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05:49La smileie froze sur Tessa's face.
05:52Elle strode toward me,
05:53her expression turning cold and dark.
05:57Curse all you like.
05:59You will be dead soon anyway.
06:02Tessa patted my face,
06:04laughing with smug malice.
06:06Get away from her!
06:07Owen could no longer stand listening.
06:09Sloane, listen to me.
06:10When the contractions hit, press here hard.
06:13Do not stop.
06:14As he spoke, he tried to show me,
06:16but Tessa waved a hand.
06:17Two solded-eye stepped in at once.
06:18One restrained Owen.
06:20The other pressed the barrel of a gun to his forehead.
06:22Take Dr. Haynes away to rest.
06:24An outsider has no right to interfere in Valenti Family Matters.
06:27Sloane, don't stop.
06:28Keep pressing.
06:29The baby still has a chance.
06:31His voice receded.
06:32The door closed again.
06:33Tessa took out her phone and started a video call.
06:35A few seconds later,
06:36Bennett's face appeared on the screen.
06:38He was standing outside the third floor delivery room.
06:41Bennett, Sloane is about to give birth.
06:43Do you want to look?
06:44Sloane, this is not the time for you to make me trouble.
06:47Something has gone wrong with Nadia.
06:49The fetal heartbeat keeps dropping,
06:51and the doctors are handling it.
06:52Tessa turned the camera toward me.
06:53She's bleeding so much.
06:55Isn't she about to die, too?
06:57Bennett glanced at the screen.
06:58Sloane, just wait a little longer.
07:00Once Nadia is done, I will send the doctors down.
07:01The call ended.
07:02You heard him.
07:03In Bennett's heart, Nadia will always come before you.
07:06And you?
07:07You are nothing but a tool for bearing children.
07:09Once a tool has been used up,
07:11it should be thrown away.
07:12I stopped looking at her.
07:13My hand quietly slipped under my collar,
07:15and an ordinary pendant necklace fell free.
07:17Inside that inconspicuous diamond pendant
07:20was a micro-emergency locator.
07:22My father, Don Conrad Caruso, had given it to me.
07:25He told me that in the most desperate emergency,
07:27if I smashed the pendant,
07:28it could cut through every signal jammer
07:30and send out a distress call.
07:31At the time,
07:32I thought he was making a mountain out of a molehill,
07:34telling him not every marriage is a battlefield.
07:36But he said,
07:37Sloan,
07:38when you meet the wrong person,
07:40every moment is a battlefield.
07:42Now I understood.
07:43He had simply seen Bennett clearly before I did.
07:45Enough.
07:47Stop pretending.
07:48Get away from me!
07:50The pendant struck the wall behind her and shattered.
07:52My father had said that once it broke,
07:54someone would come within 30 minutes.
07:56But 30 minutes.
07:57I looked down at the skirt soaked through with blood.
07:59Could my baby wait 30 minutes?
08:04Tessa snapped back to herself
08:06and roared with a frown.
08:07What the hell is wrong with you?
08:09The drug began to spiral out of control.
08:11I had no strength to answer.
08:12I only clenched my teeth
08:14and pressed hard on the two places
08:15Owen had told me to.
08:16Seeing my silence,
08:17Tessa kept sneering.
08:18Idiot.
08:19Do you know what your biggest problem is?
08:21You really thought you married into the Velotti family
08:23because of some bullshit love?
08:24She laughed softly.
08:25Bennett married you because you had no family background
08:27and no complications.
08:29You wouldn't dare point fingers in family meetings
08:31and you wouldn't get in the way
08:32during business negotiations.
08:33I closed my eyes and kept pressing.
08:36But what a pity.
08:37She walked over and nudged my leg
08:38with the toe of her shoe.
08:39You couldn't even serve your one purpose properly.
08:42Does Bennett know you are saying all this to me?
08:46Of course he does.
08:47He is the one who told me to come talk to you.
08:50I tugged at the corner of my mouth.
08:52I wanted to laugh but could not.
08:54A sudden, terrible, tearing sensation
08:56ripped through my abdomen.
08:58The labor-delaying drug had failed completely.
09:00The baby was coming.
09:01I screamed before I could stop myself.
09:03The sound so sharp, it startled even me.
09:05So annoying.
09:06Tessa opened the door.
09:07Someone come see whether the child is coming out.
09:10The young nurse was pushed in.
09:11She knelt to examine me
09:13and her face instantly went white.
09:15The nurse's voice trembled.
09:16The head is out.
09:17She has to deliver right now.
09:19But there is no equipment, no medicine.
09:21Forcing a delivery under these conditions,
09:23the mother and infant could both...
09:25So what?
09:25They are going to die sooner or later.
09:27What difference does it make?
09:28With that, she turned and left.
09:30The nurse did not dare argue.
09:31She could only kneel beside me
09:32and try to help adjust my position.
09:34But I had no strength left at all.
09:36Seconds dragged by.
09:37Blood had spread across the floor.
09:38Cold sweat covered me.
09:40And my body felt as if it had fallen into ice water.
09:42Just as my consciousness was beginning to scatter,
09:44footsteps sounded at the end of the corridor.
09:46Was it the people my father had sent?
09:48The next second, the door was kicked open.
09:50The man at their head lowered his suppressed pistol.
09:52Miss Caruso!
09:53Several men quickly moved in and pulled the nurse away.
09:55The man took off his coat, wrapped it around me.
09:57We are late.
09:58I am taking you out now.
10:00Who are you?
10:00This is the Velati family's hospital!
10:02The Velati family?
10:04Soon there will be no Velati family.
10:07I was carried into a black cargo van,
10:09parked at the hospital's rear entrance.
10:11Inside was a complete mobile operating room.
