Chapter 5 - The Hand That Rules
"Your father was a great man, Alessandro," Luca said, his voice carrying a bitter nostalgia. "But he was too biased. I stood by his side for forty years, took twelve bullets for him, and killed dozens of enemies to keep this throne secure. Yet when he laid down to die, he handed the entire empire to a kid who only knows how to run the family with numbers and laws."
"Those laws and numbers have kept this family from collapsing under the FBI for five years, Luca," I said, my voice cold as ice. "The era of guns and corpses in cement-filled basements is over. If I continued to run this family our father's way, we would all be rotting in prison."
"Do you think so?" Luca laughed, his laughter echoing in the empty room. "But you can't run this family without the documents in your father's vault. In that red box is the list of every politician, judge, and federal agent on the Moretti payroll. Without it, you're just a businessman in an expensive suit waiting to be indicted."
"That's why you used Vanessa to get it for you," I said. "You knew I would never suspect my bride. You planned to use those documents to force me to hand the leadership to Ryan—someone you could easily pull like a puppet."
"The plan was perfect," Luca admitted, nodding slightly. "Until little Emma Rossi showed up. I forgot that children have a habit of looking for water at night."
"You didn't just forget that," I stepped closer, the distance between us now less than a meter. "You also forgot that I have always kept a private security team that even you didn't know about."
The heavy oak door of the office opened once more.
But this time, there was no impatient knock.
Ryan walked in, followed by six personal guards in black suits, all of them holding silenced pistols. Ryan’s face was devoid of his usual impulsiveness, replaced only by a cold, deep disappointment as he looked at Luca.
"Ryan..." Luca frowned slightly as he looked at the young man he had wanted to groom.
"You lied to me, Luca," Ryan said, his voice trembling with anger. "You told me Alessandro was trying to sell the family out to the FBI, and that you needed my watch to activate the protection network. I believed you because you were the man who taught me how to fire my first gun."
"I did it all for you, Ryan!" Luca shouted, losing his composure for the first time. "Your brother doesn't deserve to lead this family! You are the one who carries your father's true blood!"
"My father never taught me to betray my brother," Ryan said, gesturing for the guards to step forward.
The guards quickly closed in, disarming Luca with professional ease. He didn't resist. He knew very well that in this estate, when the Don gave an order, there was no escape.
I walked to the desk, picked up the silver watch, and dropped it into the black velvet box beside the USB and the brass key.
"Take Luca down to the basement beneath the western side gate," I ordered the guards. "Keep him there until I decide what to do with him."
"Alessandro!" Luca screamed as he was dragged through the door. "You can't kill me! The old capos will mutiny if you touch me! They are more loyal to me than to you!"
"They are loyal to the man who pays them, Luca," I called out as the door was about to close. "And the one signing their checks every month is me, not you."
The office returned to its natural quiet. The rain outside had stopped completely, revealing faint night stars through the gray clouds.
Ryan stood in silence at the corner of the room for a long time before approaching me. "What are you going to do about the wedding?"
"The wedding will resume next week," I said, placing a hand on my brother's shoulder. "But this time, we will hold it quietly. And without the presence of traitors."
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I turned to look at my father's portrait on the wall. His eyes still stared at me with stern approval under the candlelight, as if he were nodding at the way I had just cleaned up the mess he left behind.
The Moretti family would stand. Not because we were stronger or more ruthless than our enemies, but because we knew how to look past the vows to find the truth hidden behind a silver watch.
