Chapter 6 - The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
I didn’t know Lorenzo had a brother.
Apparently, nobody did.
His name was Matteo.
He was seven years younger than Lorenzo.
Victor had convinced everyone he was dead after an explosion fourteen years earlier.
But Matteo survived.
And he had spent years building his own network inside the organization.
I met him in an abandoned church.
He looked nothing like Lorenzo.
Same dark eyes.
Same sharp features.
But where Lorenzo was controlled, Matteo was restless.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Matteo told me.
“You’re the one who asked me to come.”
“I changed my mind.”
Lorenzo stepped between us.
“Enough.”
Matteo laughed.
“You always did this.”
“Did what?”
“Protected everyone except yourself.”
Their tension was immediate.
I asked,
“Why did you betray him?”
Matteo looked at me.
“I didn’t.”
“Then why did Victor know where we were?”
“Because I wanted him to.”
Lorenzo frowned.
Matteo explained.
Victor believed Matteo worked for him.
But Matteo had been feeding him false information for years.
“I stayed close to him,” Matteo said, “because someone needed to know where the money was going.”
“The original ledger,” I said.
He nodded.
“Victor never found it.”
“Where is it?”
Matteo looked at me.
“You already have it.”
I touched my necklace.
He smiled.
“Your father trusted your mother. Your mother trusted me.”
Lorenzo looked stunned.
“You knew Amelia’s mother?”
“Yes.”
“Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“Where?”
Matteo shook his head.
“Not yet.”
Lorenzo stepped forward.
“I’m done with riddles.”
Matteo stared at him.
“You need to understand something. Victor doesn’t want the money.”
“Then what does he want?”
“He wants legitimacy.”
“What?”
“Victor wants to control the legal company, the political connections, the charities, and everything your father built. If he gets the ledger, he can destroy everyone who can stop him.”
I understood.
“He wants to erase his crimes.”
Matteo nodded.
“And he needs Lorenzo blamed for the rest.”
The plan became clearer.
Victor intended to frame Lorenzo using the evidence.
Then kill him.
Then take over the empire.
But there was one person who could prove Victor’s crimes.
My mother.
We found her in Wisconsin.
She had been living under another name for twenty years.
When I saw her, I could not breathe.
She looked older.
Smaller.
But her eyes were exactly the same.
“Mom?”
She began crying.
I ran to her.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then she held my face.
“I’m sorry.”
I shook my head.
“Why did you leave me?”
“Because staying would have gotten you killed.”
“You could have told me.”
“Your father begged me not to.”
“Why?”
“Because Victor threatened to kill you.”
I stared.
“That was when I was a child?”
She nodded.
“He knew you were his weakness.”
“My father?”
“No.”
She looked at Lorenzo.
“Your husband.”
Lorenzo stood quietly.
My mother’s eyes softened.
“I knew one day you would find each other.”
I looked at her.
“You knew?”
“I knew your father believed Lorenzo was different.”
Then she revealed the final part of the truth.
My mother had kept copies of the original financial records.
But she had hidden them separately from my father.
She gave Lorenzo a small metal box.
Inside was a recording.
Victor’s voice.
A confession.
Not everything.
Enough.
Enough to connect him to murders, money laundering, and the destruction of Lorenzo’s family.
Lorenzo listened with a cold expression.
Then he turned to Matteo.
“We end this.”
Matteo nodded.
But before we could leave, Victor called.
He knew where we were.
His voice came through the phone.
“Hello, Amelia.”
My mother froze.
Victor continued.
“Tell Lorenzo I have something he wants.”
“What?”
“You.”
The call ended.
At the same moment, the lights went out.
Windows shattered.
Men rushed inside.
Lorenzo pulled me behind him.
My mother disappeared through a side door.
Matteo opened fire.
Everything happened at once.
Then I heard Lorenzo shout.
I turned.
He had been shot.
Blood spread across his shirt.
“Lorenzo!”
He dropped to one knee.
I ran toward him.
He grabbed my hand.
“Don’t.”
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s not deep.”
But blood was everywhere.
I looked at Matteo.
“Help him!”
They dragged Lorenzo into the car.
He lost consciousness before we reached the hospital.
For six hours, I sat outside surgery.
I refused to leave.
When the doctor finally emerged, he smiled.
“He’ll live.”
I closed my eyes.
The relief was overwhelming.
Later, when Lorenzo woke, the first thing he asked was,
“Where’s Amelia?”
I entered the room.
“I’m here.”
He looked at me.
And smiled.
“You stayed.”
I took his hand.
“Yes.”
He squeezed it.
Then whispered,
“I think I stopped pretending a long time ago.”
I knew exactly what he meant.
May you like
I leaned down.
“So did I.”
