Chapter 37
The rain battered against the windows of the Venetti estate, casting a dull rhythm that seemed to echo Marco’s unraveling mind. Inside his office, Marco sat behind his massive desk, the room cloaked in shadows despite the faint light of a lamp burning beside him. The glass of whiskey in his hand sat untouched, the amber liquid barely rippling as he stared at the scattered documents before him.
The empire was cracking, and it was his fault.
The past few weeks had left Marco on edge, his decisions increasingly erratic. Men who had once been fiercely loyal now questioned him behind closed doors. Pietro had grown colder, and whispers among his advisors had turned sharper—suspicion rippling through his own ranks like a slow poison. Yet instead of facing it, Marco pushed harder.
“Where’s Pietro?” Marco’s voice cut through the room as Luca entered, the door creaking softly shut behind him.
Luca’s shoulders tensed, his usual calm facade strained. “He left the meeting early. Said he had other things to handle.”
“He walked out?” Marco’s tone dipped, sharp and dangerous.
“He disagreed with your plan,” Luca said bluntly, though his voice carried a note of caution. “We all did.”
Marco slammed his palm against the desk, the papers jumping beneath the force. “Then they’re all fools. The De Lucas are regrouping. We strike now, before they regain strength.”
“You’re chasing shadows, Marco.” Luca’s voice dropped, careful but firm. “You’re so focused on tearing them apart, but you’re not looking at what’s happening here—inside your walls.”
Marco shot up from his chair, eyes blazing. “You think I don’t know that?”
Luca didn’t flinch. “No, I think you’re refusing to see it. Your men are pulling away from you. Pietro, Sergio, the others—they’re questioning your leadership. And why wouldn’t they? Half the family’s operations are falling apart because you’re letting Arianna steer you.”
“Arianna saved us!” Marco shot back, his voice like a whip. “She was the only one who stayed when Carmen left!”
Luca stared at him for a long moment, his jaw tight. “And look where that’s gotten you.”
Marco glared at him, his chest rising and falling as anger rippled through him, but Luca didn’t wait for a response. He turned sharply and walked out, leaving Marco alone in the oppressive silence of the room.
Marco sank back into his chair, running a hand down his face. His mind was a storm—Carmen’s face, Arianna’s whispers, and the weight of decisions he couldn’t undo. The walls of his empire were crumbling, and all he could hear was Arianna’s voice, smooth and convincing, promising she would keep him standing.
But even as he sat there, something gnawed at him—doubt, quiet but unrelenting.
________________
Carmen sat in Sergio Montini’s study, her expression tight with focus as she spread a series of documents across the table. Luca’s contacts had come through—she had intercepted a stream of Arianna’s communications. Every coded message had been decrypted, every detail meticulously laid out before her.
“This is it,” she said, pointing to the largest sheet—a map of Venetti and De Luca territories, with a series of coordinated targets marked in red ink. “Arianna’s been feeding intel to a De Luca faction in exchange for their support. She’s preparing a joint strike against Marco.”
Sergio leaned back in his chair, his dark eyes scanning the pages with quiet intensity. “And you’re certain this is legitimate?”
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t,” Carmen replied firmly.
He looked up at her then, his expression unreadable. “If Marco won’t listen to you, what makes you think he’ll listen to me?”
“He trusts you more than he trusts me right now,” Carmen said, a bitter edge to her tone. “If you show him this—if you tell him the De Lucas are already aligning with Arianna—he’ll have no choice but to act.”
Sergio exhaled slowly, tapping a finger against the table. “And what if he doesn’t?”
Carmen met his gaze, her eyes hard. “Then we take her down ourselves.”
Sergio raised a brow, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “You’re more like Marco than you realize.”
Carmen ignored the comment, gathering the papers back into a neat stack. “I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing it for me. For my child.”
“Fair enough,” Sergio said, rising to his feet. “You’ve got my support. I’ll reach out to the others. If Arianna’s been dealing with the De Lucas, this ends now.”
Carmen nodded, relief washing over her, though it was tempered by the knowledge of what still lay ahead. She had allies now—men willing to fight beside her—but the hardest part would be convincing Marco to see the truth before Arianna took everything.
________________
Luca found Marco in the garage late that evening, leaning against one of the sleek black cars, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers. The faint scent of oil and smoke hung in the air, and the dim overhead lights cast long shadows across Marco’s tired face.
“Thought I’d find you here,” Luca said, stepping closer.
Marco didn’t look up. “What do you want now, Luca?”
“To show you something,” Luca replied, his voice steady.
Marco exhaled, flicking the cigarette to the ground and grinding it out beneath his heel. “I’m not in the mood for more of your warnings.”
“This isn’t a warning.” Luca pulled a small folder from his coat, holding it out. “It’s proof.”
Marco stared at it for a moment, his brow furrowing. “Proof of what?”
“That Arianna’s been lying to you.”
The words hit Marco like a punch, and for a second, he didn’t move. Slowly, he reached for the folder and flipped it open. Inside were copies of the letters Arianna had shown him—letters that supposedly tied Carmen to Vincent—but now, side by side with their forged counterparts, the inconsistencies were clear.
“The handwriting is close, but it’s not hers,” Luca said. “The ink doesn’t match, and the timestamps don’t add up. Whoever faked these did a good job, but not good enough.”
Marco’s throat tightened as he stared at the pages. The words Arianna had used to poison him—to turn him against Carmen—looked suddenly hollow, artificial. His mind raced, flashes of Carmen’s face colliding with the lies Arianna had fed him.
“Where did you get this?” Marco asked, his voice hoarse.
“I dug it up,” Luca said. “I told you to look closer, but you wouldn’t. So I did it for you.”
Marco clenched the folder in his hand, his jaw working as anger began to simmer beneath the surface. “And you’re sure about this?”
“As sure as I can be,” Luca replied. “She’s been lying to you, Marco. About Carmen. About everything.”
Marco turned away, his breathing heavy as the weight of it all settled on his shoulders. If Luca was right—if Arianna had manipulated him, made him doubt Carmen, pushed him to tear his own family apart—then he had let her play him like a fool.
But the anger didn’t come all at once. Instead, there was hesitation, a bitter taste in his mouth as his mind fought to accept the truth.
“What if you’re wrong?” Marco muttered. “What if Carmen did betray me?”
Luca stepped closer, his voice firm but not unkind. “Then you’ll lose her for nothing.”
Marco didn’t reply. He stood in silence, staring at the folder in his hand, the evidence burning against his skin.
For the first time, the cracks in Arianna’s web of lies began to show. But Marco wasn’t ready to admit it—not yet.
Not when the truth might cost him everything.
