Chapter 7 - The Paper Trail
"I didn't just want the seat, Lorenzo," Marco spat out, his voice laced with years of built-up jealousy and resentment. "I earned it! I built this territory while you spent your days playing father in your grand estate! You grew soft after your wife passed away! You were ready to hand our international transport lines over to the authorities!"
Marco tossed the leather portfolio onto the bed beside Maria. "Inside that folder is a forged abdication contract. My plan was simple: wait until you buried the empty casket today, then present you with proof that Sophia was alive. In exchange for her safe return, you would sign over full control of the Duca syndicate and leave the country forever."
Lorenzo didn't look at the contract. He looked into the eyes of the man he had considered a brother for twenty years—the man who had shared his table, broken bread with his family, and held his daughter at her baptism.
"You put a six-month-old child in the middle of a war," Lorenzo whispered, his tone devoid of all warmth, leaving only a freezing, lethal void.
"I did what was necessary to take what belonged to me!" Marco sneered, raising his voice as he looked around at the bodyguards. "Look at him! He's weak! Are you really going to follow a man who lets a maid's three-year-old child run his organization?!"
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None of the bodyguards moved. None of them lowered their weapons. Their loyalty to the Duca bloodline was absolute.
👉 Click to keep reading as Lorenzo executes his swift justice.
