THE MAFIA KING WALKED IN AS HIS MANAGER WHIPPED A SHY EMPLOYEE—WHAT HE DID NEXT LEFT THE ENTIRE RESTAURANT PARALYZED!

Ettore stepped in front of Donatella.

"You'll have to kill me first."

Raffaele sighed as if his nephew had disappointed him.

"Always dramatic. Your father was exactly the same. He believed principles could protect him from consequences."

"You tried to murder him."

"I tried to preserve what he built. Your father was going to hand everything to the government. He would have destroyed the family, the businesses, the employees, the people who depended on us."

"People depended on us because you made them afraid to leave."

Raffaele's expression hardened.

"Fear is a tool. Your grandfather understood that. Your father forgot it."

Donatella held the ledger against her chest.

"You didn't preserve the family. You stole from it."

Raffaele looked at her with cold amusement.

"Isabella's daughter. She always did have a talent for finding trouble."

"She found your theft."

"And look where it got her."

The words were so casually cruel that Donatella felt sick.

Ettore took one step forward.

"Don't speak about her."

Raffaele raised the pistol.

"Another step and I'll put a bullet through your chest. The girl may be useful, but you are replaceable."

For the first time, Donatella saw something behind Ettore's composure that resembled helplessness. He had built his life around the belief that he could protect the people he cared about. Now his uncle held the power to reveal his father's fate, and the price was surrendering the only evidence capable of exposing the conspiracy.

Raffaele extended his free hand.

"The ledger."

Donatella glanced at Ettore. He gave the smallest shake of his head.

She understood. If they handed over the original, Raffaele could destroy it and deny everything. But if they refused, he might shoot Ettore.

She made a decision.

"Take it," she said.

Ettore turned sharply.

"Donatella—"

"Take it," she repeated, looking at Raffaele. "But first, tell us where Salvatore is."

Raffaele smiled.

"A rehabilitation center in northern Missouri. He is old, weak, and barely able to speak. He has spent years imagining that someone would rescue him."

"Why keep him alive?"

"Because his signature was needed to complete the transfer of certain assets. He refused to cooperate, so I let time do the work."

Donatella's stomach twisted.

"You kept an injured old man captive for decades."

"I kept a dangerous man from ruining everyone around him."

She slowly placed the ledger on the table.

"Now tell me something else. Why did you attack La Bella Vita?"

Raffaele's eyes narrowed.

"Because Gavin told me you had discovered the transactions. I assumed you had a copy of the ledger. The attack was supposed to frighten you into surrendering the evidence."

"You ordered him to whip me?"

"I ordered him to recover the documents. Gavin has always been a vulgar little man. I didn't instruct him to lose control."

"You knew what he was capable of."

"Of course. That is why he was useful."

Ettore's expression was murderous, but Donatella spoke before he could act.

"You're not going to get away with this."

Raffaele laughed.

"With what? A ledger that can be called a forgery? A recording made decades ago? An old man whose mind may have failed? You have a story, little girl. I have judges, lawyers, bankers, and friends who can make that story disappear."

He took the ledger and motioned for his men to escort them out.

But Donatella remained beside the table.

"There's one more thing you haven't considered."

Raffaele looked back.

"What?"

"The ledger has already been copied."

It was a lie.

For one instant, however, the old man's composure cracked.

His eyes darted toward the door, then toward the security camera.

Donatella knew she had found the truth: he was afraid of being recorded.

Ettore understood immediately. He moved toward the camera and tore its cable from the wall.

A guard raised his weapon.

Then the bank's fire alarm erupted again, and police sirens sounded in the street below.

Raffaele swore and hurried toward the exit, taking the ledger with him. His men followed, leaving Ettore and Donatella in the vault.

They escaped through a service corridor as emergency personnel entered the building.

Outside, Ettore turned to her.

"You lied about copying the ledger."

"Yes."

"He might have killed you."

"He might have killed you too."

For a long moment, neither spoke.

Then Ettore took her hand—not as a command, but as a quiet acknowledgment that she had just saved them both.

His phone rang.

An unfamiliar voice answered when he accepted the call.

"Mr. Moretti? This is Doctor Helen Shaw. I'm calling from the facility where your father has been staying."

Ettore went pale.

"What happened?"

"Your father has disappeared. Someone removed him from his room an hour ago."

A pause followed.

Then the doctor added, "But he left a message for you. He said to find the woman who carries Isabella's key. She is the only person who can identify his real son."