And you aren't.”
“No.”
She touched her chest.
“I've been carrying their secrets since I was a child.”
Sofia approached.
“There is something else.”
Elena turned.
“What?”
“Your father left another message.”
Sofia took out a key.
“Under the chapel.”
Dante's eyes narrowed.
“The chapel at Villa Moretti?”
“Yes.”
“We go tonight.”
They returned to the estate through a hidden tunnel.
The chapel was dark.
Old.
Beautiful.
Sofia led them behind an altar.
A small compartment opened.
Inside was a cassette.
Elena pressed play.
Her father's voice filled the chapel.
“Sweetheart, if you ever hear this, it means I failed.”
Elena cried.
“I need you to understand why I hid the truth.”
He spoke about the Vale Group.
About Victor.
About Sofia.
Then:
“The original ledger is not hidden in the ground.”
A pause.
“It is hidden in the one place Victor would never search.”
Elena leaned closer.
“Where?”
Her father answered.
“Inside the Moretti family.”
The tape ended.
Dante stared at the darkness.
“Inside the family.”
Sofia's face changed.
“What?”
Dante began thinking.
His family had 5 living members.
Him.
His uncle.
His cousin.
His aunt.
And his younger sister, Isabella.
He looked at Elena.
“Someone in my family has it.”
Then a phone rang.
Dante answered.
The caller was his sister.
Her voice was terrified.
“Dante…”
“What happened?”
“I know where the ledger is.”
“Where?”
A sob.
“He has it.”
“Who?”
Silence.
May you like
Then Isabella whispered:
“Uncle Matteo.”
Related Stories
