Chapter 14 - The Man Who Chose the Fire
I handed Leo to Elena.
“Keep pressure on his arm.”
I turned back toward the closing door.
Rosa grabbed me.
“You cannot go inside.”
“He saved my daughter.”
“He is still in there.”
I dropped to the floor and crawled beneath the steel door.
It scraped across my back as I passed.
The door slammed shut behind me.
Smoke filled the room.
Marco lay near the burning wall.
Lorenzo was trapped beneath the metal table.
I ran toward him.
“You were supposed to leave.”
“You should know by now that I do not follow nursery rules.”
Together, we lifted the table enough for him to pull his leg free.
Marco crawled toward the fallen gun.
I kicked it away.
He grabbed my ankle.
“You should have died on those stairs.”
I looked down at him.
“You first.”
I pulled free.
Lorenzo reached the emergency switch.
Nothing happened.
“The wiring burned.”
Smoke covered the ceiling.
The hidden room had no windows.
Marco began laughing again.
“You saved the children.”
“Now they will grow up without either of you.”
A small sound came through the wall.
Lily’s voice.
“Mama?”
I froze.
She had heard Elena calling me her mother.
The word came again.
“Mama, come out.”
Every part of me came alive.
Lorenzo searched the stone wall.
“There has to be another exit.”
Rosa shouted from the other side.
“Sofia used the water tunnel.”
“Behind the cross.”
A metal cross hung above the burning shelves.
Lorenzo pulled it downward.
A section of wall opened.
Cold air rushed inside.
We entered the narrow passage.
Marco followed.
He grabbed Lorenzo from behind and pressed a piece of broken metal against his throat.
“Stop.”
I turned around.
Marco’s face was blackened with smoke.
His eyes were filled with hatred.
“You took everything from me.”
Lorenzo remained still.
“You killed my wife.”
“You poisoned my son.”
“You stole Clara’s daughter.”
“You lost everything before we entered this room.”
Marco looked at me.
“Open the exit.”
I saw the pistol partly hidden beneath Lorenzo’s jacket.
Marco had not noticed it.
I stepped closer.
“Let him go.”
“Open the exit.”
“I do not know how.”
“You know the child’s code.”
“You know every answer you should not know.”
His focus shifted completely toward me.
Lorenzo pulled the gun.
Marco reacted instantly.
Two shots exploded in the tunnel.
Marco released him.
He stared down at the wound spreading across his shirt.
Then he fell against the wall.
Water rushed through the passage and carried the gun away.
Marco looked at Lorenzo.
“Sofia begged for you.”
Lorenzo’s face became empty.
“She knew you would not reach her in time.”
Lorenzo crouched beside him.
“She was wrong about one thing.”
Marco smiled weakly.
“What?”
“I reached our son.”
Marco stopped smiling.
His head dropped.
He never moved again.
We followed the water tunnel until a wooden hatch appeared overhead.
Lorenzo pushed it open.
We emerged beside the garden fountain.
Guards and paramedics surrounded the area.
Elena sat on the grass with Leo in her arms.
His monitor continued slowing.
I ran toward him.
“He will not take the bottle,” Elena said.
I held him against my chest.
His lips barely moved.
“Come on, Leo.”
“You found me.”
“Now you have to stay.”
He did not latch.
Lorenzo knelt beside us.
His hand covered his son’s tiny back.
“Please.”
It was the first time I heard Lorenzo Rossi beg.
I closed my eyes.
I thought of Lily crying behind the steel door.
I thought of the life stolen from both of us.
Then Leo swallowed.
Once.
Twice.
Again.
The monitor began to rise.
A small hand touched my shoulder.
I opened my eyes.
Lily stood beside me.
She looked at Leo.
Then she looked at my face.
“Is the baby your boy?”
“No, sweetheart.”
“He belongs to Mr. Rossi.”
She studied me carefully.
“Do I belong to you?”
My tears fell before I could answer.
“You never belonged to anyone.”
“But I am your mother.”
She moved closer.
“Rosa said my mama was looking for me.”
“I never stopped.”
Lily placed her arms around my neck.
For the first time, I held both children against my body.
One I had saved.
And one I had believed I had lost forever.
Behind us, police vehicles entered the Rossi estate.
May you like
The officers were not there for Marco.
They were there for Lorenzo.
