Aria's POV
I stare at Dante's severed finger, and something inside me breaks.
Not breaks down. Breaks open.
All the fear, all the confusion, all the doubt—it burns away. What's left is pure, cold rage.
"Aria." Isabela touches my shoulder. "We need to—"
"I'm giving her what she wants." My voice sounds strange. Calm. Dead.
"What?"
I carefully close the drawer, turn to face them. Matteo, Isabela, Marco—all staring at me like I've lost my mind.
Maybe I have.
"Sofia wants the Constantino empire. Codes, accounts, contacts, everything." I pull out my phone. "I'm going to give it to her."
"You can't be serious," Matteo says. "Dante would never—"
"Dante is being tortured!" I shout. "She's cutting him apart piece by piece! So yes, I'm giving her whatever she wants to make it stop!"
"And then what?" Isabela's voice is sharp. "You think she'll just let him go? Let you go? She'll take everything and kill you both anyway."
"Probably." I meet her eyes. "But at least he won't suffer anymore."
Silence.
"There has to be another way," Marco says quietly. "Some leverage we can use—"
"Like what? We have nothing! She has everything!" My hands are shaking. I ball them into fists. "Unless you have some brilliant idea hiding in that traitorous brain of yours?"
Marco flinches. "I deserve that."
"You deserve worse." But I'm too tired to fight with him. Too desperate. "Just... tell me honestly. Is there any way to find Sofia before the deadline? Any at all?"
He thinks. Then slowly shakes his head. "She could be anywhere. The Syndicate has dozens of safe houses, hundreds of operatives. Without inside information—"
"Then we're done." I turn to Matteo. "I need access to Dante's accounts. His files. Everything Sofia asked for."
"I can't do that. Dante trusted me—"
"Dante is DYING!" Tears stream down my face now. "He's being mutilated and it's MY FAULT! My mother is doing this because of ME! So I'm fixing it the only way I know how!"
Matteo's jaw clenches. But slowly, reluctantly, he nods.
"There's a secure server at Dante's secondary office. Downtown. All his sensitive data is backed up there." He pulls out a key card. "But Aria, if you do this—if you hand over the Constantino empire to your mother—you're starting a war. The other families won't stand for it."
"I don't care about the other families."
"Dante would care."
"Then Dante can yell at me about it when he's ALIVE!" I snatch the key card. "Where's this office?"
Matteo sighs, defeated. "I'll drive you."
Thirty minutes later, we're in a nondescript office building. Matteo leads me to the twentieth floor, to a door marked "Storage."
Inside is anything but storage.
Computer servers line the walls. Screens showing security feeds. File cabinets with biometric locks.
"This is Dante's real headquarters," Matteo explains. "Where he keeps everything that matters. The penthouse is just for show."
He sits at the main computer, starts typing. "I'm uploading everything to an encrypted drive. It'll take ten minutes."
I nod, pacing. Every second feels like an eternity.
My phone buzzes.
Sofia: 8 hours, 22 minutes. I'm getting bored. Maybe I'll move on to toes next. He has ten of those.
I want to throw the phone. Scream. Destroy something.
Instead, I breathe. Focus.
"Matteo. How long have you known Dante?"
He glances up, surprised by the question. "Since we were eight. Our fathers did business together."
"What was he like? Before... everything?"
A sad smile. "Happy. Believe it or not. He laughed. Played soccer. Drew pictures." The smile fades. "Then his mother died. His father started the 'training.' And the happy kid disappeared. The monster took his place."
"He's not a monster."
"No?" Matteo studies me. "He's killed people, Aria. Lots of people. Hurt even more. Built an empire on blood and fear. What would you call that?"
"Survival." I meet his gaze. "He became what he needed to be to stay alive. To protect what mattered. That's not monstrous. That's... human."
Matteo's expression softens. "You really love him."
It's not a question. But I answer anyway.
"Yes." The word feels like stepping off a cliff. "I love him. I don't know when it happened. Don't know if it's stupid or crazy or both. But I do. And I'm not letting him die."
"Even if saving him means destroying everything he built?"
"He can rebuild. He can't come back from dead."
The computer beeps. Upload complete.
Matteo removes the drive, hands it to me. "Everything Dante owns. His entire world. On this little piece of plastic."
I close my fingers around it. It's warm from the computer.
"Thank you," I say quietly.
"Don't thank me. This is the worst decision I've ever helped someone make." He runs a hand through his hair. "Dante's going to hate us both."
"I'll take the blame. Tell him I forced you."
"He won't believe that." Matteo heads for the door. "Come on. Let's contact Sofia before I change my mind."
We're walking to the elevator when my phone rings.
Not Sofia. Unknown number.
I answer warily. "Hello?"
"Aria Moretti." The voice is male. Old. Refined. "I've been wanting to speak with you."
"Who is this?"
"Someone who can help you save Dante. And stop your mother. But first, you need to stop making deals with the devil."
My heart pounds. "How do you know—"
"I know everything, child. I know Sofia has your lover. I know you're planning to give her the Constantino empire. And I know it won't work. She'll kill you both the moment she has what she wants."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Come see me. Alone. I'll send you an address." He pauses. "Bring the drive. You'll need it. But not for the reason you think."
