Chapter 10 - The Mafia King's Last War
The man standing in front of Alessandro was impossible.
His face was older.
His hair was gray.
His eyes carried years of regret.
But Alessandro knew those eyes.
He had seen them in the mirror.
Because they were his own.
"Alessandro..."
The man took one step forward.
"I know this is difficult."
Alessandro didn't move.
He couldn't.
For years, he believed his father was dead.
He believed the funeral.
The photographs.
The memories.
Everything.
All of it.
A lie.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
The man looked hurt.
"I deserve that."
Alessandro's expression turned cold.
"You don't get to appear after twenty years and say you deserve anything."
Grace watched him carefully.
She had seen Alessandro angry before.
But this was different.
This wasn't the anger of a mafia king.
This was the pain of a son.
A son who spent his entire life believing he had been abandoned.
"Who are you really?"
The man lowered his eyes.
"My name is Daniel Bellandi."
The room became silent.
Because the name meant something.
Daniel Bellandi.
The first son.
The missing heir.
The person erased from every family record.
Alessandro looked at the documents on the table.
Then back at him.
"You are my father's son."
Daniel nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why did everyone say you died?"
A painful silence followed.
"Because your father needed me to disappear."
Alessandro laughed once.
A bitter sound.
"Everyone always needed someone to disappear."
He looked toward Matteo.
"Didn't they?"
Matteo stood silently.
For the first time, he looked less powerful.
Because Daniel's existence destroyed the foundation he had built.
"You knew."
Alessandro looked at Matteo.
"You knew he was alive."
Matteo didn't answer.
That was the answer.
Alessandro stepped forward.
"You knew my entire life was built on lies."
Matteo's expression hardened.
"You were protected."
"No."
Alessandro shook his head.
"I was controlled."
The words cut through the room.
Daniel looked at him.
"Your father wanted you away from this."
Alessandro turned.
"Then why did he leave me?"
Daniel looked down.
"Because he thought distance would keep you safe."
A pause.
"But Matteo made sure you inherited everything he left behind."
Alessandro looked at Grace.
Then Leo.
And suddenly he understood.
The Bellandi empire wasn't just a business.
It was a prison.
One generation passed to another.
One secret after another.
Everyone protecting the family.
While destroying the people inside it.
"Why did you come back now?"
Daniel looked at Leo.
"Because Matteo crossed the last line."
Alessandro's eyes narrowed.
"What line?"
Daniel reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
A family photograph.
His father.
Daniel.
A young Alessandro.
And a woman Alessandro had never seen.
Grace looked at it.
Then froze.
Because she recognized the woman.
"That's..."
Alessandro noticed.
"Who is she?"
Grace's face turned pale.
"The woman who helped me escape."
The room went quiet.
Daniel nodded.
"Her name was Isabella."
Alessandro stared.
"Who was she?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Your mother."
The words hit harder than anything before.
Alessandro stepped back.
"My mother died when I was a child."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
A pause.
"She survived."
Nobody spoke.
Alessandro's entire world shifted again.
His mother.
Alive.
His father.
Alive.
His brother.
Alive.
Everything he believed about his family was a lie.
"Where is she?"
Daniel looked away.
"That's the part I never wanted you to know."
Alessandro's voice became dangerous.
"Where is she?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Matteo knows."
Everyone turned.
Matteo remained silent.
And that silence told Alessandro everything.
"You took her."
Matteo finally spoke.
"I protected the family."
Alessandro moved instantly.
Victor grabbed his shoulder.
"Not yet."
Alessandro looked at him.
"Move."
Victor didn't.
"Listen first."
Matteo smiled.
"Still pretending to be the hero?"
Victor looked at him.
"No."
A pause.
"I'm trying to stop Alessandro from becoming you."
The sentence landed.
Because everyone understood.
This was the battle.
Not between families.
Between two versions of Alessandro.
The man he was.
And the man he could become.
Hours later, the truth began coming out.
Daniel showed them the files.
The real files.
The ones hidden for decades.
Matteo had not built the Bellandi empire.
He had stolen it.
He manipulated Alessandro's father.
Destroyed alliances.
Created enemies.
Then convinced Alessandro that violence was the only way to survive.
Every enemy Alessandro fought.
Every war he entered.
Every person he destroyed.
Matteo had planned it.
Alessandro sat silently.
Reading every page.
Grace sat beside him.
Not touching him.
But close enough.
A small sign.
She wasn't gone.
Not completely.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Alessandro asked Daniel.
Daniel looked at him.
"Because I promised your father."
"Another promise."
Alessandro smiled sadly.
"Everyone kept promises except the ones made to me."
Daniel looked hurt.
"You deserve to hate me."
"I don't know what I feel."
And that was the truth.
For the first time, Alessandro didn't have an answer.
Then Leo entered.
He was holding a small drawing.
He walked toward Alessandro.
"Can you help me?"
Alessandro looked surprised.
"With what?"
Leo handed him the paper.
It was a drawing.
A family.
But this time there was something different.
There were more people.
Grace.
Leo.
Alessandro.
And beside them...
A man.
Daniel.
The child had drawn a family he barely understood.
But somehow wanted.
Alessandro looked at the picture.
Then at his son.
"Why did you add him?"
Leo pointed at Daniel.
"Because he looks sad."
Nobody spoke.
Because children saw things adults ignored.
Daniel looked away.
Trying to hide his emotion.
Then the sound of an alarm interrupted them.
Everyone turned.
Marco rushed inside.
"Boss."
Alessandro stood.
"What happened?"
Marco looked at Daniel.
Then at the others.
"We found the person who leaked the location."
Alessandro's expression changed.
"Who?"
Marco hesitated.
"Someone inside the Bellandi organization."
"Name."
Marco lowered his voice.
"The person who has been controlling the accounts, the documents, and the family records."
A pause.
"The person who erased Daniel's existence."
Alessandro stepped closer.
"Who?"
Marco looked at him.
And whispered:
"Grace's father."
The room went silent.
Grace froze.
"No."
Marco handed Alessandro a file.
Inside was a photograph.
A photograph taken just days before Christmas.
Grace's father.
Standing beside Matteo.
And beside them...
A newborn baby.
Alessandro stared.
Because written on the back of the photograph was one sentence.
The child Matteo was protecting was never Leo.
Then the lights in the mansion went out again.
May you like
And from somewhere upstairs...
Leo screamed.
