Chapter 6 - Carlo's Last Secret
"Hello?"
For three seconds, silence.
Then Adrian laughed.
"Carlo was right about you."
Sofia's grip tightened.
"Where are you?"
"Closer than Luca thinks."
Luca held out his hand for the phone.
Sofia shook her head.
"What do you want?"
"The envelope."
Her eyes moved toward the sealed letter bearing her name.
"You know about it?"
"I've been waiting fifteen years for you to open it."
The call ended.
Sofia stared at the phone.
Luca took it.
"He's trying to control you."
"I know."
"Then don't open it."
Sofia looked at the envelope.
"I have spent half my life being protected by lies."
She picked it up.
"I'm opening it."
Inside was a letter from Carlo.
Sofia,
If you're reading this, then I failed to finish what your father and Antonio began.
The archive was never designed to hide money.
It was designed to preserve truth.
Sofia continued.
Carlo explained that Antonio had discovered Adrian wasn't simply stealing from the Bellucci organization.
He was engineering violence between families, bribing officials, and using legitimate charities to move illegal funds.
Antonio intended to expose him.
Adrian had Antonio killed first.
But the evidence survived.
"Where?" Matteo asked.
Sofia read the final paragraph.
The last record can only be found by the person who knows why libraries never forget.
She frowned.
"That's it?"
Luca looked around.
"What does it mean?"
Sofia thought.
Libraries didn't remember.
People did.
Catalogs did.
Records did.
"Circulation history."
She ran to the main computer.
Carlo had checked out one book every year on the anniversary of Antonio's death.
The same book.
For twelve years.
The Prince.
Sofia found it.
Inside the back cover was a micro-storage card.
Matteo stared.
"That's everything?"
Sofia inserted it into an offline computer.
Documents appeared.
Financial records.
Audio.
Photographs.
Bank transfers.
Enough evidence to destroy Adrian's network.
And enough to expose crimes committed by Bellucci associates over many years.
Luca looked at the screen.
Sofia looked at him.
"You know what this means."
"Yes."
"If you release it, people around you go down too."
"Yes."
"Maybe parts of your business."
"Yes."
She studied him.
"What are you going to do?"
Luca didn't hesitate.
"Finish what my father started."
Sofia hadn't expected the answer to come so easily.
"You'd give all this to prosecutors?"
"Through attorneys. Properly."
Matteo looked mildly alarmed.
"Boss, I would appreciate the opportunity to review anything containing my name before we become champions of transparency."
Luca looked at him.
"Concerned?"
"Mostly about a parking ticket from 2019."
Sofia laughed.
The evidence was copied.
Three attorneys received encrypted versions.
A retired federal prosecutor Antonio had once trusted was contacted.
For the first time, Adrian's secrets existed beyond one room.
He couldn't destroy them all.
That evening, Sofia returned to the library.
Luca accompanied her.
"No sedan?" she asked.
"No."
"Progress."
"I parked around the corner."
She rolled her eyes.
Mrs. Alvarez took one look at Luca and whispered to Sofia, "That's the man?"
"What man?"
"The one who fired you."
"Yes."
Mrs. Alvarez stared at him.
"He's prettier than I expected."
Luca heard.
Sofia covered her face.
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm not," Mrs. Alvarez said.
Luca almost smiled.
He spent an hour watching Sofia work.
Not secretly this time.
A little girl asked him to reach a book on the top shelf.
He did.
"Thank you, mister."
Luca nodded.
Sofia watched.
"You can smile at children."
"I smiled."
"You moved one corner of your mouth."
"That's a smile."
"We'll work on it."
At closing time, they walked outside.
"No car tonight?" Sofia asked.
"I'll drive you."
"I can take the subway."
"I know."
She looked at him.
That mattered.
He wasn't ordering.
He was offering.
"I'll let you drive."
In the car, Sofia asked, "What happens when this is over?"
Luca looked ahead.
"You return to your life."
"And you?"
"I return to mine."
She didn't like the answer.
"Is that what you want?"
He was quiet.
"No."
"Then what do you want?"
Luca pulled over.
He turned toward her.
"You."
No elaborate speech.
No games.
Sofia's heart pounded.
"But I don't know if wanting you is good for you."
"That's my decision."
"I fired you."
"You've mentioned that."
"I watched you."
"Also established."
"I've spent most of my adult life surrounded by violence and secrets."
"I noticed."
He looked frustrated.
"You're making this difficult."
"No. You're trying to convince me not to choose you because you're afraid I'll choose you."
That silenced him.
Sofia leaned closer.
"May I?"
His expression changed.
"Yes."
She kissed him.
Slowly.
Softly.
Luca didn't touch her at first.
As if afraid she'd disappear.
Then his hand came gently to her cheek.
When they separated, Sofia smiled.
"See?"
"What?"
"You survived."
"Debatable."
She laughed.
His phone rang.
Matteo.
Luca answered.
His expression immediately changed.
"What happened?"
Sofia watched him.
"When?"
A pause.
"We're coming."
He hung up.
"What?"
"The evidence never reached the prosecutor."
"How?"
"Someone intercepted the transfer."
"Who?"
Luca looked at her.
"Someone with access to my secure network."
Sofia's stomach tightened.
"Riccardo?"
"He's in custody."
"Then who?"
Luca's phone vibrated again.
A photograph appeared.
Matteo unconscious on the floor of Luca's office.
Behind him stood a woman.
Isabella Bellucci.
Luca stared at his mother's face.
May you like
Then another message arrived.
COME ALONE, SON.
