Chapter 4 - The Bloodline
The horrifying truth hit my chest like a physical blow, stealing all the oxygen straight out of my lungs.
I stared at Salvatore, desperately waiting for the old man to call Lorenzo a liar and deny the brutal accusation.
Salvatore simply looked away, his silence confirming that the blood of my parents was permanently stained on his hands.
I took a horrified step backward, pulling my hand away from Mateo's suit jacket as if the fabric itself had burned me.
"You knew," I choked out, looking up at Mateo's perfectly stoic, handsome face.
"I knew," Mateo admitted softly, his gray eyes flashing with a dark, complicated emotion I could not understand.
"Come with me, Tessa," Lorenzo offered, extending a welcoming hand toward me from across the tense courtyard.
"The Romano family will protect you, and together we will open the vault and destroy the Vitiello empire forever."
I looked between the two mafia bosses, realizing I was nothing more than a pawn in a war that started before I was even born.
I took a slow, trembling step away from Mateo, the instinct to survive screaming at me to run.
Before I could take another step, Mateo’s arm shot out, wrapping tightly around my waist and pulling me flush against his side.
"She is not going anywhere with you, Lorenzo," Mateo growled, drawing his weapon faster than my eyes could follow.
The courtyard instantly erupted into absolute chaos as every single gunman raised their rifles.
"If you shoot me, my men will turn you and your father into Swiss cheese," Lorenzo threatened, dropping his polite smile completely.
Mateo did not aim his gun at Lorenzo's chest.
He aimed it directly at a massive stack of highly explosive chemical barrels sitting just behind Lorenzo's men.
"I do not need to shoot you, Lorenzo, I just need to blow this entire factory to hell," Mateo stated coldly.
Lorenzo's eyes widened in genuine panic as he realized Mateo was entirely crazy enough to kill everyone in the courtyard, including himself.
"Back down!" Lorenzo screamed to his men, throwing his hands up defensively.
Mateo kept his gun aimed at the barrels, slowly dragging me backward toward the open door of our armored SUV.
"Get in," Mateo ordered me roughly, shoving me safely into the backseat before pushing his father in next.
Mateo climbed in last, slamming the door and yelling for the driver to get us out of there.
The SUV peeled out of the courtyard, smashing through the front gates and speeding back onto the dark highway.
I huddled in the corner of the leather seat, crying silently as the reality of my parents' murder washed over me.
Mateo put his gun away and reached out, gently wiping a tear from my cheek with his rough thumb.
"Do not touch me, you monster," I sobbed, swatting his large hand away aggressively.
Mateo's face hardened, but he did not try to touch me again.
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"Lorenzo was right about my father ordering the hit, Tessa," Mateo said, his voice dropping to a low, intense whisper.
"But Lorenzo forgot to mention that he was the one who actually pulled the trigger."
