Chapter 7 - THE WATCH
The silence in the room was deafening.
Elena stared at Matteo, the puzzle pieces violently snapping into place.
“Leo’s mother?” Elena repeated, her voice hollow. “Your brother’s wife? Isabella?”
“Isabella wasn't just my sister-in-law,” Matteo said, his voice heavy with shame. “She was Sofia’s older sister. They were estranged for years. When my brother died in the crash... Isabella didn't die instantly. She lived for two days in the hospital.”
Elena remembered the funeral. She remembered the closed caskets.
“Before she died,” Matteo continued, refusing to meet Elena’s eyes, “Isabella gave Leo to Sofia. She begged Sofia to hide him from our family. She didn't want her son growing up to be a mob boss.”
Elena felt the floor tilt beneath her.
Sofia wasn't an extortionist working for rival families. She wasn't trying to steal the shipping ports.
She was an aunt trying to protect her nephew from the mafia.
“You lied to me,” Elena whispered, the betrayal burning hotter than ever. “You told me Sofia kidnapped him for ransom. You told me she was working for your enemies.”
“She is my enemy!” Matteo flared. “She took Valenti blood! She hid my brother's son. I couldn't just let her walk away with him. I had to get close to her to find out where he was.”
“By sleeping with her?” Elena scoffed, tears finally spilling over her cheeks. “By bringing her into our home? By letting her sit in my chair while you humiliated me?”
“It was a cover!” Matteo pleaded, stepping toward her. “I needed the rival families to think I was weak, distracted by a mistress, so they wouldn't look for Leo themselves. I needed Sofia to think she had the upper hand so she would eventually lead me to him.”
“And the plot to kill Nonna?” Elena asked. “The plane ticket?”
Matteo shook his head. “I don't know about that. I swear to you, Elena, I thought Sofia just wanted to humiliate you. I didn't know she was planning to frame Rosa.”
A door creaked open upstairs.
Elena’s mother, wearing a floral robe, slowly walked down the stairs, holding little Leo by the hand. The boy looked terrified, clutching his teddy bear.
“Elena?” her mother asked, her eyes darting between the armed men and Matteo. “What is going on? Why did the nice lady run out the back door?”
Matteo stepped forward, his eyes locked on the boy. “Leo. Come to Uncle Matteo.”
Leo shrank back behind Elena’s mother. “No. Auntie Sofia said bad men would come.”
Matteo’s jaw tightened. He gestured to his men. “Take the boy.”
“Don't you dare touch him!” Elena screamed, throwing herself between the men and the stairs.
Matteo looked at her in shock. “Elena, he’s my nephew. He belongs with his family.”
“His mother didn't want him in this life!” Elena yelled. “She died trying to keep him away from people like you!”
“It doesn't matter what she wanted,” a cold, raspy voice said from the doorway.
Everyone turned.
Nonna Rosa stood in the broken doorway, her driver supporting her arm. She looked past Elena, past Matteo, her eyes locking onto the little boy.
“Bring me my great-grandson,” Rosa commanded.
Elena stood her ground. “No. Sofia was right about one thing. This family is toxic.”
Rosa stepped into the room, her cane thudding against the floorboards. She looked at Elena with a mixture of pity and steel.
“You think Sofia is a savior?” Rosa asked. “You think she hid him out of love?”
Rosa reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a heavy, gold Rolex watch.
It was crushed, stained with dried blood.
“My son wore this watch the night he died,” Rosa said, her voice echoing in the silent house. “The police found it at the crash site. The brake lines on his car were cut.”
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Rosa looked at Matteo, then at Elena.
“Sofia didn't hide Leo to protect him from us. She hid him because she’s the one who murdered his parents.”