10:13Two doctors and three nurses were already standing by.
10:16The moment I was placed on the operating table,
10:18everyone moved at once.
10:20Mother is in hemorrhagic shock.
10:21Open two IV lines.
10:22Fluids wide open.
10:24One doctor pressed the probe to my abdomen,
10:26stared at the monitor,
10:27and his voice abruptly sank.
10:28Fetal heart rate is continuing to drop.
10:30Immediate C-ception.
10:31We can't wait.
10:32I grabbed the doctor's hand.
10:34The baby.
10:35Save the baby first.
10:37Miss, don't talk.
10:38Save your strength.
10:40Donnie's on his way.
10:41You and the baby will be all right.
10:43You will.
10:43You have to.
10:45Promise me.
10:46The anesthesia mask came down over my face.
10:49I turned my head.
10:50The baby.
10:51Her name is Lily.
10:53No one knew that name.
10:53I had chosen it for her in secret.
10:55His throat moved.
10:56We will save both of you.
10:58Before he finished,
10:59a shrill alarm exploded from the monitor.
11:01Maternal heart rate is crashing.
11:02Prepare for sagitation.
11:04Fetal heart rate is falling too.
11:0660, 40.
11:06There is no time!
11:08Oh my God!
11:08Scattered before my eyes.
11:10The anesthetic entered my body,
11:11and the world pulled farther and farther away.
11:13The last thing I heard was a doctor's urgent, lowered voice.
11:17Too late.
11:18No fetal heartbeat.
11:19No.
11:20The mother's heart is stopped too!
11:22Darkness fell.
11:24I did not know how long I stayed in the dark.
11:27When I woke,
11:27I saw an unfamiliar ceiling.
11:30Several familiar faces stood by the bed.
11:32All of them were Caruso people.
11:34My father's personal guards.
11:36The uncles and aunts who had watched me grow up.
11:38Their eyes were all red,
11:40and their faces were full of the stunned relief of survivors.
11:43After a catastrophe,
11:44she is awake.
11:46Slotin, sweetheart.
11:48Someone called softly.
11:49I opened my mouth.
11:50My throat felt as if it had been scraped with sandpaper.
11:53Where is my baby?
11:55The room fell silent at once.
11:58Everyone lowered their heads.
11:59Their eyes dodged.
12:00Their lips moved.
12:01But not one of them dared speak.
12:03A few seconds later,
12:04or perhaps a few centuries,
12:05the curtain at the foot of the bed was pulled open.
12:08My father, Conrad, stood there.
12:10In the past,
12:11he had always been immaculate.
12:12His hair neatly combed.
12:14His suits like armor.
12:15Now his collar hung loose.
12:17His eyes were bloodshot.
12:18His back was bent,
12:19and his shoulder blades jutted beneath his shirt.
12:21Sunlight outlined him,
12:23and I saw his hair.
12:24It had gone almost completely white.
12:25He came to my side,
12:27took my hand,
12:27and spoke in a hoarse, broken voice.
12:30Slotin.
12:31With only my name,
12:32I understood.
12:33I looked at his reddened eyes.
12:35She's gone, isn't she?
12:37My father closed his eyes and nodded.
12:39Each word came slowly and gently.
12:42Plus any abduction.
12:43She was deprived of oxygen too long.
12:45The doctors did everything they could.
12:48But by the time you arrived,
12:51it was already too late.
12:53I closed my eyes.
12:54I thought I would fall apart,
12:56scream, smash,
12:57every breakable thing in sight.
12:59But when I truly heard the answer,
13:01I simply let the tears slide from the corners of my eyes.
13:03My Lily.
13:05She had stayed inside me for nine months.
13:07She had kicked me,
13:08woken me in the night,
13:09made me touch my belly and whisper to her.
13:11She never even had the chance to see this world.
13:13Bennett?
13:14I opened my eyes.
13:15When I spoke his name,
13:17my voice was strangely calm.
13:18My father's gaze turned cold at once.
13:21Nadia gave birth.
13:22A boy.
13:23The Velotti family is celebrating.
13:25The whole building is celebrating.
13:28Champagne, flowers,
13:29ceremonial gunfire,
13:31congratulatory calls from family allies.
13:35Quite the party.
13:36Not one person,
13:38not one,
13:39asked about you.
13:40I laughed.
13:41I laughed so hard my whole body shook,
13:43and the wound pulled with a drilling pain.
13:45I propped myself up.
13:46A nurse rushed over to hold me down,
13:48and I pushed her away.
13:50Good.
13:51I said.
13:52Very good.
13:53My father tightened his grip on my hand.
13:55Slona, come home with Dad.
13:57Leave the rest to me.
13:58I shook my head.
14:00No.
14:02Dad, prepare a body for me.
14:04Death from postpartum harmage
14:06after failed resutation.
14:08Make it as convincing as possible.
14:10My father was silent for a long time.
14:12Of course he understood what I wanted to do.
14:14At last,
14:15he bent down and touched my forehead.
14:17All right, my little queen,
14:18we will do it your way.
14:22The fake corpse was extremely realistic.
14:25Medical-grade silicone skin,
14:27an internal temperature control system
14:29that simulated the cooling of a body,
14:31blood bags infused through the abdomen
14:32and lower limbs.
14:34Even the expression of pain after childbirth
14:36reproduced with almost no flaw.
14:37She wore my hospital gown
14:39and was placed in a refrigerated drawer
14:40in the Valenti Hospital morgue.
14:42I sat in the surveillance room of a safe house,
14:44watching the screens.
14:45Six monitors covered every floor
14:47and every corner
14:48of the Valenti family's private hospital.
14:50The micro-cameras my father's people had planted
14:52were hidden inside smoke detectors and vents.
