Chapter 6 - The Unraveling Lie
"Father..." Lorenzo’s voice was barely a whisper, filled with a sudden, overwhelming shock. He dropped to one knee beside the wheelchair, grabbing Giovanni’s trembling hand. "You... you spoke."
Giovanni’s chest heaved as he fought for oxygen, the physical exertion of breaking through his paralysis draining every ounce of his energy. But he didn't stop. He squeezed Lorenzo’s hand with incredible, shocking strength—a strength fueled by pure rage.
Giovanni looked his son dead in the eye and croaked out three more raspy, broken words:
"Lies... all... lies."
Lorenzo slowly stood up. The shock on his face instantly melted away, replaced by a terrifying, dark shadow that made even his own bodyguards step back.
He turned around to face Mrs. Gable.
The head housekeeper was shaking violently, her hands clutching her apron. "Mr. Moretti... please! He’s confused! The dementia, it makes him say nonsense! I have devoted five years of my life to serving this family!"
"Confused?" Nora’s voice suddenly cut through the room.
Everyone looked at her. Nora was terrified, her heart pounding against her ribs, but as she looked at Old John—at the man who had suffered in silence while these people grew rich off his family's money—she couldn't stay quiet any longer.
"He is not confused," Nora said, her voice growing stronger. "She leaves him in the dark for days, Mr. Moretti. When you aren't here, the staff leaves him in his own waste. They feed him cold, congealed oatmeal while they eat steak in the breakroom. She turned off his fireplace today and opened the balcony door so he would freeze!"
"You liar! You insolent little trash!" Mrs. Gable screamed, lunging toward Nora with her hands raised. "I'll kill you!"
CLICK.
Before Mrs. Gable could take two steps, the sharp, metallic sound of a handgun slide racking echoed through the room.
Lorenzo’s chief bodyguard, Marco, had pulled a silenced nine-millimeter pistol, pointing it directly between Mrs. Gable’s eyes. She froze instantly, her blood running cold.
"Touch her," Lorenzo said, his voice terrifyingly calm as he stepped between Mrs. Gable and Nora, "and you won't survive the next five seconds."
Lorenzo walked over to the closet. He pulled open the doors, spotting the expensive, high-end medical equipment he had bought for his father stacked in dusty, unopened boxes. He saw the piles of luxury blankets he had sent, untouched, while his father sat under a single threadbare sweater.
Lorenzo turned back to his father. He looked down at the hot bowl of minestrone soup on the tray, then looked at Nora’s red, bleach-stained hands.
"You brought him this food?" Lorenzo asked Nora, his gray eyes piercing into her soul.
"Yes, sir," Nora whispered, looking down. "I... I bought him that heated blanket, too. With my tips. He was so cold, sir. I couldn't bear it."
Lorenzo felt a knot form in his throat. A multi-billionaire Mafia boss, the most feared man in the state, realized that the only person in this twenty-thousand-square-foot fortress who had shown his father a shred of humanity was a broke, starving, six-month-pregnant maid earning twelve dollars an hour.
Lorenzo turned his gaze toward Mrs. Gable. The icy calm on his face vanished, replaced by the lethal monster the underworld feared.
"Marco," Lorenzo ordered softly. "Lock the doors to the estate. Nobody leaves. Call a full security sweep of every staff member's bank account."
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"No! Please, Mr. Moretti!" Mrs. Gable fell to her knees, sobbing hysterical tears. "Please mercy!"
"Mercy?" Lorenzo sneered, stepping closer and looking down at her like an insect. "You starved the Don of the Moretti family. You hit the woman carrying a child who protected him. You don't get mercy, Gable. You get the basement."
