Chapter 12: The City Burns

Valentina held her breath as the searchlight swept over their boat. Her heart pounded so hard she was sure the people in the other boat could hear it.

Then a familiar voice called out, "Boss? Is that you?"

Dante's head snapped up. "Rico?"

The light lowered. Rico stood at the front of the coming boat, his face still bruised from the beating he'd taken at the hotel.

"Thank God," Rico said. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

Valentina nearly fell with relief. Alessio squeezed her hand, his face pale from blood loss.

"How did you find us?" Dante asked as Rico's boat pulled alongside theirs.

"Luca told us where the safe house was before..." Rico paused. "Before he stayed behind."

They climbed into Rico's bigger boat. Two of Alessio's reliable men were there too, looking worried and tired.

"What's happening in the city?" Alessio asked.

Rico's face darkened. "War. Marco's men are attacking both our families. They're saying you and Dante killed Helena Vega."

"What?" Valentina gasped.

"It's all over the news," one of Alessio's men added. "Both your faces. They're calling you cop killers too."

"Helena was working with the police?" Dante asked.

Rico nodded. "She had half the force in her pocket. Now they're hunting you both."

As the boat sped toward the city, Valentina could see smoke rising from several places. Orange flames flashed against the night sky.

"They've hit the Moretti mansion," Rico said quietly. "And Dante's club downtown. Lots of people are dead."

Valentina felt sick. This was all happening because of Marco's lies. Because of lies she didn't even understand yet.

"Who am I?" she asked Alessio again. "You said Valentina Moretti isn't my real name."

Everyone in the boat fell silent. Alessio looked at Dante, who nodded slowly.

"Your real name is Valentina Castello," Alessio said. "Our parents were Antonio and Maria Castello. They were journalists, investigating corruption in the city."

"Journalists?" Valentina repeated. Not mafia at all. The realization made her dizzy.

"They discovered something," Alessio continued. "Something about a family called the Blackwoods. They control everything in this city—the Morettis, the Russos, even the Vegas."

Dante's jaw tightened. "My father warned me about them once. I thought he was just being paranoid."

"The fire that killed our parents wasn't an accident," Alessio said. "The Blackwoods ordered it. Antonio Moretti—the man I thought was my father—he was there that night. He saved us."

Valentina struggled to process this. "So we're not even part of this world? We're not mafia?"

"No," Alessio said. "We were just children who knew too much. Moretti raised us as his own to protect us."

The boat rounded a bend, and the full view of the city came into sight. Valentina gasped. At least a dozen buildings were on fire. Police sirens wailed in the distance.

"This is insane," she whispered.

Rico docked the boat at a small private pier. "Where to now, boss?" he asked Dante.

Dante looked at Alessio. Something unspoken passed between them.

"We need to end this," Dante said. "Tonight."

"How?" Valentina asked.

"We have to find Marco," Alessio said. "He's the one spreading the lies."

"And we need to expose the Blackwoods," Dante added. "It's the only way to stop the war."

They made their way through back alleys, avoiding the main streets where police and Marco's men would be looking for them. Alessio was getting weaker, leaning heavily on Valentina.

"You need a doctor," she insisted.

"Later," he said, but his voice was faint.

They reached an old building by the river. Rico said it was still held by Dante's loyal men.

Inside, Valentina helped Alessio to a chair while Dante called his remaining captains. The news wasn't good. Most of Dante's territory had fallen to Marco's troops. The Moretti family was in even worse trouble.

"We don't have enough men to fight back," Rico said.

Dante paced the room, his face dark with anger and fear. "We need to find Marco. Cut off the head."

"I might know where he is," said a voice from the doorway.

They all turned. A woman stood there, her clothes dirty and torn, her face streaked with ash.

"Sophia," Dante said, shocked.

"Your sister?" Valentina asked. She hadn't known Dante had a sister.

Sophia nodded. "Marco's at The Glass Tower. He's meeting with someone from the Blackwood family tonight."

"How do you know this?" Dante asked.

"Because I was engaged to Marco before he betrayed us all," Sophia said sadly.

Valentina's eyes widened. Another twist she hadn't seen coming.

"He told me things," Sophia continued. "Things about the Blackwoods. About what they're planning for the city."

"Which is what?" Alessio asked.

"They're going to burn it all down," Sophia said. "Clean slate. They've already started."

As if to make her point, a massive explosion rocked the city. The warehouse windows shook. Outside, a new column of smoke rose into the sky.

"That's the courthouse," Rico said, looking out.

"We have to stop them," Valentina said. "We have to tell people the truth."

"With what proof?" Dante asked. "It's our word against theirs. We're wanted criminals now."

Valentina thought hard. "My parents—my real parents—they must have had evidence. That's why they were killed."

Alessio nodded slowly. "Antonio Moretti kept a box of their things. He showed it to me once, told me never to open it unless he was dead."

