Chapter 14 - The House That Nearly Buried Them
Smoke filled the corridor.
Dante ran toward Elena, pulling her and Matteo away from the collapsing ceiling.
Sofia followed, clutching the original hospital records.
"Where's Mrs. Collins?" Elena screamed.
"She got the children out through the service passage," Dante replied.
He guided them toward the underground garage.
But Paul was already waiting.
Two armed men stood beside him.
The old man held the remote control in one hand.
"Put down your weapon, Dante."
Dante raised his pistol.
"You're finished."
Paul laughed.
"Your father said exactly the same thing before he died."
Dante's face tightened.
"Tell me the truth."
Paul looked at Sofia.
"Your mother was supposed to hand over the documents. Instead, she thought she could expose us."
"Did you kill her?" Sofia demanded.
"Your mother was stubborn."
"She was twenty-two!"
Paul shrugged.
"People make mistakes."
Sofia moved forward, but Elena held her back.
Dante's gun remained steady.
"Did you kill my father?"
Paul nodded.
"Yes. Your father wanted to give everything to children who didn't deserve it."
"And you used me to do it."
"You were young. You trusted me. I told you the medication was necessary."
Dante's expression changed.
The confession had finally come.
But Paul wasn't finished.
"Then I made one more mistake. I underestimated you."
He pressed the remote control.
Nothing happened.
He pressed it again.
Still nothing.
Dante smiled coldly.
"I removed the detonator before you arrived."
Paul's face went white.
For the first time, the older man looked afraid.
The two guards moved toward Dante.
Sofia suddenly threw the hospital records across the floor.
One guard turned instinctively.
Elena used the distraction to pull Matteo behind a concrete pillar.
Dante fired.
The first guard dropped his weapon.
The second tried to escape.
Sofia tackled him, sending both crashing against a parked vehicle.
Paul ran toward the emergency exit.
Dante chased him.
They reached the underground loading area.
Paul turned with a small pistol.
"Stop!"
Dante stopped.
For several seconds, uncle and nephew stared at each other.
"You were supposed to inherit everything," Paul said. "You could have been the greatest Moretti of them all."
"I already have everything."
Dante looked toward the stairwell.
"My wife. My children. My family."
Paul laughed bitterly.
"Family is weakness."
"No," Dante replied. "Family is the reason you failed."
Paul raised his gun.
A shot rang out.
But it wasn't Dante who fired.
A police tactical officer appeared at the entrance.
Paul dropped his weapon.
He was arrested along with the surviving members of his security team.
When Dante returned upstairs, Elena ran into his arms.
She touched the blood on his forehead.
"You're hurt."
"It's nothing."
"You almost died."
"But I didn't."
He kissed her.
Then Matteo ran toward them.
"Papa!"
Dante knelt and wrapped his arms around his son.
Sofia stood nearby, tears running down her face.
For the first time in fifteen years, the Moretti family was finally together.
But the victory was short-lived.
The police commander approached Dante with a sealed evidence bag.
"Mr. Moretti, we found this in your uncle's vehicle."
Inside was an old photograph.
It showed Paul standing beside another man.
The man was wearing a hospital uniform.
Elena recognized him immediately.
Dr. Anthony Rossi.
Her uncle.
But there was something else.
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On the back of the photograph was a handwritten sentence.
The girl was never supposed to survive.