14:55The Valenti family did not even know
14:56that their head of security
14:57had been working for Caruso
14:58since the day I married in three years ago.
15:00My father sat beside me without speaking.
15:02The only sound in the room
15:03was the low hum of the equipment.
15:05Outside the third-floor delivery room,
15:07Nadia's child was carried to the ward by a nurse.
15:09The Valentis crowded around.
15:11Theodore Valenti sat in his wheelchair,
15:12holding an infant wrapped in a blue blanket.
15:14His cloudy, old eyes full of tears.
15:17His trembling fingers stroked the baby's face.
15:19His lips moved
15:20as he repeated the same words again and again.
15:22A boy.
15:23A boy.
15:24The Valenti family has an heir.
15:26Nadia leaned against the hospital bed.
15:28Pale but smiling radiantly,
15:30green nurses fussed around her
15:31and flowers filled the entire bedside table.
15:33Tessa stood nearby taking photos.
15:35Her phone flashed, blinking again and again.
15:38And Bennett stood among them,
15:39laughing with open joy.
15:40That smile stung my eyes.
15:42Time passed minute by minute
15:44until Bennett walked out of the ward
15:45and a young nurse carefully approached him
15:47to whisper something in his ear.
15:49He frowned, impatient.
15:50Then he set down the coffee cup in his hand
15:51and walked toward the elevator.
15:53Tessa caught up with him, her tone brisk.
15:55Bennett, I'll come with you.
15:56The monitor switched to the first floor.
15:58Owen leaned against the empty morgue doorway,
16:01his back to the wall,
16:02and his face ashen.
16:03His hands hung at his sides
16:05and his fingertips were still stained with blood.
16:07The elevator doors opened.
16:08Bennett strode out.
16:09Owen, where's my wife?
16:10Owen raised his head.
16:12There was no respect in his eyes,
16:13only exhaustion and disgust.
16:15Dead.
16:19Bennett stopped.
16:20He stood frozen in place like a stone statue.
16:23The expression on his face shifted from confusion
16:26to denial to terror
16:27and finally settled into blankness.
16:30What did you say?
16:34Donna hemorrhaged.
16:35Resuscitation failed.
16:37The child did not survive either.
16:38They were both dead.
16:41Tessa shrieked.
16:43Impossible!
16:43She was fine just now!
16:46Owen gave a laugh.
16:47He tried to hold it in,
16:48his chest rising and falling,
16:49but still roared.
16:50Fine?
16:51You locked a woman in active labor in a basement,
16:54removed the surgical equipment,
16:56took away every medicine,
16:57and expected her to be fine!
16:59Bennett seized him by the collar
17:00and slammed him against the wall.
17:02With his other hand,
17:03he swiftly drew a gun from behind his waist
17:05and pressed it to Owen's temple.
17:08Why?
17:09Why did no one tell me?
17:11Bennett, calm down!
17:12Tessa tried to grab his arm.
17:14It was you.
17:15Bennett blown her off and turned,
17:17his eyes streaked with blood.
17:18You locked her in the basement, didn't you?
17:21Tessa's face went pale for an instant.
17:23Then she hurried to defend herself.
17:25I only, I only made her wait.
17:27Nadia was in danger too.
17:28You, you told me to keep Slowy steady and let-
17:31Keep her steady?
17:34Bennett's voice was very low.
17:36You locked her in the basement.
17:38I only made her wait.
17:42The sound of a slap cut through the surveillance speakers.
17:46The two soldati in the corridor
17:48lowered their heads at the same time.
17:50Tessa's head snapped to one side.
17:52She covered her face
17:53and stared at Bennett in disbelief.
17:55You hit me?
17:56You hit me for a dead woman?
17:58That was two lives!
18:00Bennett's voice was so hoarse,
18:02it almost broke apart.
18:03My wife, my child,
18:05and you say you made her wait,
18:07wait until she died?
18:08Tessa's tears fell,
18:09her face full of grievance.
18:11I did it for this family too.
18:13Nadia was carrying a boy.
18:15The heir.
18:16Grandfather said Valani's future depended on a boy.
18:19Without a male heir,
18:21the family would be swallowed.
18:22That idiot was carrying a daughter.
18:26What would it matter if she was born?
18:29She couldn't shoulder any-
18:31She did not finish
18:32because Bennett's expression changed.
18:34He made no sound now,
18:35but the hand gripping the gun
18:37had veins bulging along it.
18:38His gaze moved from Tessa's face
18:40to the cold corpse in the drawer.
18:42The fake me lay on the white sheet,
18:44face bloodless,
18:46blood beneath her body glaringly bright.
18:48She looked as if she had died in agony.
18:51Bennett reached out,
18:52his fingertips stopping in midair.
18:54His voice was almost a novel.
18:58Bennett Valenti brought my body
19:00back to the Valenti old estate.
19:02The morning hall was set up in a side courtyard,
19:04a stone annex that had stood unused for years
19:07and was normally used to store gardening tools
19:09and out-of-season furniture.
19:11The butler cleared it in less than two hours,
19:13laid white cloth and arranged candlesticks.
19:15The coffin stood in the center of the room,
19:17dark oak, surrounded by white roses.
19:20Theodore sat in his wheelchair,
19:21giving orders in a full, strong voice.
19:24Pick a day and bury her.
19:26Choose a respectable cemetery.
19:28Don't give outsiders anything to talk about.
19:31But there will be no funeral.
19:33The more people there are, the more danger.
19:35We cannot frighten the child.
19:37Everyone either lowered their heads or nodded.
19:39No one objected.
19:41Nadia and the child moved into the main house.
19:43People congratulated her.
19:44Champagne glasses clinked,
19:46and servants laughed.
19:47In the West Annex,
19:49Bennett sat beside the coffin without saying a word.
