Chapter 7 - THE HOUSE OF LIES
Alessio’s driver turned the car around before the call had fully ended. The security chief spoke rapidly into his radio, sending one team toward the estate and another to the nearest private airstrip. Alessio sat rigid beside Isabella, one hand pressed against his brace, the other holding the letter that bore his mother’s signature.
“We can’t rush in,” Isabella said. “If Marco knows we’re coming, he’ll have the advantage.”
“He has my mother.”
“And he wants you angry.”
Alessio looked at her. “You’re asking me to think while he threatens the only person who has never abandoned me.”
“I’m asking because she may be the only person who knows why he’s doing this.”
The estate’s security cameras had gone dark. The team entered through a service road and found two guards unconscious near the garage. No blood, no visible wounds—just enough evidence to suggest Marco had planned the takeover carefully. Inside, the mansion was silent except for the ticking of the hall clock.
They found Valentina in the conservatory, seated beneath the glass roof with her hands tied. Marco stood behind her, holding a pistol loosely at his side. He wore no coat, as if he were waiting for a family dinner rather than a confrontation.
“Put the weapon down,” Alessio said.
Marco smiled. “You came home. I knew you would.”
“Let her go.”
“Of course. After we settle our misunderstanding.” He glanced at Isabella. “And you brought the little savior. How touching.”
Isabella felt fear rise, but she held his gaze. “You sabotaged the brace.”
“I corrected a problem that should have been corrected years ago.” Marco’s smile faded. “Alessio was supposed to lose control in front of those people. They were supposed to see that he couldn’t lead the organization. Instead, you made him look human. It was irritating.”
“You tried to injure me,” Alessio said.
“I tried to expose your weakness. You’ve spent years turning a chair into a throne. The family needs someone who can walk into a room without becoming a tragedy.”
Alessio’s voice was flat. “You’re confusing cruelty with strength.”
Marco’s eyes flashed. “And you’re confusing fear with loyalty. They obey you because they think you’re invincible. Once they see you can be hurt, they’ll choose someone else.”
Valentina lifted her chin. “They’ll choose no one who speaks to his family like that.”
Marco pressed the gun closer to her shoulder. “You don’t get to lecture me, Aunt. You signed the letter.”
“I signed nothing that ordered a man’s death.”
“Perhaps not. But you buried the evidence afterward.”
Valentina’s silence confirmed that part of it was true. She had tried to protect the family by hiding the file, believing she could contain the damage. Her fear had given Marco years to grow bolder.
Isabella shifted slightly, moving into Marco’s line of sight. “You’re not going to kill her.”
“Are you an expert now?”
“No. I’m just noticing you keep talking instead of doing anything. You need Alessio to hear your explanation. You need him to know you believe you deserve his place.”
Marco turned toward her. It was only a fraction of a second, but Alessio’s security chief took the opening. A guard rushed from behind the conservatory doors. Marco fired once into the ceiling and shoved Valentina aside. The room exploded into movement. Alessio tried to push himself up from his chair, but his leg buckled. Isabella caught his shoulder before he struck the floor.
“Don’t,” she whispered. “Let them handle him.”
Two guards wrestled Marco to the ground. The pistol skidded beneath a table. Valentina was freed, shaking but unharmed. For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then Marco began to laugh.
“You still don’t understand,” he said as the guards hauled him upright. “I didn’t start this. I was following instructions.”
Alessio’s face went cold. “Whose?”
Marco looked at Valentina. “Ask her who paid the doctor to alter your records after the accident. Ask who made sure your rehabilitation failed. Ask who needed you dependent, isolated, and too angry to look into the warehouse.”
Valentina stared at him in horror. “That’s a lie.”
“Is it?” Marco leaned toward Alessio. “You think the brace is the only thing someone tampered with?”
May you like
The guards dragged him away, but his words remained in the room like smoke. Alessio looked at his mother, and for the first time since Isabella had met him, his expression showed something worse than pain.
It showed doubt.
