Page 62 of Vows Made in Silence

I grind my teeth.

The betrayal wasn’t just near us.

It was inside us.

I slam the folder shut, breath ragged, rage building in my chest like a war drum.

This isn’t about money.

This is about secrets they thought they buried with my father.

But I’ve got the box now.

And, they’ve got one chance to disappear. Because when I find them?

They’ll be made examples of what happens when you cross the Moretti Empire.

__________

I exit the war room and head back to retrieve the box from Guiliana.

It’s time to find out the truth.

When I enter my bedroom, I am stopped dead in my tracks.

Guiliana is asleep with Daniel. They look so peaceful together. All I can think about is protecting them.

Suddenly I am filled with something inside me I can’t explain watching them sleep curled up together.

I take the box with me and it’s heavier than I imagined.

I get back to the war room and for a moment I catch myself staring at the worn leather, the faded crest burned into the lid. The Moretti sigil.

My fingers curl around the latch, and for one second, I hesitate.

Once I open this, there’s no going back.

But I have to know.

Click.

The lid creaks open.

Inside—layers of folders, hand-written ledgers, old black-and-white photographs, and a USB drive taped to the underside. All meticulously packed. Labeled in code only my father would understand. His handwriting glares at me in looping, brutal strokes.

The first file reads:

"FALLEN MEN — Eyes Inside the Family."

I flip it open. My blood runs cold.

Names. Dates. Cash transfers. Blood money.

Some names are crossed out in red—dead men. Some are circled in black—still alive.

Still breathing our air.

Still betraying us.