19:52For three days,
19:53he did not eat properly or change his clothes.
19:55Stubble shadowed his jaw,
19:57and his eyes were threaded with red.
19:59Tessa came twice,
20:00and both times he drove her out.
20:02On the third night,
20:03Nadia came in carrying the child.
20:05She wore a soft cashmere shawl.
20:07Her face was pale,
20:08but she already had the bearing of the lady of the house.
20:11Ben, you should eat something.
20:12Her voice was soft and proper,
20:15carrying just the right amount of concern.
20:16If this goes on, you will make yourself ill.
20:19Sloan is watching from heaven.
20:20She would not want you destroying yourself like this.
20:23Bennett sat on the floor beside the coffin,
20:25the back of his head against its wall.
20:26He lifted his head,
20:27and looked at Nadia for a long time.
20:29So long that the arms with which she held the child
20:32tightened slightly,
20:33he said,
20:34his voice rough.
20:35Do you know what she was thinking
20:37during those last hours?
20:39Nadia choked.
20:40I was in the delivery room.
20:42I didn't know any...
20:42She was thinking,
20:43why is everyone saving you,
20:45and no one cares about her?
20:47She was asking why her husband was not beside her,
20:50but beside another woman.
20:51Bennett stood slowly.
20:53While she bled in the basement,
20:56the whole hospital revolved around you.
20:59Nadia hugged the baby tighter.
21:01Bennett, I was giving birth to.
21:03I nearly died to.
21:05You cannot blame everything on me
21:07just because she is dead.
21:10My child was in danger too.
21:13You know that.
21:15But her child is already dead!
21:19Bennett's voice tore out in a roar.
21:21The room fell quiet.
21:26Nadia's face went deathly white,
21:28and she instinctively took several steps back.
21:30Bennett only looked at the coffin,
21:32his voice choking.
21:34These past few days,
21:35I have not been able to stop thinking.
21:38If I had gone downstairs to look at her,
21:41would it have ended differently?
21:44If I had left her one operating room,
21:46would she and the baby both be alive?
21:48He lowered his head.
21:49If I had admitted that my daughter mattered too.
21:54Two bodies, one death.
21:56His voice growing softer.
21:58Was it just because the child in Sloney's belly
22:00was not a boy,
22:01so she deserved to die?
22:05Was her life worth less than a newborn's?
22:07At last, a crack appeared in Nadia's expression.
22:10She stepped back half a pace,
22:12then lifted her chin slightly.
22:13Bennett, I know you are hurting,
22:15but some words should be weighed
22:17before they are spoken.
22:19I nearly died giving birth to this child.
22:22My child is now the Velalti family's only bloodline.
22:25The absolute next dawn.
22:29How can you blame me?
22:30And your daughter?
22:32She was not even born.
22:34She was not worth it.
22:36Bennett looked at her sharply.
22:37Nadia withdrew the expression on her face.
22:39She looked down at Enzo in her arms,
22:41her tone harder.
22:43No matter what,
22:44this child is a Velalti.
22:46He is the heir Theodore has been waiting for.
22:49Bennett gave a cold little laugh.
22:52Then what was slowing?
22:53An inconvenience?
22:54Nadia did not answer.
22:56She turned to leave.
22:57At the door,
22:57she looked back and said,
22:58The dead do not need you, Bennett.
23:01The living do.
23:02That dead woman has no value anymore.
23:03We should focus on more important things.
23:06The door closed.
23:07Bennett slid slowly down against the coffin
23:09and sat on the floor,
23:10covering his face with both hands.
23:12On the surveillance screen,
23:13I saw his shoulders shaking.
23:15After a long time,
23:16muffled sobs came from the room.
23:18I watched it all in silence.
23:19Then I picked up my phone
23:20and sent my father a message.
23:22Begin.
23:25The first crack in the Velenti family
23:27appeared in the supply chain.
23:28A European supplier
23:30that had worked with them for 15 years
23:32suddenly suspended deliveries,
23:34citing a failed review of product standards.
23:36Bennett called personally,
23:37and the secretary on the other end
23:38was polite and cold.
23:40Dawn,
23:40in light of multiple factors,
23:42the family council is reassessing
23:44the risk of cooperation.
23:45Two days later,
23:46a Swiss union bank froze
23:47the Velenti family's credit line.
23:49The email was impeccably worded.
23:51Our risk control model has been updated
23:53and your company's rating has been adjusted.
23:55We sincerely apologize.
23:56When his assistant brought it to Bennett,
23:58he only closed his eyes numbly
24:00because a larger disaster had already arrived.
24:02The money laundering network for Valentis
24:04had built over three generations
24:06was being systematically dismantled step by step.
24:09Soon,
24:10three long-time allied families
24:11announced one after another
24:13that they were ending cooperation.
24:14They paid the breach penalties
24:15and all invested in Valenti's competitor,
24:18Ferrante.
24:19Within a month,
24:19nearly a third of the Valenti family's market value
24:22had evaporated.
24:23Theodore was hospitalized from rage.
24:25Bennett ran back and forth
24:26between headquarters and the hospital,
24:27but Nadia held Enzo
24:29and complained at him.
24:30You are never here.
24:31Every day you are either handling
24:32territory disputes
24:33or sitting in meetings.
24:35Enzo needs a father,
24:37Nadia said.
24:38Graham is dead.
24:39You have to take care of us.
24:41Do you not care about this baby at all?
24:43Bennett stood by the main house door.
24:44His tie loosened,
24:45exhaustion filling his eyes.
24:47Grandfather is in the hospital.
24:49Headquarters is a mess.
24:50I have many things to take care of.
24:51So what?
24:51We have more money
24:52than we could ever spend.
