Chapter 10 - The Cleanup
"You stopped being family the moment you ordered a hit on me," Lorenzo said softly.
He didn't shoot his brother. Death was entirely too quick for a traitor.
"Marco," Lorenzo ordered, holstering his weapon. "Take him to the basement holding cells. Call the family doctor to patch his shoulder. I want him alive for the syndicate tribunal tomorrow. The families will know exactly what he did."
Dante sobbed uncontrollably as the guards dragged him out of the guest house, his entire life ruined by his own greed.
Lorenzo walked back to the main mansion. The traitors had been purged. The estate was finally secure.
He walked down the secure hallway to the underground safe room and gently pushed the heavy steel door open.
Sophia and little Lena were sitting on a plush couch, terrified, holding each other tightly. When Lorenzo stepped in, unharmed, Sophia let out a massive, shuddering breath of relief.
"It's over," Lorenzo said, his voice gentle, stripping away the terrifying mafia boss persona entirely. "The people who threatened you are gone. They will never hurt you again."
Lena hopped off the couch and ran over to Lorenzo. She didn't hug him this time, but she looked up at him with wide, grateful eyes. "Thank you for saving Mama."
Lorenzo knelt down, offering the brave little girl a small, genuine smile. "Thank you for being brave enough to tell me the truth, Lena. You saved my life today."
The next morning, the cleanup was swift and absolute.
Dante was stripped of his name, exiled from the country, and entirely cut off from the family fortune, forced to live in hiding for the rest of his pathetic life. Valentina was handed over to the police with irrefutable evidence of conspiracy to commit murder. She traded her silk dresses for a federal prison jumpsuit, screaming Lorenzo's name as she was dragged away in handcuffs.
Lorenzo never married her. Instead, he completely restructured his household. Sophia was promoted to Head Estate Manager, given a massive salary, and her daughter Lena was enrolled in the finest private school in the city, fully paid for by the Moretti family.
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Lorenzo finally realized that loyalty couldn't be bought with diamond bracelets or white roses. True loyalty was found in the people brave enough to protect the ones they love.
Do you think Dante and Valentina deserved worse punishments, or was losing the empire enough?
