Chapter 5 - The Chapel of Names
Renato’s hand did not shake.
That frightened Alessandro.
A nervous man could make mistakes.
Renato looked entirely prepared.
“Step away from the desk,” he said.
Alessandro did not move.
“You poisoned my mother.”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Clara.”
“Why?”
“To force you toward the chapel.”
Luca looked at him.
“She knows about the drive.”
“She has always known.”
Sophia held Emma behind her.
The child was silent.
Renato saw her.
“The little girl has created unnecessary complications.”
Alessandro stepped between them.
“You will not look at her.”
Renato smiled faintly.
“There he is.”
“Who?”
“The man everyone expected you to become.”
Alessandro’s eyes narrowed.
“You mistake restraint for weakness.”
“No. I mistake love for leverage.”
He motioned toward the door.
“We are going to the chapel.”
The old chapel stood at the edge of the estate woods.
It had not been used since Lorenzo Duca’s funeral.
Renato forced Alessandro, Luca, Sophia, and Emma through the corridor at gunpoint.
Two guards lay unconscious near the service exit.
Renato had planned well.
Outside, snow had begun to fall.
They crossed the garden toward the chapel.
Emma held Sophia’s hand.
Her bare feet had been covered in borrowed shoes that were too large. Each step was awkward.
Alessandro noticed.
“Carry her,” he told Sophia.
Renato lifted the gun.
“No sudden movement.”
“She cannot walk through snow.”
“She walked into a kitchen and destroyed ten years of planning. She can manage fifty meters.”
Alessandro stopped.
Renato pressed the gun against his chest.
“Move.”
“No.”
Luca looked at him.
“Alessandro.”
He did not take his eyes off Renato.
“The child is carried.”
For a moment, the two men stood beneath the falling snow.
Then Renato nodded once.
Sophia lifted Emma.
They continued.
Inside the chapel, dust covered the pews.
A stone angel watched from above the altar.
Luca crossed to a loose floor tile near the confession booth.
He removed it and pulled out a metal case.
Renato’s eyes sharpened.
“Open it.”
Luca entered a code.
Inside was a small encrypted drive.
Renato held out his hand.
Luca did not move.
“Give it to me.”
“Where is Clara?”
Renato smiled.
“You still believe she is in control.”
“Isn’t she?”
“No.”
A voice came from behind the altar.
“Renato always did underestimate women.”
Clara Moretti stepped into view.
She wore a red coat.
She was older than in the photograph but unmistakable.
Beside her stood a man in his late twenties.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
The Duca face.
Adrian.
Alessandro stared at him.
The resemblance to Lorenzo was undeniable.
Clara looked toward Emma.
“The child who smelled death.”
Sophia moved back.
“Stay away from her.”
Clara smiled.
“I have no interest in children.”
“You hid a phone inside her rabbit.”
“To listen. Not harm.”
“You poisoned Vittoria.”
Clara’s smile disappeared.
“Vittoria poisoned herself.”
Alessandro looked at her.
“What?”
“She has been taking small doses for months to create sympathy and weaken the board’s confidence in you.”
Luca shook his head.
“That makes no sense.”
“Your mother feared losing control more than death.”
Adrian spoke for the first time.
“She planned to blame my mother.”
His voice was calm.
Alessandro looked at him.
“And the coffee?”
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
“Renato.”
Renato raised the gun toward him.
“Careful.”
Clara looked at the lawyer.
“You were told to frighten Alessandro, not kill him.”
“He would never surrender control while alive.”
“That was not your decision.”
“It became mine.”
The alliance had fractured.
Alessandro saw it immediately.
Renato wanted Alessandro dead.
Clara wanted leverage.
Adrian wanted recognition.
Luca wanted survival.
Sophia wanted Emma safe.
Power had gathered them all inside the same chapel.
Renato pointed the gun toward Luca.
“The drive.”
Luca handed it over.
Renato inserted it into a small device and checked the files.
Names appeared on the screen.
Politicians.
Executives.
Judges.
Duca board members.
Then one final folder.
VITTORIA DUCA.
Renato’s face changed.
“What is this?”
Luca looked at Alessandro.
“Open it.”
The folder contained recordings.
Vittoria’s voice filled the chapel.
She was speaking to Renato.
“If Alessandro refuses to step aside, accelerate the plan.”
Renato stared.
The next recording played.
“Luca must remain compromised. He is useful only if he believes he is guilty.”
Luca turned white.
Then a third recording.
“Clara will take the blame. Adrian will be offered a ceremonial position. No voting rights.”
Clara’s face hardened.
Adrian looked at her.
“You said Vittoria wanted me recognized.”
“She lied to everyone,” Alessandro said.
Renato stared at the drive.
Vittoria had manipulated them all.
The poisoned coffee.
The blackmail.
The surveillance.
The fabricated agency.
The attack on herself.
She intended to create chaos, remove Alessandro, disgrace Luca, and control Adrian through a false promise.
Renato began laughing.
Then he turned the gun toward Alessandro.
“She still understood one thing.”
“What?”
“You cannot rule if the family believes you are mortal.”
A gunshot exploded.
Sophia screamed.
Renato fell.
Matteo stood in the chapel doorway, smoke rising from his weapon.
Behind him were armed guards.
Renato’s gun slid across the floor.
Alessandro looked down.
Blood spread across his sleeve.
The bullet had grazed his shoulder.
Emma began crying.
Sophia held her tightly.
Matteo crossed the room.
“Vittoria regained consciousness,” he said.
Alessandro pressed one hand to the wound.
“And?”
“She ordered security to arrest Clara and Adrian.”
Clara laughed bitterly.
“Even now.”
Alessandro looked at his half-brother.
Adrian stood very still.
“Did you know about the poison?” Alessandro asked.
“No.”
“Did you know Clara was blackmailing my mother?”
“Yes.”
“Did you want control?”
Adrian looked at the stone angel above them.
“I wanted my name.”
“That is not the same thing.”
“No.”
Alessandro turned to Matteo.
“Take Renato into custody. No one else.”
Clara looked surprised.
“You are letting us go?”
“No.”
May you like
He looked at Adrian.
“You are coming to the board meeting.”
