Page 259 of Ricardo

I narrow my eyes at him.

He does not back down.

“By approaching him as if he owes us,” Lorenzo continues, “that is exactly what we would be doing. We would be telling him his first acknowledgment of blood between us can be converted into obligation whenever we choose.”

Diego leans back slightly. “And Luca Conti does not strike me as a man who enjoys being summoned by anyone’s accounting.”

“No,” Lorenzo says. “He does not.”

I know that.

Of course I know that.

I have met men like Luca before. Many.

A man does not rise to power as he did, hold it through a twelve-year prison sentence, and stay on top without understanding both blood and debt.

Blood for blood.

He chose those words.

Now we have to decide whether to answer them.

Matteo, who has been silent the entire time, speaks now. “Then why approach it like that?”

Mario looks at his son.

Matteo leans one shoulder against the window. He is young, but tonight has stripped whatever youth remained from his face. Dante is his cousin. His brother in every way that matters in this family. The blood spilled tonight belongs to all of them.

“You said it yourself, Papà. Blood does not hold debt over each other’s heads.” Matteo steps away from the glass. “He is our blood. And he has acknowledged that.”

Tomasso glances at his brother, then nods once. “That is true. Maybe not publicly, but enough for us.”

“On Bellandi’s body,” Diego says dryly.

Tomasso looks at him. “I did not say it was sentimental.”

Despite everything, something almost like laughter moves through the room.

But only for a moment.

Then Mario turns back toward the fireplace.

“He acknowledged blood,” Mario says. “But asking for his help would drag him into a political war.”

Edoardo speaks from near the door.

“He is a smart man.”

Mario looks over.

Edoardo’s posture is straight, his face composed, but his voice carries the same strain as everyone else’s. “Let him make that choice himself.”

Lorenzo’s gaze moves to his son.

There is pride there.

Edoardo adds, “We do not need to demand. We do not need to imply debt. We tell him what happened. We tell him who is involved. We tell him why his territory, his connections, his history in this country matter. Then we let him decide whether blood means anything past a note.”