Chapter 18 - The Shadow's Revenge|
Two days later, Elena stood inside a sterile, windowless interrogation room in the Federal Building in downtown Manhattan.
The air smelled of industrial disinfectant and stale coffee. Sitting across the metal table, wearing an orange jumpsuit with heavy steel handcuffs binding his wrists, was Matteo De Luca.
He looked thinner, tired, but his eyes lit up with a intense flare the moment Elena walked through the heavy door.
"You shouldn't be here," Matteo said, his voice rough. "It isn't safe for you in the States."
Elena sat down opposite him, placing her hands flat on the cold steel table. "You turned yourself in."
"It was the only way to dismantle my father's network completely," Matteo said quietly, looking down at his chained hands. "If I stayed alive and free, his lieutenants would keep fighting for the throne. Blood would keep spilling. Yours included."
"You face life in prison, Matteo," Elena said, her voice shaking. "The prosecutor told me you're looking at thirty years minimum."
Matteo gave a small, bitter smile. "I've spent forty-eight years in a prison of my own making, Elena. A steel cell isn't much different."
Elena leaned closer across the table. "I read my mother's red diary."
Matteo’s expression froze. "You found it."
"Why didn't you tell me about the Vatican reserves?" she demanded. "Why didn't you take the money and run?"
"Because that money is cursed," Matteo said softly, looking straight into her eyes. "It killed your mother. It destroyed my life. I don't want it. I want you to have a life that isn't stained by blood."
Elena reached out, her fingers brushing against his cold, metallic handcuffs.
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"The prosecutor offered me a deal," Elena whispered. "They said if I hand over the red diary, they’ll reduce your sentence to five years in witness protection."
Matteo’s breath hitched. "No, Elena. If you hand over that diary, the remaining syndicate bosses will know you were the informant. They will hunt you forever."
