Chapter 5 - The Chapel of Lies
The old Rossi chapel stood at the edge of the estate grounds, hidden behind cypress trees and a collapsed stone wall.
It had not been used for worship in decades.
My grandfather had once called it sacred.
My father had called it useful.
By midnight, rain had stopped, but the cold had settled deep into the ground. Grace sat beside me in the armored car, pale and exhausted, holding the black ledger against her chest.
“I should carry it,” I said.
“She expects you to carry it.”
“She expects us both to be desperate.”
“We are desperate.”
I looked at her.
Grace had suffered more in the past weeks than anyone should endure. Yet she was sitting beside me with fire in her eyes, not because she was unafraid, but because she refused to let fear decide who she became.
“I’m sorry,” I said.
She looked out the window.
“For leaving?”
“For believing my mother when I should have believed you.”
Grace’s eyes filled.
“You didn’t know.”
“I should have known when your messages changed.”
“She had my phone.”
“I should have come home anyway.”
“You came home.”
“Too late.”
Grace turned toward me.
“No. Not too late.”
Her hand found mine.
“But if we get Matteo back, we do things differently.”
“Yes.”
“No more secrets.”
“Yes.”
“No more family meetings where I am expected to smile while people decide things about me.”
“Yes.”
“No more leaving me alone with your mother because you think she will behave.”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
Grace leaned closer.
“And no more promises you cannot keep.”
The words hurt.
They should have.
“I understand,” I said.
We entered the chapel together.
The air smelled of wet stone and candle wax. Only a few candles burned near the altar.
My mother stood there in white.
Sofia stood beside her, holding Matteo in her arms.
My son was crying.
The sound nearly tore me apart.
“Give him to me,” Grace said.
Sofia smiled.
“You should be grateful he is alive.”
Grace took one step forward.
“Give. Him. To me.”
My mother sighed.
“Always so emotional.”
I looked at her.
“You built a prison for my wife.”
“I protected our legacy.”
“You betrayed your son.”
“I saved the Rossi name from a weakness that would have destroyed it.”
Grace’s face tightened.
“You mean me.”
My mother looked directly at her.
“Yes.”
For a second, I saw Grace flinch.
Then she straightened.
“You locked me in a room and told me my husband did not love me,” Grace said. “You drugged me. You made me afraid to give birth. But I gave birth anyway.”
Sofia shifted Matteo in her arms.
Grace continued.
“And now you are holding my son because you think blood makes you powerful.”
My mother’s face went cold.
“Blood is everything.”
“No,” Grace said. “Love is everything. Blood is only what people like you use as an excuse.”
I had never loved her more than I did in that moment.
My mother held out her hand.
“The ledger.”
I gave it to Marco earlier.
What I held now was a copy.
But they did not know that.
I stepped forward slowly.
“Take the ledger,” I said. “Let Grace take Matteo.”
Sofia looked at my mother.
My mother nodded.
Sofia moved forward.
But as she approached Grace, Matteo began crying harder.
Grace reached for him.
And Sofia pulled a knife.
The blade flashed toward Grace’s throat.
I fired.
The bullet struck the stone floor near Sofia’s feet, forcing her back.
At the same moment, Marco and my men emerged from the shadows around the chapel.
My mother’s eyes widened.
“You said you came alone.”
“I said nothing.”
Sofia grabbed Matteo tighter.
“Come closer and I drop him.”
Grace went still.
But then she spoke softly.
“Sofia.”
My cousin looked at her.
“Do you remember when you came to the hospital after my first miscarriage?”
Sofia’s face changed.
“You brought me flowers,” Grace continued. “You held my hand. You told me it was not my fault.”
“Stop.”
“You knew what losing a baby feels like. You knew exactly what you were threatening to do to me.”
Sofia’s mouth trembled.
My mother snapped, “Don’t listen to her.”
Grace took another step.
“You don’t have to become your aunt.”
Sofia’s eyes filled with tears.
For one second, I thought she might give Matteo back.
Then my mother pulled a gun from beneath her coat.
“If she cannot keep the child,” she said, “none of us can.”
She raised it toward Matteo.
May you like
And everything exploded.
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