Chapter 4 - The Brother Behind the Walls
Matteo had been hiding beneath my house for nearly three years.
Every day I had walked through these halls.
Every night I had slept above the man who shared my blood.
And I had never known.
I wanted to hate him.
Instead, I wanted answers.
We moved into the bunker.
Sofia sat with Elena at a small table.
Marco stood against the wall.
Matteo refused to sit.
“Start from the beginning,” I said.
He stared at me.
“Our father didn't die naturally.”
“I know.”
“He was poisoned.”
My jaw tightened.
“By Bruno?”
“Bruno arranged it.”
“Then why did father trust him?”
“He didn't.”
Matteo pulled a small notebook from his coat.
“He was investigating Bruno for years.”
The notebook contained names.
Judges.
Police officers.
Businessmen.
Bankers.
Mafia families.
Bruno had been building a network inside our organization.
Then I saw the most troubling entry.
Marco Bianchi.
Next to his name was a question mark.
I looked at him.
“You were investigating Marco?”
Matteo shook his head.
“Not Marco.”
I turned the page.
Bruno's son.
A note appeared.
Marco may be undercover.
I looked up.
Marco remained silent.
“What does that mean?”
“He infiltrated Bruno's network,” Matteo said.
My heart stopped.
Marco exhaled.
“I was never loyal to Bruno.”
I stared at him.
“Then why didn't you tell me?”
“Because your father ordered me not to.”
“My father is dead.”
“And the order remained.”
I laughed bitterly.
“That is the excuse?”
“No.”
Marco looked directly at me.
“The truth is worse.”
He removed his black signet ring.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
“I've spent fifteen years gathering evidence.”
He handed it to me.
I inserted it into the bunker computer.
Video appeared.
Bruno speaking to several men.
Then another face appeared.
Lorenzo.
Alive.
But Lorenzo was not speaking like a traitor.
He was pleading.
“You have to stop this.”
Bruno answered.
“Your brother doesn't know what he is.”
“Neither does Alessandro.”
“Then we'll teach him.”
The video ended.
Matteo spoke.
“Lorenzo tried to stop Bruno.”
“What happened?”
“He disappeared.”
“Where?”
“Bruno's men captured him.”
I stared at Marco.
“How did you get the video?”
“I stole it.”
“When?”
“Six years ago.”
I felt a strange mixture of anger and relief.
The betrayal had been real.
But not where I expected.
Someone had been protecting me through lies.
Someone else had been controlling those lies.
“Why was Sofia taken?”
Matteo answered.
“Because she's the key.”
I looked at the child.
“A three-year-old?”
“Not Sofia herself.”
Her blue rabbit.
I frowned.
Matteo walked toward the toy.
He examined one ear.
Then the stitching.
He pulled a tiny blade and cut open the seam.
A microdrive fell out.
Elena gasped.
“What is that?”
“Proof,” Matteo said.
“Proof of what?”
“That Bruno ordered the murders of Salvatore Moretti, Lorenzo Moretti, and twenty-seven men from the old guard.”
I stared at the device.
The entire war had been built on lies.
Bruno had spent twenty years eliminating anyone who knew the truth.
My father.
My uncle.
The former captains.
And now me.
I looked at Sofia.
“How did this end up in her rabbit?”
Matteo glanced at Elena.
“She was carrying it for me.”
Elena nodded.
“I didn't know what it was.”
“You didn't need to.”
The attack came at dawn.
Bruno's men infiltrated through the underground sewage tunnel.
We fought them room by room.
Marco moved like a machine.
Matteo fought beside me.
For the first time in my life, I had a brother.
For the first time in years, I had a man beside me I could trust without question.
But someone escaped.
A single attacker.
He left behind a message written in blood on the bunker wall.
THE CLOCK WILL STRIKE TWELVE TOMORROW.
Matteo stared at it.
“The final move.”
“What happens at twelve?”
“Bruno will announce your death.”
“Announce?”
“He has already told three families that you are dead.”
I stared at him.
“How?”
“Photos.”
Then I understood.
The recent attacks weren't designed only to kill me.
They were designed to create confusion.
Bruno wanted the families to believe I was dying.
Then he would offer himself as the successor.
Operation Twelve wasn't only about my estate.
It was about every territory under Moretti control.
The final battle would happen tomorrow night.
I ordered every loyal captain to gather.
But there was one problem.
Several captains were missing.
And one of them was my closest friend from childhood.
Matteo saw my expression.
“Who?”
“Gabriel.”
Marco stiffened.
“Gabriel?”
“Yes.”
“That's impossible.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
Marco didn't answer.
Then the bunker phone rang.
One of the guards picked it up.
His face drained.
“Boss…”
“What?”
“It’s Gabriel.”
“Put him through.”
The call connected.
A man's voice whispered.
“Alessandro.”
“Where are you?”
“Don't trust Marco.”
The line died.
I slowly turned toward Marco.
He looked exhausted.
Matteo reached for his gun.
Then a second call came.
This time, it was Sofia.
Not on the phone.
From the monitor.
A hidden camera.
She was sitting somewhere dark.
Beside her was a man.
I recognized him.
Gabriel.
He looked directly into the camera.
“Tomorrow at midnight,” he said, “one Moretti will kill another.”
The screen went black.
May you like
And suddenly I realized the final betrayal had not yet begun.
It was already inside my family.