24:54He looked at her,
24:54his gaze cooling little by little.
24:57That headquarters was built
24:58by my grandfather,
24:59my father,
25:00and my brother.
25:01Generation by generation,
25:03money does not fall from the sky.
25:06How do you think
25:06you have the life you have now?
25:08Nadia turned her face away.
25:09That does not mean
25:11you can ignore me
25:12and the baby.
25:13You have plenty of money anyway.
25:15You should be at home
25:16with me and the baby.
25:18Bennett said nothing more
25:19and turned away.
25:20He went to the morning hall.
25:21Sloan's coffin was still there.
25:22He had never settled
25:23on a cemetery.
25:24It seemed he could not bear
25:25to send her away.
25:26He sat with his back
25:27against the coffin
25:28and lit a cigarette.
25:29Sloan, if you were here,
25:30what would you do?
25:31Smoke rose,
25:32veiling his haggard face.
25:33You could always
25:34sort things out.
25:35Help me arrange the accounts,
25:36review contracts,
25:38even understand
25:38how to handle business
25:39better than my consliacy.
25:40I always thought
25:41you were gentle.
25:42I thought you were simply
25:43supposed to cooperate
25:44with everything I did.
25:45But really,
25:46you just did not want
25:47to add to my burdens.
25:48At this,
25:49his voice lowered.
25:50I was so arrogant.
25:51His phone suddenly vibrated.
25:57His assistant's voice
25:58was nearly cracking.
25:59Mr. Volante,
26:00the shipment in Genova
26:01has been seized by custom.
26:02They say Restricteds
26:03were found in the containers.
26:05The police and the DEA
26:06launched a joint operation.
26:08They are already
26:08at headquarters.
26:09They may bring criminal charges.
26:11That shipment was covered
26:12long ago.
26:13How could it be discovered?
26:15Impossible.
26:16But it is true.
26:17They have documents.
26:18They brought interrogation orders.
26:20Find out who leaked the route.
26:21Bennett threw out
26:22the order and hung up.
26:23He rushed out of the morning hall
26:24and drove from the estate
26:26to headquarters.
26:26The road shone cold
26:28in the rainy night.
26:29He gripped the steering wheel,
26:30his mind full of contracts,
26:31debt,
26:32the media,
26:33and Sloane's pale face
26:34in the morgue.
26:35The phone rang again.
26:36Unknown number.
26:37He answered.
26:37On the other end
26:38was a man's voice.
26:39Low, steady, elegant.
26:41Mr. Volante,
26:42did you receive
26:43the first gift?
26:44Bennett slammed on the brakes.
26:45The SUV behind him
26:47nearly rear-ended him.
26:48Urgent questions
26:49were rackled
26:49over the Soldati's radios.
26:51He ignored them.
26:52Who are you?
26:53Only a father.
26:54Bennett's fingers tightened
26:55little by little
26:56on the steering wheel.
26:57What do you want?
26:58You cannot offer me
26:59what I want.
27:00Who the hell are you?
27:01The man gave a soft laugh.
27:03You are not qualified
27:04to know.
27:04Just remember one thing.
27:07Fate's gifts
27:07have always had a price.
27:09And this is only
27:10the beginning.
27:11The Volante family
27:12will pay a hundredfold
27:13for everything.
27:14Bennett's face
27:15slowly turned
27:16gray-white.
27:17What are you trying to do?
27:18I am warning you!
27:19You had better pray
27:20I never find you!
27:22There was a pause
27:22on the line.
27:23A soft laugh.
27:24Then I will be waiting.
27:25And when the price
27:26comes due
27:27do not act surprised.
27:29The call ended.
27:30When Bennett called back
27:31there was only a message
27:32saying the number
27:32was no longer in service.
27:34He threw the phone
27:34onto the passenger seat
27:35and realized
27:36his hands were shaking.
27:37Rain struck the windshield
27:39dense as countless knuckles
27:40knocking at the door.
27:43The DEA investigation
27:45lasted half a month.
27:46In the end
27:47no formal charges
27:48were filed.
27:49The chain of evidence
27:50was not complete enough.
27:51And Valenti's lawyers
27:52were expensive enough.
27:53but the shipment
27:54was confiscated
27:55and the loss
27:56exceeded 40 million.
27:57Three mid-level coppers
27:59were arrested
27:59during the investigation.
28:01One of them
28:01committed suicide
28:03in detention.
28:04Worse were the rumors
28:05that never stopped.
28:06After the investigation
28:07Valenti's remaining partners
28:08worried about risk
28:10and withdrew their stakes
28:11one after another
28:12keeping a safe distance.
28:14Theodore's second stroke
28:15happened before dawn.
28:16This time
28:16he did not recover.
28:17Before he died
28:18he clutched Bennett's hand.
28:20His mouth crooked.
28:21His voice slurred.
28:23Preserve Valenti.
28:25Take care of the child.
28:27Grandfather
28:28don't speak.
28:29Theodore said
28:29in broken fragments.
28:31The boy
28:32Enzo
28:33hair.
28:34Then his hand
28:35fell weakly.
28:36Every soldado
28:36in the corridor
28:37removed his hat.
28:38No one spoke.
28:39The conciliere
28:40came in
28:40closed Theodore's eyes
28:41then took an old
28:42silver coin
28:43from his pocket
28:44and placed it
28:44on Theodore's lips.
28:46The funeral
28:46was cold
28:47and sparse.
28:48Few people
28:49were willing
28:49to stand with Valenti
28:50anymore.
28:51The guests
28:51who came
28:52vowed politely
28:53and murmured
28:53condolences
28:54but there was
28:54not the slightest
28:55pity in their eyes.
28:57Nadia stood
28:57before the coffin
28:58holding Enzo
28:59and cried
29:00in genuine anguish.
