Chapter 5 - The Gathering Storm
Vittorio did not kill Isabella or Matteo in the church. Death was too quick, too merciful for the depth of their betrayal. Instead, he had them dragged to the deep, soundproof cellars beneath the Morelli villa—the very place where Isabella had spent months plotting his execution.
With the Rossi family now exposed as conspirators, a turf war was inevitable. The Calabrian syndicate would not take the public humiliation and crippling of Matteo lightly. Vittorio spent the next three days in his study, rewriting the operational protocols of his entire network. He burned Isabella's clothes, cleared her perfume from the air, and purged every corrupt element from his staff.
On the fourth morning, he walked down to the estate's gardens. The tension in his chest only eased when he saw Sophia sitting on a stone bench, sketching a sparrow in a small notebook. Her father, a quiet, fiercely loyal man named Tomaso, stood nearby, tending to the rosebushes with a shotgun discreetly slung over his shoulder.
Vittorio approached the girl. He knelt so he was at eye level with her.
"You saved my life, Sophia," Vittorio said, his tone softer than anyone in Naples had ever heard it. "A Morelli always pays his debts. Name anything you want. Wealth, a new life anywhere in the world, protection."
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Sophia looked at him with her large, serious eyes. "I don't want to leave, Signor Morelli. My father loves these gardens. And I want to make sure no one else tries to hurt you."
Vittorio felt a strange, unfamiliar warmth in his chest—a protective, paternal instinct he thought had died decades ago. He stood up and looked at Tomaso. "From this day forward, Sophia is under my personal protection. She will receive the best education money can buy. She is no longer just the gardener's daughter. She is family."
