Chapter 38 #2
I opened the top drawer of my desk and pulled out the envelope hidden beneath everything else.
For a moment, I just stared at it, the black folder feeling heavier than it should have. A small smirk tugged at my lips. This was it, the answer to everything, the solution to every problem Aldo had caused since the moment he decided to come after my family.
I ran my thumb along the edge of the folder before placing it firmly in my hand. But as quickly as the satisfaction came, the anger returned.
The tension built between my eyebrows, and I closed my eyes, taking a slow, controlled breath. I needed to calm down. If I was going to walk into that council meeting and have everyone believe I was in control, I couldn't let my emotions take over.
Not now, not when Aldo was finally going to face the consequences of his actions. The beast inside me was restless, it had been clawing at me since the moment I found out what he had done, since I realized he had targeted my children, my family.
And right now, it was becoming harder and harder to keep it contained. I rolled my shoulders, forcing myself to relax, then turned and walked out of my office. As I made my way downstairs, I caught sight of Giovanni, Leena, and Matteo walking toward the SUV.
"I'm driving." I didn't wait for a response as I reached out and grabbed the keys from Matteo's hand. He immediately gave me a look, and I sighed. "Don't look at me like that."
His lips twitched into a smirk. "How? Like how you look all the time?" I glared at him, of course, my brother had to annoy me at a time like this. He chuckled and walked around to the other side of the vehicle while I climbed into the driver's seat.
I handed him the black envelope. Matteo looked down at it, examining it like it was something completely foreign.
I pulled out of the driveway as Gio and Leena climbed into the SUV behind us. The drive was quiet, too quiet, as the other SUV followed close behind us, Aldo sitting inside, unaware of what waited for him. Everyone was tense. Everyone knew this was the moment everything changed.
"Can I look inside?" I heard Matteo ask beside me. I wasn't surprised. I knew he would ask eventually. Honestly? It took him longer than I expected.
I nodded.
Matteo didn't waste another second. He tore open the envelope and pulled out the documents inside. I kept my eyes on the road, but I counted the seconds.
One. Two. Three. Then I heard it, the slight gasp. “Is this real?” His voice was different, not teasing, not sarcastic, but genuinely shocked.
He turned toward me, practically shoving the papers in my direction as if he needed me to confirm what he was seeing.
I simply nodded and said, “Yes.” His eyes scanned over the information again, disbelief written all over his face as he muttered, “This is going to change everything.” I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.
“Did you forget I’m the one who got the information, Matteo? I fucking know,” I muttered. He huffed and leaned back in his seat, but I could practically hear his mind working as the silence stretched between us.
And then Matteo spoke, his voice quieter now, almost disbelieving.
“You were never planning to kill him.” I glanced at him briefly while he kept his eyes fixed on the documents, his expression slowly shifting as he pieced everything together.
After a moment, he exhaled sharply, the realization settling in as he added, “You were planning to destroy him.”
I said nothing. I didn't need to. My silence was the answer. Because death was easy. Death was an escape. Aldo deserved to live with every consequence of what he had done.
He wanted power, he wanted control, and he wanted everyone to fear his name.
So I was going to take away the one thing he valued most, his name, his influence, his empire, everything he built, and when he looked around and realized there was nothing left, only then would he understand what it felt like to lose everything.
Raf Pov~
The second we pulled up to the tall chrome building, I felt the atmosphere shift. The air was heavy. Thick. Almost suffocating. The moment we stepped through the doors, every eye in the lobby turned toward us.
My family.
The Basilios.
The moment people recognized who we were, the whispers started.
I watched Aunt Gia walk toward the receptionist and quietly explain something. The woman behind the desk immediately straightened, nodded, and pointed toward the elevators.
Everyone knew who we were. Everyone knew why we were here.
I looked around the lobby, watching people rush around with phones in their hands, paperwork stacked high, and conversations happening in hushed voices. Everyone moved with purpose, everyone had somewhere to be.
Yet somehow, all I could focus on was the damn wheelchair underneath me. I hated it. I hated the way it made me feel, weak, vulnerable, like everyone could see the damage I had taken.
The trained fighter inside of me hated showing any sign of weakness. We were taught from a young age that vulnerability was dangerous. That hesitation could get you killed.
But then I looked at my mother behind me, her hand resting on my shoulder as she pushed me forward, and I reminded myself that needing help didn't make me weak.
Surviving did not make me weak. I just hated that my body wasn't letting me prove it.
Ales was beside us, pushing Damien's wheelchair because apparently she had decided it was her personal mission to take care of her brother.
Damien complained the entire time, of course, typical. A small smile tugged at my lips despite everything; some things never changed.
But as we approached the elevators, I couldn't ignore the stares, the judgment, the hatred. They knew exactly who we were, the Basilios, the half-breeds, the family that didn't belong in their perfect little world.
To them, we were an insult to tradition. A reminder that bloodlines weren't as pure as they wanted them to be.