29:01She was crying
29:02for the loss
29:03of her strongest
29:03protection.
29:04Bennett's face
29:05was expressionless
29:06throughout the funeral
29:07only after it ended
29:08when the guests
29:08had dispersed
29:09and the old estate
29:10stood hollow
29:10and empty.
29:11Did he say
29:11to Nadia
29:12in the hall
29:13You have to move out.
29:14Nadia froze.
29:15What did you say?
29:17Move out.
29:17I will give you
29:18and Enzo money.
29:19Enough for you
29:20to live on.
29:20Her face changed.
29:21Bennett,
29:22are you insane?
29:23I am Graham's widow.
29:24I am entitled
29:24to the family's protection.
29:25Enzo is your brother's
29:26only son.
29:27He is also
29:28Valenti's only heir.
29:29I know.
29:30But what do you think
29:31will be left of Valenti?
29:33Territory is being
29:34eaten away,
29:34funds are frozen,
29:35allies have all run.
29:36Valenti may have
29:37nothing left for him
29:38to inherit but death.
29:39Nadia clutched
29:40the child tighter.
29:41So you are
29:41abandoning us?
29:43This is not abandonment.
29:45I will give you money
29:46and I will make sure
29:47you and the child
29:47are looked after.
29:50But this house
29:50you cannot live in.
29:52Inside it
29:53is the last connection
29:54I have to Sloane.
29:55I will not give it
29:56to anyone.
29:56Nadia fell silent.
29:57Then,
29:58after an unknown
29:58length of time,
29:59she laughed.
30:00Memories?
30:01You really think
30:02you are some
30:03devoted husband now?
30:04Stop lying to yourself,
30:05Bennett.
30:06You never loved her.
30:09Bennett clenched
30:10his jaw.
30:10Tears still hung
30:11on Nadia's face.
30:12You just cannot
30:13free yourself
30:13from your guilt.
30:15Sloane is dead.
30:16She died horribly.
30:18And only after she died
30:19did you start acting
30:20like you loved her.
30:21When she was alive,
30:22did you ever care?
30:24Nadia stepped forward,
30:25almost screaming.
30:26If she was still alive,
30:28you would have thrown
30:28her away by now.
30:29Shut up.
30:30I will not.
30:31You married her
30:32because her background
30:33was clean
30:33and she was easy
30:34to control.
30:35Wasn't that it?
30:36Bennett's face
30:36turned terribly cold.
30:38You said that she
30:38gave birth.
30:39If it wasn't a boy,
30:40you would have her
30:40sign a Confident Al.
30:41She'll divorce her,
30:42give her some money
30:43and send her away.
30:44Now she is dead
30:45and suddenly you regret it.
30:47Who told you that?
30:50Does it matter?
30:51The point is that
30:51if she were still alive,
30:52you would be holding
30:53my son while sending
30:54her out of this house.
30:56The point is,
30:56now that she is dead,
30:57you should thank me.
30:58I gave birth to a son,
31:00my child,
31:00and I helped you
31:01get rid of her.
31:02A strike across the face
31:03cut her off,
31:04covering her cheek
31:05and staring at him
31:05in disbelief.
31:06Get out.
31:08And otherwise,
31:09do not expect
31:09another cent from me.
31:10She climbed to her feet,
31:12holding the child
31:12and blared at him
31:13with hatred.
31:14She took a check
31:15for 50 million dollars
31:16and she also took
31:17the air Theodore
31:17had been thinking of
31:18until his last breath.
31:19Bennett stood alone
31:20in the hall.
31:21He looked at the portraits
31:22of the Valenti men
31:23hanging on the wall.
31:23Those silent faces
31:24seemed to ask him
31:25why he had destroyed
31:26the family.
31:27He walked to the fireplace,
31:28on the rack before him
31:29was a hunting rifle,
31:30the Caruso crest
31:31carved into the stock.
31:32Beneath it was a photograph
31:33of the five of them
31:34and Sloane.
31:35Father.
31:36Mother.
31:38Sloane.
31:39He slowly knelt,
31:40pressing his forehead
31:41to the cold floor.
31:43I cannot hold on anymore.
31:44No one answered.
31:45Only the draft
31:46moved the white mourning drapes
31:47through the hall,
31:48making them snap softly.
31:51At the same time,
31:52I was sitting in the study
31:53of an Italian estate,
31:54watching the surveillance feed
31:55with the latest report
31:56on the Valenti family
31:57beside my hand.
31:57My father came in,
31:58set coffee beside me,
31:59and handed me another file.
32:00They are nearly at the end,
32:02he said.
32:02Their assets no longer
32:03cover their debt.
32:05Total collapse
32:05is only a matter of time.
32:07I turned to the last page,
32:08faster than I expected.
32:10My father sat across from me,
32:11his expression complicated.
32:13Sloane,
32:14are you really going to see
32:15this through the end?
32:15I looked up.
32:16Do you think I should stop?
32:17No.
32:18He answered quickly.
32:19Bennett Valenti should pay,
32:20so should the Valenti family.
32:21Then what are you worried about?
32:22He looked at me,
32:23and suddenly his gaze
32:24softened into nothing
32:25but a father's.
32:26He sighed.
32:27I am afraid you left yourself
32:29in that night too.
32:30I am afraid you will never come out.
32:32Hatred can make people
32:33lose themselves.
32:34I closed the file
32:35and smiled faintly.
32:36Don't worry,
32:37I haven't.
32:37I only think he deserves
32:38what he is getting.
32:40I want revenge for my Lily.
32:42Once the revenge is done,
32:44everything will end.
32:45My father looked at me,
32:46his expression unreadable.
32:47But you have not truly smiled
32:48in a long time.
