Chapter 28 - A Final Loose End|
Despite the glittering success of the gala, Alessandro still had one final piece of business to conclude. The following afternoon, while Emma was at her prestigious private school, I accompanied him to a high-security facility located discreetly on the outskirts of the city.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked, adjusting my coat as we walked down the sterile, fluorescent-lit corridors.
"Because Lorenzo tried to terrify you," Alessandro said, his expression completely blank. "I want you to see him. I want you to know, unequivocally, that the monster in the closet is entirely powerless."
A guard unlocked a heavy steel door, leading us into a small, windowless visiting room divided by thick, bulletproof glass.
Lorenzo sat on the other side, wearing an orange jumpsuit. He looked ten years older than he had in the bunker. The arrogance had been stripped away, leaving a hollow, defeated old man.
He picked up the phone receiver on his side of the glass. Alessandro gestured for me to pick up the one on our side.
"Have you come to gloat, nephew?" Lorenzo's raspy voice crackled through the earpiece.
"I have come to say goodbye, Lorenzo," Alessandro replied smoothly, his voice devoid of any anger or malice. "Your assets have been seized. Your men have sworn loyalty to me or fled the country. Your name has been erased from the family ledger."
Lorenzo's eyes flicked to me, filled with a bitter, impotent hatred. "You think you've won, little bird? The blood in his veins will always win."
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"The blood in his veins is why we are free," I said coldly, meeting his gaze without flinching. "You are the past, Lorenzo. You are nothing but a ghost, and ghosts belong in the dark."
I hung up the receiver before he could respond. Alessandro looked at me with a mixture of pride and awe. He took my hand, and together, we turned our backs on the last remnant of the old world, walking out of the prison and back into the sunlight.
