Chapter 8
Elena agreed to leave only long enough to get Sophie into her arms.
That was what the next file revealed.
She told my father she would disappear if he gave her the child first. He refused. He wanted Sophie to stay. Elena said no. Bianca whispered something to Lorenzo off-camera. Victor moved. Then Marco appeared again, angry this time, demanding to know what they were doing.
The room erupted.
According to Marco, he heard Sophie crying and came back inside because even he understood the line had been crossed. Lorenzo shouted for him to leave. Elena used the distraction to grab Sophie and run.
The recording cut there, but Marco filled in the rest.
Elena got into Bianca’s car with Sophie secured in the back seat. Victor followed in another vehicle. Lorenzo ordered Bianca and Marco into a second car. They chased Elena toward the lake road.
I asked the question before I could stop myself.
“Was it an accident?”
Marco looked at Bianca. Bianca stared at the ground.
I asked again.
Finally she whispered, “Victor hit her car.”
The whole terrace went silent.
Rafael lowered his head. Even the capos behind him went still in a way I had only seen after killings that changed the shape of a family.
I asked who gave the order. Bianca did not answer, so Marco did.
“Lorenzo.”
My father told Victor to stop Elena before she reached the main road. Victor struck the rear side of her car. The vehicle went through the barrier. Sophie survived because Elena had strapped her in and because fate, God, or pure rage refused to let my daughter die inside their plan.
Elena didn’t.
I had spent two years remembering the crash as a tragedy. A road. A barrier. A moment of bad luck. In one sentence, Marco turned it into what it really was.
A family decision.
Bianca tried to defend herself even then. She said she never meant for the car to go over, that she only wanted Elena frightened and removed from my life long enough for the old Bellaforte order to return.
I looked at her and understood something ugly and simple.
May you like
Intent changes almost nothing once you have chosen cruelty as your tool.
She did not need to want Elena dead for Elena to end up dead because of her.