"Where is it?" Valentina asked eagerly.

"Hidden in the Moretti mansion," Alessio said. "In a safe behind his portrait."

"The mansion that's currently on fire and crawling with Marco's men?" Rico asked.

Valentina stood up. "I'll go."

"No," Alessio and Dante said at the same time.

"I have to," she insisted. "Alessio can barely stand, and Dante is too recognizable. I can get in and out without being noticed."

"It's too dangerous," Alessio said.

"This is our chance to end it all," Valentina urged. "To find out who we really are. To stop this war."

Another blast shook the building. Closer this time.

"They're getting closer," Sophia warned. "They'll find us soon."

Valentina looked at her brother. "Trust me. I can do this."

After a long moment, Alessio nodded. "Be careful," he said. "Please."

Dante stepped forward. "Take Rico with you."

Rico nodded, checking his gun.

"We'll create a distraction," Dante said. "Draw Marco's forces away from the mansion."

They quickly formed a plan. Dante and his leftover men would attack one of Marco's bases across town. Meanwhile, Valentina and Rico would sneak into the Moretti house and find the box.

As they prepared to leave, Alessio called Valentina back. He gave her a small key.

"For the safe," he said. Then he pulled her into a hug with his good arm. "I just found out you're my real sister. I can't lose you again."

Valentina hugged him back, throat tight with emotion. "You won't."

She turned to leave, but Dante caught her arm. To her surprise, he pulled her into a quick, fierce hug.

"Come back," he whispered in her ear. "Both of you."

Something in his voice made Valentina's heart skip. She nodded, unable to speak.

Outside, the city was burning. Smoke filled the air, making it hard to breathe. Valentina and Rico moved carefully through the darkness.

"Do you think we can really stop this?" Rico asked.

"We have to try," Valentina said.

They reached the edge of the Moretti land. The mansion was partially on fire, the east wing engulfed in flames. Guards roamed the grounds, but they looked nervous, distracted by the chaos.

"Ready?" Rico asked.

Valentina nodded, thinking of Alessio, of Dante, of the folks she never really knew.

"Let's go."

They slipped past the guards and entered through a servant's entry. The house Valentina had grown up in felt like a stranger's now. Smoke filled the hallways, alarms blared, and distant shouts echoed through the rooms.

They made it to Antonio Moretti's study. The picture still hung on the wall, somehow untouched by the destruction around it.

"Keep watch," Valentina told Rico.

She moved the portrait away, revealing the safe. With shaking hands, she put the key Alessio had given her.

The safe clicked open. Inside was a metal box, old and damaged. Valentina grabbed it, her heart racing.

"We need to go," Rico said quickly. "More men coming."

They rushed back the way they had come. As they neared the exit, gunshots rang out. Rico fell with a cry of pain, blood spreading across his leg.

"Rico!" Valentina knelt beside him.

"Go," he gasped. "Get the box to Alessio."

"I'm not leaving you," she said, helping him up.

More shots. The guards had spotted them. Valentina and Rico ducked behind a wall.

"We're trapped," Rico said.

Valentina looked around desperately. The only way out was through the main hall—straight past the guards.

Then she noticed something. The fire had spread to the ceiling above the guards. The wooden beams were breaking.

"When I say run, we run," she told Rico.

She fired her gun at the weakened ceiling. With an enormous crash, it collapsed, taking the guards with it.

"Run!" she yelled.

They limped through the debris and smoke, finally bursting out into the night air. They didn't stop running until they were several blocks away.

"We did it," Rico said between coughs.

Valentina clutched the box to her chest. "Let's get back to Alessio."

But when they reached the warehouse, it was empty. No Alessio. No Dante. No one.

"Where are they?" Valentina asked, fear rising in her throat.

Rico pointed to a note on the table. Valentina picked it up, her hands shaking.

"Gone to stop Marco," it read in Alessio's handwriting. "Don't follow. Stay safe."

"No," Valentina whispered. "No, no, no."

She turned to Rico. "The Glass Tower. We have to get there now."

Rico looked at her, his face grim. "It's suicide."

"They'll die without this," Valentina said, holding up the box. "Without the truth."

As if to punctuate her words, the loudest blast yet rocked the city. They ran to the window.

The Glass Tower, the tallest building in the city, was engulfed in flames.

"Alessio," Valentina whispered. She clutched the box tighter and turned to Rico. "Are you with me?"

Rico nodded, his face determined despite his pain.

Valentina took a deep breath and opened the box. Inside were photos, papers, and a small leather journal. On top was a picture of a happy couple holding two small children—a boy and a girl. Her real parents. Her real life.

And written on the back of the picture, in faded ink: "The truth will set them free."

Valentina looked up at the burning tower where her brother and Dante were facing Marco and the strange Blackwoods.

"Let's end this," she said.