Chapter 10 - Alessandro’s Choice
Sophia woke inside a room with no windows.
Her head hurt.
Her wrists were free.
That surprised her.
Vittorio sat across from her.
“You’re awake.”
“Disappointed?”
“Amused.”
“Where’s Elena?”
“Safe.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
Sophia sat upright.
“What do you want?”
“To correct history.”
“You mean steal my shares.”
“I built that company.”
“With Carlo.”
“With my money.”
“And apparently enough crime to make everyone around you collect evidence.”
His smile vanished.
Good.
Sophia continued.
“You lost your wife. Your business partner. Your son.”
“Daniel will understand.”
“No. Daniel finally understands.”
Vittorio stood.
“You think Alessandro loves you?”
Sophia’s heart jumped.
She hated that he noticed.
“I think that’s none of your business.”
“He wants control.”
“We covered this.”
“He will choose the company.”
“Maybe.”
Vittorio looked surprised.
Sophia shrugged.
“People are allowed to want things.”
“You trust him?”
“I trust what he does when I say no.”
That silenced Vittorio.
Hours passed.
Then the door opened.
Alessandro entered alone.
Sophia stood.
Vittorio smiled.
“I told him no weapons. No security.”
Alessandro looked only at Sophia.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
His shoulders loosened slightly.
Vittorio placed documents on the table.
“Transfer the shares.”
Sophia looked at Alessandro.
He looked at the documents.
Then at her.
“No.”
Vittorio frowned.
Alessandro continued.
“She isn’t signing anything.”
“You misunderstand. I wasn’t asking you.”
“I know.”
Sophia almost smiled.
Vittorio turned toward her.
“Sign.”
“No.”
“Then Alessandro loses everything.”
He slid another document forward.
Sophia read it.
Evidence implicating Moretti Holdings in old criminal transactions.
If released without context, it could destroy the company.
Thousands of employees.
Pensions.
Contracts.
Families.
Alessandro understood.
Vittorio smiled.
“Now choose.”
Sophia looked at Alessandro.
He shook his head.
“Don’t.”
“Thousands of people could lose their jobs.”
“We’ll survive it.”
“The company might not.”
“I know.”
“You spent your life rebuilding it.”
“Yes.”
“Your father—”
“Is dead.”
His voice softened.
“You are alive.”
Sophia stared at him.
Vittorio scoffed.
“Romantic nonsense.”
Alessandro ignored him.
“If the price of keeping my company is you surrendering your freedom, I don’t want the company.”
Vittorio stared.
So did Sophia.
Alessandro removed a folder from his coat.
“I signed away my controlling voting rights this morning.”
Vittorio’s expression changed.
“To whom?”
“An independent employee trust.”
Sophia’s mouth opened.
Alessandro had done it.
The thing Vittorio believed no Moretti would ever do.
He had chosen to lose control.
“You idiot,” Vittorio whispered.
“Possibly.”
“You destroyed your father’s legacy.”
“No.”
Alessandro looked at Sophia.
“I finally understood it.”
The door behind Vittorio burst open.
Police entered.
Vittorio turned.
Daniel stood behind them.
Elena beside him.
Alive.
Vittorio’s face twisted.
“You.”
Daniel looked at his biological father.
“Yes.”
Vittorio was arrested before sunrise.
Sophia watched him disappear into a police vehicle.
It should have felt finished.
It did not.
Alessandro stood several feet away.
Sophia walked toward him.
“You gave away control.”
“I diluted it.”
“For me.”
“For the company.”
She raised an eyebrow.
He almost smiled.
“And for you.”
Sophia stopped in front of him.
“You could have told me.”
“You were kidnapped.”
“Fair.”
He looked exhausted.
She reached up and touched his face.
Alessandro became completely still.
“I was afraid,” she whispered.
“So was I.”
“I thought you might choose the company.”
“I know.”
“You didn’t.”
“No.”
Sophia leaned closer.
Then stopped.
Daniel stood behind Alessandro.
His face had gone pale.
He held his phone.
“What?”
Daniel looked at Sophia.
“Vittorio scheduled something before his arrest.”
“What?”
“A release.”
Alessandro took the phone.
Thousands of encrypted files were being uploaded.
Names.
Accounts.
Photographs.
Then one folder appeared.
ISABELLA BIANCHI — FINAL RECORDING.
Sophia stared.
A countdown appeared beneath it.
00:00:10.
00:00:09.
May you like
00:00:08.
And her mother’s face appeared on the screen.
