Entering the boy's room, I saw his little face for the first time. She had tried to show me the baby, but I refused, rejecting him. Although he was the fruit of my seed, he was no son of mine. Being a father and being a progenitor are very different things, and I would never accept to father that child.
I didn’t want to.
I looked at him closely. He had my black hair and slept so peacefully that I knew that the moment I walked out of that nursery, not even the demons would forgive my soul.
I pointed the gun at his little head.
The shot burst through the silencer.
He didn't flinch.
His body lay in the crib, in an eternal, peaceful sleep, drenched in his own blood.
I would ask God for forgiveness, but I knew that at that moment He was no longer looking my way.
With cautious steps, I went to the room next door, the one that had been mine and hers. Valentina was lying there, calmly wrapped in the sheets. I had decided to grant the child a merciful end, quick and as painless as possible. I would never force an innocent creature to face a life without a mother, nor with a father who could never love them, or look them in the eye without revulsion. The child deserved that mercy.
…But Valentina?
I approached the bed.
She continued deep in her sleep, uninterrupted. A year in prison taught me much and gave me time to reflect. During that period, with the help of Alessandro Lombardi, I got in touch with all the members of our società. Mario and Lorenzo still had years ahead of them and neither was capable of taking over the famiglia. But I... I had a deep hatred within me that grew with every injustice. From Valentina's betrayal to the death of my famiglia and the sentence where the court decided to put me, my brother, and my cousin in different prisons. So, it made sense to me to take the place that should have been Mario's and became the new Capobastone of the società.
As the new Capobastone of the famigliaVicari, taking the place that should have passed from my grandfather to my father … and then to my brother Mario, I told our men to investigate Valentina. And to start with everything my mother had found out about her, sparing no effort in digging up every last piece of information.
The result was... interesting.
Apparently, my beautiful and passionate Valentina had begun investigating my famiglia a month after we made our relationship official, long before I ever told her anything about our businesses. My sources discovered files stored on a well-encrypted server, where she had chronologically organized every piece of information gathered during each of her visits to our home. Little things she had overheard, such as my father's latest trip, or the stores my mother frequented. And we also found out why my mom's investigations had been fruitless.
Valentina used her student number, school email address, and the university's public internet to make all her records. Whenever she needed to associate names with an account, she signed only as Vale(ntina) (Mes)Sina. And she never used her own device, making all her records on library computers.
Then my sources discovered a locker in Rome registered under the name of her father, Cesare Messina. Upon investigation, they found multiple external hard drives and folders filled with pictures and copies of documents taken directly from my father's and grandfather's offices. I was certain she gathered them during the nights she spent at the villa with me.
To Valentina, I was a project. A fool who needed to be saved from his own famiglia. And those I loved most paid the price.
I brushed a strand of hair from her face with the tip of the silencer, watching her, still lost in her sleep, oblivious to what was about to happen.
My men bugged everything. Her phone, her computer, even her parents' house. And I had to listen over and over again how she and her famiglia rejoiced at the death of my parents. Especially my mother. The ‘good people’ were relieved that a woman who had always welcomed them into her home with kindness, no matter how much she hated them, was gone. The ‘good people’ laughed as they said, ‘one less criminal in the world,’ and then added, ‘poor Camillo.’
I would have forgiven infidelities. I would have forgiven her if she used me just for money. I would have forgiven her for anything she did to me. But she always aimed for my parents.
Any doubts I had about making her pay, vanished as soon as Alessandro Lombardi showed me confidential documents from the federal investigation. If on that damn day I hadn't caught her red-handed, the special forces would have taken us out. The order was clear and top secret. They knew who we were and that we were armed. The instruction was to kill the whole famiglia, except for me and Valentina, and claim we had caused the incident. Valentina had set the perfect trap, and even though it didn't go as planned, she ended up succeeding.
With hatred boiling in my chest again, I raised my hand and struck her with the butt of my gun. Valentina woke up dazed, fumbling for the light to understand what was happening. As soon as the lamp came on, I saw a line of blood running down her forehead.
“Please, I have money... D-don't hurt me.”
I tilted my head, amused by her fear. "Where is the brave Assistant District Attorney who took down an ‘armed wing of the Italian criminal organization’?”
“Ca—Camillo...?” She choked, gasping, unable to compose herself. “I-I know you're angry, but please think of our son. Think of us. I only did what was right...” She pleaded, crawling across the bed toward me, her eyes fixed on the silencer of my gun.
“You killed my famiglia.”
“No, no! It was an accident. The plan was to arrest them and free you from their influence. Vita Mia, per favore...”
I lowered my gun, enjoying her sigh of relief, and took off my mask. The instant I held her chin between two fingers, she moaned softly, swallowing hard as my lips came within millimeters of hers.
“Alessandro Lombardi showed me the files. I know everything about the SWAT team that was waiting for us at the restaurant, Valentina... I know everything.Tutto.” Her eyes widened at the sound of my whisper, her body shaking violently. “You could have had the perfect life, but it wasn't enough, was it?” She didn't answer me. “You wanted to be the heroine of the story. The one who fights the villains in the name of justice.”