32:49Before, you were always smiling,
32:50always full of hope.
32:51I stood and walked to the window,
32:53looking out.
32:54Beyond the glass was a vineyard,
32:55sunlight falling on the leaves.
32:56Everything looked warm and vivid,
32:58but my heart was bitterly cold.
33:00It felt as though my soul
33:01was still in that freezing basement.
33:03I was silent for a while.
33:05My daughter is dead, Dad.
33:07From that moment on,
33:08some things were never
33:08going to come back.
33:09My father's lips moved,
33:10but he said nothing.
33:11He only looked at me
33:12for a long time.
33:13Then he left.
33:14My phone rang.
33:15Bennett's name appeared
33:16on the screen.
33:17Strictly speaking,
33:18he was calling my old number.
33:19He thought that the phone
33:20had been buried with me.
33:21He did not know Caruso's people
33:22had delivered it
33:23to my desk long ago.
33:24I answered without speaking.
33:25There was a long silence
33:26on the other end
33:26before his hoarse voice
33:27came through.
33:28Sloan.
33:30I know you cannot hear me.
33:31I know this is ridiculous,
33:33but I still only want
33:34to talk to you.
33:35He laughed softly.
33:35The sound broken.
33:36The Velati family is finished.
33:37Grandfather is dead.
33:39Nadia is gone.
33:40And Tessa only agrees
33:41to see me
33:41when she is short on money.
33:43There is no one
33:44around me anymore.
33:45I made no sound.
33:46My fingers tapped
33:47lightly on the desk.
33:48He paused.
33:49Do you know,
33:49lately I keep thinking of you,
33:51of what we used to be.
33:52Used to sit in the study,
33:53reading documents,
33:55keeping me company
33:56while I handled
33:57family affairs.
33:58You could always
33:58put everything in order.
33:59I think of the child, too.
34:01Our daughter.
34:02I never even asked
34:03what you wanted
34:03to name her.
34:04My fingers stopped.
34:05My face went ashen.
34:06Then I closed my eyes.
34:08Sometimes I think
34:08about these things.
34:09I think if I had
34:10treated you better,
34:11maybe things would
34:12have gone differently.
34:13I think if I had not
34:14been so obsessed
34:15with a son.
34:16His voice dropped lower,
34:18already choked,
34:18broken by intermittent sobs.
34:20But none of that
34:20matters now.
34:21You are gone.
34:23Our child is gone, too.
34:24I can never make it right.
34:25He was silent for a long time.
34:27At last,
34:27he took a deep breath.
34:28I sold everything
34:29I could sell.
34:30The estate where
34:30four generations of
34:31Valentis lived
34:32was bought by a Russian.
34:33I emptied the Armheri art,
34:35and there was a pile
34:36of art as well.
34:37I divided the money
34:37into several parts.
34:39One share goes to
34:40Nadia and Enzo
34:41as my duty to Graham.
34:43One share was donated
34:44in your name
34:44to a children's hospital
34:45in New York.
34:46The last share.
34:48I want to keep it
34:48to buy a grave.
34:49If I can,
34:50I want to be buried
34:51beside you.
34:52I opened my eyes.
34:53The sunlight outside
34:54the window was dazzling.
34:55Sloane, I'm sorry.
34:56If there is another life,
34:58I will make it up
34:59to you twice over.
35:00Another long silence.
35:03Finally,
35:03the call ended.
35:04I held the phone
35:05for a long time
35:05without moving.
35:06When the screen went dark,
35:07I saw my reflection on it.
35:09Only then did I realize
35:10tears covered my face.
35:11Not for me,
35:12and certainly not for him.
35:13For my child.
35:14For my past.
35:15After today,
35:16everything would move
35:17toward its end.
35:19Bennett truly sold everything.
35:21The estate was sold.
35:22The fleet of cars was sold.
35:23The private jet
35:24was put up for sale.
35:25And the collections
35:25were sent to auction.
35:26The restaurants,
35:27construction companies,
35:28the man who had once
35:29controlled half the underground
35:30trade on New York's
35:31East Coast,
35:32moved in the end
35:33into a small apartment.
35:34Every day,
35:35apart from drinking,
35:35he went to the cemetery.
35:36Alone,
35:37he knelt before the headstone
35:38and confessed,
35:39talking to himself.
35:40Sometimes it was
35:41about headquarters.
35:42Sometimes he remembered
35:43when we were young.
35:43He talked about our trips
35:44when we were in love,
35:45about going shopping,
35:47about buying food
35:47all along the street.
35:49Sometimes he said nothing at all.
35:50He would sit there for hours,
35:51sometimes a whole day,
35:52from nightfall to dawn.
35:54I watched the surveillance
35:55for three months.
35:56At first,
35:57I thought his collapse
35:57would bring me
35:58some kind of satisfaction.
35:59But on the day
36:00Valenti went bankrupt,
36:01the pleasure
36:02had already vanished.
36:03I still did not know
36:03how to smile
36:04the way I used to.
36:05That night,
36:06I decided to go
36:06to the cemetery.
36:07His emotions
36:08are unstable now.
36:09He thinks you are dead.
36:10Now he has nothing left.
36:12If he sees you...
36:13I just...
36:14want to look one last time
36:15and let everything end.
36:19Take Soldati.
36:20If anything happens,
36:21call me at once.
36:22The cemetery
36:23was very cold at night.
36:24I stood in the shadows
36:25of the trees
36:26and watched Bennett
36:26sitting before the headstone
36:28engraved with my name.
36:29Slolin,
36:29I saw a psychiatrist today.
36:31She said I'm depressed,
36:32said I need medication.
36:34But I just miss you.
36:36I miss your corn chowder.
36:38I miss going over
36:39contracts with you.
