Chapter 10 - THE MAN ALESSANDRO TRUSTED MOST
Alessandro moved faster than I'd ever seen.
He shoved me behind a stone pillar as Vincent Gallo drew his gun.
A shot echoed through the church.
The priest screamed.
Salvatore rolled behind the altar.
Alessandro fired back.
Vincent Gallo disappeared through a side door.
Then silence.
My ears rang.
Alessandro grabbed my shoulders.
“You hit?”
“No.”
“Sure?”
“Yes.”
Salvatore groaned.
We rushed to him.
The bullet had struck his side.
An ambulance was already on its way.
He looked at Alessandro.
“Gallo has been working with Vincent Moretti for years.”
Alessandro's expression turned cold.
“How long?”
“Since your father died.”
The betrayal landed visibly.
Vincent Gallo had been Alessandro's right-hand man for twelve years.
His closest ally.
The man sitting beside him at table twelve.
The man he'd trusted with everything.
“Why?”
Salvatore coughed.
“Money. Power.”
I knelt beside him.
“And me?”
His face broke.
“I loved your mother.”
I froze.
“Sofia?”
“Yes.”
“Were you my father?”
He nodded.
Tears filled his eyes.
“We were together before Vincent attacked her.”
My stomach twisted.
“She became pregnant after?”
“We didn't know whose child you were.”
I understood.
“So Carlo claimed me to protect everyone.”
“Yes.”
“And Giovanni raised me.”
“Yes.”
Salvatore reached toward my hand.
I didn't take it.
Not yet.
He deserved answers before forgiveness.
“Why didn't you come for me?”
His eyes closed.
“Cowardice.”
The honesty hurt more than an excuse would have.
“I was afraid Vincent would kill you.”
“So you left me with Giovanni.”
“He was the best man I knew.”
My throat tightened.
“He was.”
Salvatore looked at me.
“I watched from a distance.”
“That's supposed to make it better?”
“No.”
He began crying.
“It makes it worse.”
Paramedics rushed inside.
Before they carried him away, Salvatore grabbed Alessandro's sleeve.
“Gallo has Marco's records.”
“What records?”
“His medical records.”
My heart stopped.
“Why?”
Salvatore looked at me.
“Marco isn't sick naturally.”
The world tilted.
“What?”
“His illness was induced.”
I stared.
“That's impossible.”
“Drugs. Small doses over months.”
Alessandro's face changed.
“Who?”
Salvatore swallowed.
“Dr. Marconi's predecessor.”
I turned toward Elena.
She stood near the church entrance, pale.
“I took over his care after I discovered it,” she whispered.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I didn't know who was responsible.”
Salvatore answered.
“Gallo.”
My chest tightened.
“Why would he poison Marco?”
“Because sick people create desperate families.”
I thought of my rent.
The hospital bills.
The shifts.
The night Alessandro left two thousand dollars.
The job offers.
The pressure.
Everything.
“They made me desperate on purpose.”
Salvatore nodded.
“So you'd take money.”
“So I'd be controllable.”
“Yes.”
Alessandro's expression became terrifying.
“Where is Gallo going?”
Salvatore looked toward him.
“To the bank.”
I touched my necklace.
“The safe deposit box.”
“Yes.”
“But he needs the key.”
Salvatore looked at me.
“He doesn't.”
My blood went cold.
“What?”
“The necklace key opens the outer compartment.”
“And the inner compartment?”
Salvatore's eyes moved toward Alessandro.
“Requires a Moretti blood signature.”
Alessandro frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“A biometric lock.”
Silence.
May you like
Then Salvatore whispered,
“They need both of you.”
