Chapter 8 - Fire in the Moretti House
The bullet struck the cabinet beside Salvatore's head.
Carmine fired back.
Domenico disappeared into smoke.
"Take Leo!" Salvatore shouted.
Carmine lifted the boy.
"No!"
Leo twisted violently.
"Salvatore!"
It was the first time the child had shouted his name.
Salvatore looked back.
"Go!"
Dominic pulled Carmine toward the service corridor.
Salvatore moved after Domenico.
The mansion burned fast.
Too fast.
Accelerant.
This had been planned.
He followed through the west hall, where family portraits vanished behind smoke.
Vittorio.
Salvatore's mother.
Grandparents.
Men who had spent generations building a dynasty now reduced to shadows behind flames.
Domenico fired again from the library.
Salvatore dove.
Returned fire.
A grunt.
Then silence.
He entered.
Blood marked the carpet.
A hidden panel stood open behind a bookshelf.
Salvatore had lived in the mansion most of his life.
He had never known the passage existed.
He followed.
Stone stairs descended underground.
At the bottom stood an old wine cellar.
Domenico waited.
Gun raised.
Salvatore aimed.
For several seconds the two men faced each other.
"You knew Elena," Salvatore said.
Domenico smiled.
"Very well."
"She warned me about you."
"Eventually."
"Why did my father drive her away?"
"Because he feared what she carried."
"My son?"
"Not merely your son."
Domenico lowered his gun slightly.
"Your heir."
Salvatore's finger remained on the trigger.
"Talk."
"Vittorio believed Matteo would eventually return."
"My brother."
"Half brother."
"Where is he?"
"Closer than you think."
Salvatore's eyes narrowed.
Domenico laughed.
"You still believe this is about money."
"Then explain it."
"Your father built two empires. The one everyone sees, and another buried underneath it. Judges. senators. police commissioners. businessmen. Files on all of them."
The ledger.
"Insurance," Salvatore said.
"Control."
Domenico nodded.
"Vittorio kept evidence that could destroy half this city."
"Where?"
"Hidden."
"And Leo knows?"
"No."
"Then why does everyone want him?"
"Because Vittorio designed access around blood."
Salvatore stared.
"Biometrics?"
"DNA verification tied to a private legal trust."
Impossible.
Yet with Vittorio, nothing was impossible if paranoia was involved.
"Your father trusted nobody," Domenico said. "He created a system requiring his direct male bloodline."
"Me."
"Originally."
Domenico smiled.
"Then you disappointed him."
Salvatore's jaw tightened.
"He transferred final authority to a grandson."
"Leo wasn't born."
"Vittorio knew Elena was pregnant."
Salvatore felt rage burn through him.
"Why?"
"Because he feared Matteo could force you to cooperate. A child could disappear. A child could be controlled."
Salvatore's expression went murderous.
Domenico saw it.
"Don't look at me that way. Vittorio thought like a king, not a father."
"What did Elena do?"
Domenico's smile faded.
"She found out where Vittorio kept the files."
"Did she kill him?"
"No."
The answer came quickly.
"Matteo did."
Salvatore stopped.
"Paolo said my brother killed him."
"Paolo was right."
"Elena helped."
"She helped Vittorio disappear."
That made no sense.
"You just said Matteo killed him."
Domenico nodded.
"Eventually."
Before Salvatore could demand more, the ceiling above them groaned.
Domenico glanced up.
"We're out of time."
"You started the fire."
"Not me."
Salvatore frowned.
Domenico's face suddenly changed.
Real fear.
"If Matteo is here, you need to get the boy away."
A shot came from the stairs.
Domenico jerked.
Blood spread across his shirt.
Salvatore spun and fired.
The shooter retreated.
Domenico collapsed.
Salvatore caught him.
"Who?"
Domenico coughed.
"Matteo."
"Where is he?"
"Already inside your family."
Salvatore grabbed his coat.
"Who is he using?"
Domenico's eyes struggled to focus.
"He isn't using anyone."
"What does that mean?"
Domenico smiled weakly.
"He has been standing beside you for years."
Then his body went limp.
Salvatore stared.
Behind him, another beam collapsed.
He ran.
Outside, firefighters loyal to the family fought the blaze.
Carmine stood near the fountain with Leo.
The boy ran toward Salvatore.
Salvatore caught him.
"You okay?"
Leo nodded rapidly.
"Are you?"
"Yes."
Leo touched soot on Salvatore's cheek.
"You look terrible."
Salvatore laughed unexpectedly.
A real laugh.
Carmine stared.
So did Dominic, who stood ten feet away.
Dominic.
Years.
Standing beside you.
Salvatore's laughter died.
He looked at his consigliere.
Dominic noticed.
"What?"
Salvatore remembered Domenico's words.
He has been standing beside you for years.
Dominic was the obvious answer.
Too obvious.
"No one leaves," Salvatore said.
Dominic frowned.
"What?"
"Nobody."
The fire took the west wing.
By dawn, it was controlled.
They relocated to a secure penthouse Salvatore kept in Manhattan.
Nathaniel Crane met them there.
The custody hearing remained scheduled.
"You need to appear," the lawyer insisted.
"My house was attacked twice in forty-eight hours."
"Which is exactly what Domenico's attorney will use."
"Domenico is dead."
Nathaniel stared.
Salvatore said nothing else.
"Then the petition may be withdrawn."
"It won't."
"Why?"
"Because Domenico was never the real petitioner."
Nathaniel's face tightened.
"How do you know?"
Salvatore handed him documents recovered from Box 317.
Nathaniel studied them.
One page bore a signature.
M. Moretti.
Nathaniel sat down.
"My God."
"You recognize it?"
"Yes."
"Matteo?"
Nathaniel nodded.
"I witnessed this signature once when I was a young attorney."
Salvatore looked toward Leo, who slept on the sofa.
"So my brother is alive."
"Apparently."
"And after my son."
Nathaniel kept reading.
Then stopped.
"Salvatore."
"What?"
"This isn't a guardianship petition."
"What is it?"
Nathaniel turned the page around.
"It's a claim of paternity."
Salvatore stared.
The petitioner was Matteo Moretti.
May you like
And according to the document filed under seal, Matteo claimed that Leo Bellini was not Salvatore's son.
He claimed Leo was his.