36:40I miss you nagging me
36:41and making making me
36:42honey water.
36:43He took a drink
36:43and coughed
36:44until he bent over.
36:48I'm starting to forget
36:49what your voice sounds like.
36:50Isn't that cruel?
36:51I remember the blood.
36:53I remember how cold
36:55the morgue was.
36:56But I'm starting to forget
36:57what you looked like
36:58when you smiled.
36:59I'm scared.
37:00Scared that one day
37:01I'll forget you completely
37:02and if that happens,
37:03what do I do?
37:04He pressed his forehead
37:05to the headstone
37:06and his shoulders
37:07began to shake.
37:08Bennett was crying.
37:09I turned to leave
37:10but the toe of my shoe
37:11struck a small stone.
37:12The sound was very light.
37:14Who's there?
37:14Who's there?
37:15A guard tried to pull me away
37:16but I raised a hand
37:17to stop him.
37:18I was tired.
37:18Bennett walked toward
37:19the shadows of the trees.
37:20He stopped.
37:21It was as if someone
37:22had seized him by the throat.
37:23His lips parted.
37:24Slolin?
37:26He staggered back one step.
37:28It's me.
37:31You're alive.
37:32Slolin, I knew it.
37:34I knew you were dead.
37:35But the next second,
37:36his smile froze on his face.
37:38He finally noticed
37:39the people beside me.
37:40Who are you?
37:42Slolin Caruso.
37:44Daughter of Conrad Caruso
37:45and the only heir
37:47to the Caruso family.
37:48Caruso?
37:50That Caruso?
37:52Yes.
37:53The Caruso that controlled
37:54the deepest underground networks
37:55between Europe and North America
37:57along with shadow finance,
37:58shipping, security,
37:59and arms lines.
38:00The Black Crown High Society
38:02feared yet could not
38:03help invited.
38:04His face went pale.
38:05You said you were
38:06from an ordinary family.
38:07I lied because my father
38:08said you did not deserve to know.
38:10He also said
38:10I would regret marrying you.
38:12He is rarely wrong.
38:13He was right this time too.
38:15So, Velati,
38:17you are the one
38:18who brought it down.
38:19My father did it.
38:20I believe he did nothing wrong.
38:22Why didn't you tell me?
38:24If I had known
38:25who you were sooner-
38:25You would have done what?
38:27Treated me better?
38:28Not let me die?
38:29Bennett, stop lying to yourself.
38:32What you liked
38:32was precisely
38:33that I had no one
38:34to rely on.
38:35If you had known
38:36I was a Caruso,
38:37you would either have used me
38:38to lift Valento higher
38:39or you would have
38:40eliminated me out of fear.
38:42You would have gone
38:43after my family too.
38:44So all of this
38:45was your game?
38:46You watched me suffer?
38:48You made me lose everything?
38:49You enjoyed it,
38:50didn't you?
38:51No.
38:52Watching you suffer
38:53does not make me happy.
38:54I only think
38:55think you deserve it.
38:56I only wanted revenge
38:58for my daughter.
39:00Deserve it?
39:00His face twisted completely.
39:04Skolan,
39:05if you had told me
39:06who you were earlier,
39:07we never would have
39:08reached this point.
39:09You are the guilty one.
39:16Miss,
39:18what should we do with him?
39:19send him back
39:21and from now on
39:22do not let me see him again.
39:26I returned to Italy
39:27and formally took over
39:28the Caruso family.
39:29My father retreated
39:30to the garden
39:31and wine cellar
39:31where he began
39:32studying roses
39:33but he still read
39:34the security reports
39:35every day
39:35and he still sat
39:36under the light.
39:37Do you still hate him?
39:39Hatred takes too much effort.
39:41Bennett Velarte
39:42does not deserve
39:42that much of my energy.
39:44Do you still miss him?
39:48Dad.
39:50I only hope
39:50you still have
39:51something soft left in you.
39:52I never insisted
39:53on keeping you by my side
39:54because I wanted you
39:54to be happy forever.
39:56Dad,
39:56I am doing fine on my own.
39:57I have family now
39:58and a career
39:59and enough enemies
40:00and a great deal of money.
40:01It is a good life.
40:02I do not need a man
40:03to make it worse.
40:05Your mother used to say
40:06the same thing.
40:07Only then did I raise my head.
40:09She had suffered
40:10a massive hemorrhage
40:11during a difficult delivery
40:12when she gave birth to me.
40:13They could not save her.
40:14My father stood at her grave
40:15for three days
40:16and three nights
40:17and never remarried.
40:18Behind me,
40:19my father sighed.
40:20I worry your mother
40:21blames me
40:22for not taking care of you.
40:23Three years,
40:24not one moment
40:25of losing control.
40:27Every ounce of your energy
40:28goes into work
40:28like a machine
40:29that never stops.
40:32But you're not a machine,
40:33Sloanie.
40:35You're my daughter.
40:36But my fingertips
40:37trembled faintly.
40:39I am going to prepare
40:41next week's schedule.
40:42My assistant suddenly
40:44knocked and came in.
40:45Miss Karusta,
40:46Bennett Velotti
40:46is outside the estate.
40:47My signing hand
40:48did not pause.
40:49Have security handled it?
40:51He says he must see you.
40:53He is kneeling at the gate.
40:54I walked to the window.
40:55Bennett knelt
40:56beside the stone road.
40:58His face gray
40:59and ruined.
40:59He held up
41:00a piece of cardboard.
41:01The handwriting was crooked.
41:02It read,
41:02I'm sorry.
41:03Please see me once.
41:04Fucking hell.
41:06Signal dog,
41:07bye.
41:07Maybe a piece of asshole
41:07asks me.
41:07Bye.
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