Chapter 2: The Truth Buried in Ashes
Lucas started changing.
Slowly.
Quietly.
Nobody noticed at first.
The feared Mafia heir began doing things nobody expected.
He helped children’s charities.
He protected innocent businesses.
He removed violent men from his organization.
His enemies thought it was weakness.
But Lucas knew something they didn't.
He wasn't becoming weaker.
He was becoming free.
And Lily noticed.
“You smile more now.”
Lucas looked at her while reading a newspaper.
“I smile?”
“Yes.”
She nodded seriously.
“Before, your face looked like it was angry at the whole world.”
Lucas almost laughed.
Almost.
“You talk too much.”
Lily smiled.
“You like that.”
And somehow…
She was right.
But someone was watching.
Victor Romano.
The man who destroyed Lucas's life.
The man who took everything from him.
Victor had spent years controlling pieces of the Moretti empire.
He had convinced himself that Lucas needed him.
That without Victor, Lucas would collapse.
But now Lucas was rebuilding.
Without him.
Victor couldn't accept it.
“He's becoming weak.”
Victor stared at photographs of Lucas and Lily.
His assistant looked nervous.
“What do you want to do?”
Victor smiled.
“The same thing I did before.”
One night, Lucas received an anonymous package.
Inside was an old photograph.
The photograph from the fire.
But something was different.
Written on the back were four words.
"Your family survived."
Lucas froze.
His entire body stopped moving.
Impossible.
He had seen the ashes.
He had seen the destruction.
He had mourned them for years.
But then he noticed something.
A small detail.
The photo showed Isabella wearing a necklace.
A necklace Lucas gave her before the fire.
But in the official evidence…
That necklace was never found.
Lucas grabbed his phone.
“Find everything about the fire.”
His trusted man hesitated.
“Boss… the case was closed years ago.”
Lucas's eyes turned cold.
“Then reopen it.”
The investigation uncovered something impossible.
The fire was not accidental.
The security system had been disabled.
The fuel tanks were manually opened.
And one name appeared in the hidden records.
Victor Romano.
Lucas stared at the evidence.
His hands tightened.
The man who stood beside him.
The man who called him brother.
The man who comforted him after losing Isabella…
Was the person who took her away.
Lucas whispered:
“I trusted you.”
For the first time in years…
Lucas Moretti felt something stronger than anger.
Betrayal.
That night, Lily found him sitting alone.
“Are you sad?”
Lucas didn't answer.
She sat beside him.
“My grandma always said…”
Lucas looked at her.
“What?”
“She said people who hurt others are usually people who are hurting too.”
Lucas looked down.
“Your grandmother was wise.”
Lily smiled.
“Maybe she knew you.”
Lucas looked at the child beside him.
And for a moment…
He remembered Isabella.
Her words.
May you like
Her kindness.
Her belief that even broken things could be saved.
