Chapter 9 - SOFIA WAS NEVER THE REAL ENEMY
Sofia arrived at the federal field office under armed escort.
She looked nothing like the woman I had seen in Dante’s office.
No silk blouse.
No perfect hair.
No confidence.
Just a frightened thirty-year-old woman who had spent years living inside her father’s crimes.
“My father worked for Matteo,” she said.
“Carlo tried to kill him on the boat?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Matteo discovered Carlo had been stealing from the waterfront companies.”
History repeating itself.
Money.
Fear.
Silence.
Always followed by somebody deciding murder was easier than truth.
Sofia wiped her face.
“When Matteo survived, Dad convinced him Vittorio had ordered the explosion.”
“And you continued the lie after your father died.”
“I didn’t know it was a lie until six months ago.”
“What happened six months ago?”
“I found his files.”
That was when Matteo returned.
Sofia gave him copies.
Together they began digging through Moretti financial history.
Then Matteo discovered my trust.
“He wanted to expose Vittorio and reclaim what belonged to him.”
“That sounds almost reasonable,” Rachel said.
Sofia nodded miserably.
“At first.”
Then Matteo became obsessed.
He believed everyone who had benefited from the lie deserved punishment.
Dante.
Vittorio.
Eventually me.
“But who planned to kill Lena?” Dante demanded.
Sofia looked at him.
“Your father.”
The room went dead.
“No.”
“He amended the insurance policy.”
Dante stepped forward.
“My father put a hundred-million-dollar policy on my wife?”
“He didn’t create it. Matteo did. Vittorio discovered it and changed the beneficiary structure.”
“Why?”
“To bait Matteo.”
My stomach turned.
Vittorio had used my life as part of a trap.
Again, someone called it protection.
Again, nobody had asked me.
Sofia continued.
“Vittorio knew Matteo was watching the trust. He made Sofia executive proxy so Matteo would approach me.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
“He wanted me to lead him to Matteo.”
Dante looked murderous.
Sofia shook her head.
“I didn’t know Lena was supposed to be collateral.”
“Collateral?”
I said the word softly.
Sofia began crying again.
“Vittorio planned to fake an attack on you.”
Dante went completely still.
“He what?”
“Make Matteo believe Lena was dead. Force him into the open.”
My hands became cold.
“And did he tell the men it was fake?”
Sofia looked away.
That was the answer.
Dante hit the wall so hard the glass panel cracked.
Federal agents moved.
I did not.
For once, his rage felt appropriate.
His father had treated me like an asset.
Matteo treated me like leverage.
Sofia used me as a weapon.
And Dante had created the opening by lying, hiding, and believing he could manage every danger himself.
Then an agent entered.
“We located the hostages.”
Dante turned.
“Where?”
“Old Saint Vincent Hospital.”
Abandoned twelve years.
The tactical team was preparing entry.
Then the agent looked at me.
“There’s an issue.”
“What?”
“We intercepted Matteo’s call.”
He had moved the countdown forward.
Forty minutes.
And he had made a new demand.
Not the trust.
Not the ledger.
He wanted Dante to come alone.
May you like
Because Matteo had just learned the truth of his birth.
And before the night ended, he wanted one Moretti brother to die.
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