Chapter 5 - Adrian's Brother Betrayed Him, and the Man I Loved Was Shot While Trying to Save My SisterHis name was Matteo Moretti.
Adrian's younger brother.
I had seen him at the mansion.
Quiet.
Polite.
Almost invisible.
He had been the one who warned Adrian about attacks.
The one who watched Lila when Adrian was away.
The one I trusted.
He was the traitor.
He took Emma.
He gave Voss the location of the trust documents.
And he wanted Adrian dead.
The confrontation happened at an abandoned train depot.
Emma was tied to a chair.
Matteo stood beside her.
Voss stood behind him.
I entered with the trust documents.
Adrian followed.
“Let her go.”
Voss smiled.
“Give me the originals.”
I held them up.
He stepped forward.
Adrian raised his gun.
“Don't.”
Voss laughed.
“You've always been predictable.”
Then Matteo shot Adrian.
He dropped.
I screamed.
Emma screamed.
Everything became chaos.
Security returned fire.
I ran to Adrian.
Blood soaked his shirt.
“Stay with me.”
He looked at me.
“I'm okay.”
“You're not.”
He smiled.
“Never been better.”
The bullet had entered his shoulder.
He was alive.
We escaped.
Emma came with us.
For the first time in eleven months, she was home.
We cried.
We held each other.
She kept apologizing.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You were.”
“I should have told you.”
“I know.”
Then Emma looked at Adrian.
“He saved me.”
I nodded.
“I know.”
She took my hand.
“There is something else.”
“What?”
“Our mother didn't just build the trust.”
She looked at Adrian.
“She hid the real money.”
“What?”
“She knew Dad would steal it.”
“Where?”
“Inside the Moretti family.”
Adrian frowned.
Emma continued.
“Our mothers built a joint trust.”
The value exceeded two hundred million dollars.
It was designed to fund a network protecting whistleblowers.
Not a criminal empire.
A shield.
Someone had tried to steal it.
Our family had been fighting over the wrong thing.
The trust wasn't personal wealth.
It was a legacy.
I looked at Adrian.
“What happens if we activate it?”
He smiled.
“Then Voss loses everything.”
Emma nodded.
“We can do it.”
But there was another problem.
Voss had legal control over one final asset.
A company that held the original evidence.
We needed to take it back.
Adrian was recovering.
He insisted on working.
I stayed beside him.
One night, he woke from a nightmare.
I touched his face.
“You okay?”
He nodded.
Then said:
“My brother tried to kill me.”
“I know.”
“I'm supposed to hate him.”
“You don't?”
He looked away.
“I loved him.”
I understood.
Because family could betray you and still be family.
The next morning, we prepared the final operation.
But before we left, Lila came running.
“Mommy!”
I caught her.
She hugged me.
“I love you.”
I froze.
She had never said that before.
I kissed her hair.
“I love you too.”
Adrian watched.
His eyes filled.
For a moment, he wasn't a mafia boss.
He was just a father.
And I knew I couldn't leave him.
Not now.
Not after everything.
We entered Voss's headquarters.
The evidence was there.
Emma retrieved it.
Adrian confronted Matteo.
His brother dropped his weapon.
“I didn't want to hurt you.”
“You did.”
“I was scared.”
“So was I.”
Matteo cried.
Adrian lowered his gun.
“Leave.”
“Why?”
“Because killing you would destroy the last piece of my family.”
Matteo left.
Voss tried to escape.
We stopped him.
The trust was activated.
The money was transferred.
The network collapsed.
But one final secret remained.
The documents contained a clause.
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If the trust was activated, it required a permanent family union.
Marriage.
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