Chapter 7 - THE MAN WHO BETRAYED GIOVANNI
The name in Brody’s ledger was Antonio Moretti.
Lorenzo’s uncle.
Giovanni’s younger brother.
For thirty years, Antonio had served as the Moretti family's financial adviser, mediator, and quiet second-in-command.
He was sixty-two.
Soft-spoken.
Educated.
The kind of man who kissed women on both cheeks and remembered children’s birthdays.
Nora had seen him once in photographs displayed in the west hall.
Standing beside Giovanni.
Standing beside Lorenzo at his mother's funeral.
Standing behind the family at weddings, baptisms, and gravesides.
Matteo handed Lorenzo the decoded files.
“There are payments from a Bellanti shell company to an account linked to Antonio.”
“How far back?”
“Six years.”
“One year before Papa's stroke.”
“Yes.”
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
Nora watched him from the hospital chair.
Lily was stable upstairs.
She was breathing with help but had already surprised the NICU staff by responding better than expected.
Nora should have been sleeping.
Instead, she had insisted on hearing the truth.
“What exactly does the ledger say?” she asked.
Matteo looked at Lorenzo.
Lorenzo nodded.
“Brody documented Bellanti payments. Dates. Deliveries. People who received them.”
“Why would Brody have access?”
“He worked in a back-office betting operation. Apparently he was smarter than they believed.”
Nora looked down.
She had spent months hating Brody.
Maybe she still did.
He had vanished while she was pregnant.
He had left debts.
He had not called.
He had not explained.
But if he had stolen something dangerous from criminals, maybe the story was more complicated.
“Is he alive?”
Nobody answered.
Nora looked up.
“Do you know?”
Matteo said, “No.”
“Do Bellanti’s people?”
“Possibly.”
“Then find him.”
Lorenzo’s gaze moved toward her.
“Why?”
“Because Lily deserves to know whether her father abandoned her or died trying to protect something.”
Lorenzo's jaw tightened slightly.
Nora noticed.
“You don't like him.”
“I don't know him.”
“You don't like the idea of him.”
“No.”
“Why?”
Matteo suddenly became interested in his phone.
Lorenzo said, “Because he left you alone.”
“So did you.”
He stared.
Nora almost smiled.
“You barely visited your father for years.”
The words were sharp.
Then she regretted them.
Lorenzo looked away.
“I’m sorry.”
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“Don't be.”
He sat.
“You're right.”
That surprised her.
“I thought staying away protected him from my life.”
“Did it?”
“No.”
They looked at each other.
Two people discovering that absence could hurt the people it was meant to protect.
Matteo cleared his throat.
“There’s something else about Antonio.”
Lorenzo looked up.
“Say it.”
“He’s on his way here.”
Nora stiffened.
“What?”
“He was notified about Giovanni’s hospitalization.”
“By whom?”
“Estate staff before communications were restricted.”
Lorenzo stood.
“Does he know Papa can communicate?”
“We don't think so.”
“Good.”
A plan formed.
Giovanni was transferred to the same hospital later that afternoon, ostensibly for medical evaluation.
Antonio arrived at six.
He hugged Lorenzo in the hallway.
“My boy.”
Nora watched from a nearby waiting area.
Antonio had kind eyes.
That made the possibility worse.
“I heard about the attack,” he said. “Is Giovanni hurt?”
“He’s stable.”
“And the maid?”
Antonio glanced toward Nora.
His eyes rested on her belly.
“Poor girl.”
Nora felt something crawl across her skin.
He knew who she was.
Maybe everyone did after the attack.
Still, the way he looked at her felt calculated.
Lorenzo said, “Come see Papa.”
Antonio entered Giovanni’s room.
Giovanni appeared exactly as he had for years.
Still.
Silent.
Communication board removed.
Hands resting on the wheelchair.
Nora stood behind privacy glass with Lorenzo and Matteo.
Antonio pulled a chair close.
“Giovanni.”
He sighed.
“This family is collapsing.”
Giovanni did not move.
Antonio continued.
“Lorenzo is becoming sentimental.”
Nora looked at Lorenzo.
His expression did not change.
Antonio leaned closer.
“Over a pregnant servant.”
Lorenzo’s jaw tightened.
Nora whispered, “Don’t.”
“I didn’t move.”
“You thought loudly.”
Matteo almost smiled.
Antonio touched Giovanni’s shoulder.
“Maybe Marco was right.”
Lorenzo went completely still.
Inside the room, Antonio continued.
“We should have finished this years ago.”
Nora stopped breathing.
Giovanni remained motionless.
Antonio sighed.
“You were always too stubborn to die.”
Then Giovanni opened his eyes wider.
His finger moved.
Once.
Antonio froze.
Giovanni moved it again.
Antonio stood so quickly his chair fell backward.
“No.”
Giovanni’s hand lifted weakly.
He pointed.
Directly at his brother.
Antonio’s face emptied.
The door opened.
Lorenzo entered.
“You were saying?”
Antonio stared.
“Lorenzo.”
“Please.”
Lorenzo closed the door.
“Finish the sentence about how you should have finished my father years ago.”
Antonio’s eyes moved toward Matteo.
Then Nora.
Then back to Lorenzo.
“You don’t understand.”
“I’m getting tired of hearing that.”
“Giovanni was going to destroy everything.”
“He built everything.”
“He was losing control.”
“He had a stroke.”
Antonio laughed bitterly.
“After I arranged for medication to make that happen.”
Nora's blood ran cold.
Lorenzo did not move.
“You poisoned him.”
“Not poison.”
Antonio's voice cracked.
“A drug combination. Blood pressure medication. Sedatives. Something to trigger the event.”
Dr. Bellucci, listening outside, closed his eyes.
Antonio continued desperately.
“Marco supplied it.”
“Why?”
“Because Giovanni wanted out.”
Lorenzo frowned.
“Out of what?”
“This life.”
Antonio gestured around.
“He wanted to dismantle half the organization.”
Silence.
Nora looked at Giovanni.
That explained more than she expected.
Giovanni, once the most feared Don on the East Coast, had been planning to leave the criminal empire behind.
Antonio had betrayed him to preserve it.
Lorenzo whispered, “Papa wanted to go legitimate?”
Antonio laughed.
“He wanted to become old and soft.”
Giovanni's finger moved.
No.
Then he pointed to Lorenzo.
Nora understood.
“He wanted Lorenzo to have a choice.”
Antonio stared at her.
“What?”
Nora stepped closer.
“He wasn't trying to destroy the family.”
She looked at Lorenzo.
“He was trying to make sure his son didn't inherit a prison.”
Lorenzo looked at Giovanni.
His father moved one finger.
Yes.
Something broke in Lorenzo's face.
For years he had believed taking control after Giovanni’s stroke was loyalty.
Maybe Giovanni had never wanted that life for him at all.
Antonio suddenly moved.
His hand disappeared inside his coat.
Matteo reacted instantly.
“Hands!”
Antonio pulled a small pistol.
Nora froze.
Lorenzo stepped between Antonio and Giovanni.
“Put it down.”
Antonio was crying now.
“You don't understand what happens if you dismantle this.”
“You tried to kill your brother.”
“I saved us!”
“You saved money.”
Antonio’s hand shook.
Then alarms sounded in the hallway.
Not medical.
Security.
Matteo's radio erupted.
“Bellanti men entering parking garage.”
Antonio laughed.
Lorenzo looked at him.
“You brought them.”
Antonio's expression gave the answer.
He had not come to confess.
May you like
He had come to finish Giovanni.
And this time he had brought an army.
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