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He’s been poisoning the boy’s mind—feeding him lies like scripture.

No wonder he looks cracked at the seams—like he’s barely holding himself together.

He truly believes I killed his mother.

The woman I once loved.

I grit my teeth. “I would never hurt Beatrice, and you know that. I loved your mother.”

“Liar!” he roars.

“Daniele, calm yourself.” I watch his movements carefully. I can’t see a weapon on him, and that gives me some relief. “I am telling you the truth, I would never have hurt your mother. How could I? She gave me one of the greatest gifts in my life—you.”

Daniele steps closer, his eyes burning into mine. “You took her away from him. You took her—and when she finally wanted out, she died. And you think I’m just supposed to believe that was a coincidence?”

His voice shakes now, fury laced with something more fragile. “She was trying to tell me something. I could see it in her eyes that night—like the truth was clawing at her throat. But she was scared. Of what, I don’t know. Of you? Of him? Of both of you?”

He presses a trembling hand to his chest. “And then the next morning… she was gone. Just like that.”

His jaw clenches, but his eyes are wild, haunted. “I’ve played that night over and over in my head, trying to figure out what I missed. What I didn’t see. And now I know—she was silenced.”

I stare at him, my pulse hammering beneath the surface. “That’s not what happened.”

“Then tell me, what happened?” His voice cracks slightly, the pain beneath his fury bleeding through. “Because I spent my whole life wondering why I never felt like I belonged. Why I always felt… out of step with you.”

I clench my fists at my sides. “I raised you as my own. I watched you take your first breath, first steps. I am the one who taught you how to hold a gun. Yes, we may not be blood. But you are my son. My. Son.”

“You lied to me—pretending I was your own.” His chest rises and falls with ragged breaths. “All my life, I was the shadow of something you didn’t want to claim. The son you tolerated because you had to.”

My stomach twists violently. “That’s not true. I love you, Daniele.”

Daniele lets out another sharp laugh, but it’s hollow. Empty. His voice lowers into something more venomous. “Isn’t it? You never looked at me the way a father looks at his son. I saw it in your eyes—pity, obligation. And now I know why.”

I take a step forward, holding my hands out to show him I’m not a threat. “That’s not true, and you know that. He’s been feeding you poison and trying to fully turn you. I am your dad, Daniele. I gave you your name. I love you, and I loved your mother with everything I had inside of me.”

Something inside me fractures. The silence between us stretches, heavy with words neither of us can take back. Then, Daniele exhales, his expression hardening into something distant. Something unreadable.

“For the rest of my life,” he says, voice like stone, “I will hate you.”

I inhale sharply, my chest tightening. “If you hate me so much as you claim to, Daniele, why are you here? Why are you standing in this office with no weapon on you, only your anger?” No gun. No backup. Just fury and grief. That tells me everything.

Silence. He stands there with tension riddled all over his body.

“Because you don’t actually hate me, do you?” I move closer toward him, but only by a step. “You’re angry. Your mind isconfused, and your heart hurts, and you are trying to make sense of the truth.

“You want the truth? Fine. Here it is. Your mother was never supposed to be with Giacomo. She was sold to him—given away by her father like property to pay off a debt. He was cruel from the beginning, but over the years, he became something worse. A monster. He beat her, broke her spirit, and treated her like she was nothing. I saw the bruises, Daniele. I saw the terror in her eyes. I was the one who found her unconscious—bleeding on the cold tiles of a bathroom floor after he’d nearly killed her.

“That was the night everything changed. She was pregnant with you. And she knew… she knew if she didn’t escape, he would destroy both of you. So she ran. To me. For safety. For salvation. And I took her in. I gave her my name. My home. I married her not because I had to, but because I loved her. And we raised you together, as our son. We were a family, Daniele. A real one. And we were happy—until now.”

He takes a sharp step back, shaking his head. “Stop. Just stop. I’ve heard enough of your fucking lies, Matteo. You think you can rewrite the past to make yourself the hero? Save it. I’m done listening to your bullshit.

“They aren’t lies. And you know they aren’t.” I step closer, but he takes two steps back again. “I am sorry if I ever made you feel like you were never good enough for me, Danny boy. You are my world, and you always will be.”

The silence that stretches between us is loud. I want to reach for him and hold him to my chest the same way I did when he was just a boy. But I hold myself.

The ball is in his court now.

“Fuck you and fuck your stupid empire that meant more to you than me.” He turns on his heels sharply and walks out, leaving nothing behind but the wreckage of everything I tried to hold onto.