Chapter 14 - THE LAST WAR
Vittorio didn’t run.
He went home.
Not the Pascale estate.
The old family house where Massimo and Luca grew up.
A decaying mansion north of the city.
Massimo knew why.
“He wants me there.”
“Then don’t go.”
“He’ll keep coming.”
Police surrounded the property.
Vittorio had taken two officers hostage.
He demanded Massimo.
No one else.
Massimo stood beside the SUV with his cane.
I hated the calm on his face.
“You’re planning something.”
“Yes.”
“I hate when you answer that quickly.”
He touched my cheek.
“This ends tonight.”
“Promise me you’re coming back.”
“I can’t promise things I don’t control.”
My chest hurt.
“Wrong answer.”
He smiled faintly.
“I’ll fight like hell.”
“That’s better.”
Massimo entered alone.
Police listened through a microphone hidden under his shirt.
I listened too.
Vittorio’s voice crackled through the receiver.
“You came.”
“Let the officers go.”
“Still giving orders.”
“Still hiding behind guns.”
A long pause.
Then footsteps.
One officer appeared at the front door.
Then the second.
“They’re clear,” someone said.
I exhaled.
Inside, Vittorio said, “Do you remember this room?”
Massimo answered, “I remember every room.”
“I taught you discipline here.”
“You tortured children here.”
“I made you strong.”
“You made me afraid.”
Silence.
Then Massimo said something that made my eyes burn.
“And I spent my whole life mistaking fear for strength.”
Vittorio laughed.
“You’re alive because of what I taught you.”
“No.”
Massimo’s voice remained calm.
“I’m alive because people loved me after you taught me nobody would.”
A gunshot exploded through the speaker.
I screamed.
Police rushed forward.
More shots.
Then silence.
“Massimo?”
Nothing.
I tore off my headset.
“Ma’am, stay back!”
I ran.
Through the front door.
Down the hall.
Into a ruined study.
Vittorio lay on the floor.
Gun beside him.
Blood spreading beneath his chest.
Massimo sat against the wall.
Alive.
His leg stretched awkwardly.
I dropped beside him.
“You idiot.”
“Hello to you too.”
“Are you shot?”
“No.”
“Then why are you on the floor?”
“My leg disagreed with my dramatic exit.”
I laughed and cried at the same time.
Across the room, Vittorio coughed.
Massimo looked toward him.
Vittorio whispered, “You’re weak.”
Massimo stared at his father.
Then he took my hand.
“No.”
His voice was quiet.
“I finally know what strength is.”
Vittorio died before the ambulance arrived.
Massimo didn’t celebrate.
Neither did Luca.
Some deaths don’t feel like victory.
They feel like the end of a storm that lasted too long.
Outside, dawn was breaking.
Massimo leaned on his cane.
I stood beside him.
“What happens now?” I asked.
He looked at the sunrise.
“Now?”
May you like
He looked at me.
“Now I learn how to live.”