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because unlike everyone else in your life, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm going to show you the truth about who your mother really is. What she really wants. And why the only way to save Dante..." He lets the silence stretch. "...is to become exactly what she made you to be. A weapon."
"I don't understand—"
"You will. One hour. Come alone, or Dante dies screaming." The line goes dead.
I stare at the phone.
"Who was that?" Matteo asks.
"I don't know." I forward him the address that just came through. "But whoever he is, he knows about Sofia. About Dante. About everything."
Matteo checks the address, goes pale. "Aria, this is... this is Luca Constantino's estate."
My blood runs cold. "Dante's father? The one in prison?"
"He was released three months ago. Good behavior." Matteo's voice is tight. "Dante didn't tell you because he didn't want you anywhere near that psychopath."
"Well, the psychopath wants to meet me." I head for the elevator. "And he's the only one offering actual help."
"This is a trap!"
"Everything is a trap!" I spin to face him. "But I'm out of options, Matteo! Sofia has Dante. She's torturing him. And in eight hours, she'll kill him whether I give her what she wants or not. So if there's even a CHANCE this man can help..."
"He's worse than Sofia. Worse than anyone." Matteo grabs my arm. "Dante spent his whole life trying to escape that man. If you go there—"
"I know." I pull free gently. "But I'm going anyway."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"He said alone."
"I don't care what he said!"
We glare at each other.
Finally, I nod. "Fine. But you stay in the car. Hidden. If things go wrong—"
"I'll come in shooting."
"Deal."
The drive to Luca Constantino's estate takes forty minutes. It's outside the city, hidden behind gates and guards and enough security to protect a president.
We're waved through after showing the invitation on my phone.
The house is massive. Old money. Old evil.
"This is where Dante grew up," Matteo says quietly as we approach. "This is where his father broke him."
I shiver despite the warm night.
A butler meets us at the door. "Miss Moretti. You're expected. Please, follow me."
"I'll wait here," Matteo says, giving me a look that says be careful.
I follow the butler through hallways filled with expensive art and the smell of cigar smoke.
He leads me to a study.
And there, sitting behind a desk like a king on a throne, is Luca Constantino.
He's older than in his photos. Gray hair, sharp eyes, suit that probably costs more than a house. He looks like Dante—same strong features, same presence.
But where Dante's eyes have warmth buried beneath the ice, Luca's have nothing. Just cold calculation.
"Aria Moretti." He gestures to a chair. "Please, sit. We have much to discuss."
I sit stiffly, hand near my gun.
Luca smiles. "Smart girl. But you won't need that. If I wanted you dead, you'd never have made it through the gates."
"What do you want?"
"Direct. I like that." He pours himself whiskey. Doesn't offer me any. "I want to help you save my disappointing son."
"Why?"
"Because Sofia Moretti is bad for business. She's trying to take over the Syndicate, restructure everything, eliminate the old guard." He takes a sip. "I'm old guard. So I have a vested interest in her failure."
"And Dante?"
"Is a means to an end." Luca sets down his glass. "But he's MY means. My blood. And I don't appreciate Sofia using him without permission."
The casual way he talks about his son—like property—makes me sick.
"How can you help?" I ask.
Luca reaches into his desk, pulls out a folder. Slides it across.
I open it.
Inside are photos. Documents. Maps.
And a detailed layout of where Sofia is really holding Dante.
"How did you—"
"I still have people everywhere, child. The Syndicate thinks I'm retired, but I'm just... delegating." He points to the map. "Sofia is at an abandoned hospital in Queens. Heavily guarded. Twenty men. She's torturing my son in the basement surgical unit."
My hands shake as I study the layout.
"This is real?" I whisper.
"Completely." Luca leans back. "And I'll give you everything you need to get him out. Men, weapons, strategy. Everything."
"In exchange for what?"
His smile widens. "Smart AND cautious. You'd have made an excellent daughter-in-law if my son had better taste."
I wait.
"In exchange," Luca says slowly, "you help me kill Sofia. Permanently. No prison. No mercy. Just death."
"I..." I swallow hard. "You want me to murder my own mother?"
"I want you to eliminate a threat to the natural order." He stands, walks to the window. "Sofia Moretti is chaos incarnate. She'll destroy the balance, start wars that will kill thousands. Your mother stopped being your mother the day she pulled the trigger on your father. Now she's just another monster. And monsters need to be put down."
He turns to face me.
"So what will it be, Aria? Save Dante and become a killer? Or keep your hands clean and let Sofia butcher him piece by piece?"
I look down at the folder. At the maps that could save Dante's life.
Then at my own hands. Still shaking.
Could I do it? Could I kill my own mother?
Before I can answer, gunshots explode outside.
Luca's phone rings. He answers, listens, his expression darkening.
"Well," he says calmly, hanging up. "It seems Sofia found us faster than expected. She's here. With an army. And she's demanding I hand you over."
He looks at me
with those cold, calculating eyes.
"Last chance, child. Do we have a deal? Or should I just give you to her and save myself the trouble?"