Chapter 33 Chapter 33: The Last Betrayal

Chapter 33 Chapter 33: The Last Betrayal
Marcella's POV

The warehouse in Tunisia smelled like salt and fish and motor oil.

Vito had chosen well. Remote, abandoned, no witnesses for miles. The kind of place where screams would go unheard.

I walked through the door slowly, my right arm in a sling, every step sending pain through my chest. Lorenzo stayed close, ready to catch me if I fell.

But I wouldn't fall. Not today.

Giovanni knelt in the center of the concrete floor, his hands tied behind his back. Two of Lorenzo's men stood guard, their faces hard and expressionless.

When Giovanni saw me, his eyes went wide.

"Marcy," he breathed. "You're alive. Thank God. I thought Cesare had killed you."

I stopped ten feet away, studying him. He looked smaller than I remembered. Older. Pathetic.

"You ran," I said, my voice flat. "You left me bleeding on the floor and ran like a coward."

"I had to. Cesare was dead. Lorenzo's men were everywhere. If I'd stayed, they would have killed me too."

"So you saved yourself."

"I didn't know you were hurt that badly. I swear, if I'd known..." He trailed off, seeing the look on my face.

"You're lying. You saw me fall. Saw the blood. And you chose yourself."

Lorenzo moved to stand beside me, his hand settling on my lower back. A reminder that I wasn't alone. That I had backup if this became too much.

"Tell her the truth," Lorenzo said, his voice cold. "Tell her what really happened that night. At her family's villa."

Giovanni's face went pale. "I told you everything. Cesare planned it. I just provided information."

"No." Lorenzo pulled out his phone and played a recording. Salvatore's voice filled the warehouse, rough and broken.

"Giovanni wasn't just the informant. He was there. He helped set the fire. Watched the door so no one could escape."

The words hit me like a physical blow. I stumbled, and Lorenzo's arm tightened around me.

"That's a lie," Giovanni protested. "Salvatore was trying to save himself. He would have said anything."

"He had no reason to lie. He was already dead by the time he said those words." Lorenzo's jaw clenched. "You were there, Giovanni. You helped murder your own family."

"No. I wasn't. I couldn't have. I loved them."

I walked closer, ignoring the pain in my chest. "Tell me. Were you there when they killed my father?"

Giovanni looked at me, tears streaming down his face. "Marcella, please. You have to understand. I had no choice. Cesare said if I didn't help, he'd kill me too."

"So you chose yourself over your family."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I was scared. I panicked."

"My mother would have been so scared too. My father. Little Sofia." My voice broke on her name. "I know they were all scared. But they didn't have anyone to save them because you were too busy saving yourself."

"I didn't want any of this. I tried to stop it. Tried to convince Cesare there was another way."

"But you didn't try hard enough." I pulled the gun from Lorenzo's holster, my left hand clumsy but functional. "You let them die. And then you used me to try and finish what Cesare started."

"I was protecting you. Marrying you to Lorenzo kept you safe."

"You were weaponizing me. Turning me into a killer so you could take Lorenzo's territory."

Giovanni shook his head frantically. "That's not true. I cared about you. You're my niece."

"Family doesn't mean anything to you. You proved that the night you helped murder them alive."

I raised the gun, aiming at his head. My hand shook, whether from pain or emotion, I couldn't tell.

"Marcella, wait." Giovanni's voice rose in panic. "Please. I know I don't deserve mercy. But I'm all you have left. I'm your only family."

"You're not my family. You stopped being family the moment you betrayed us."

"Then what does that make you? If you kill me, you're no better than Cesare. No better than me."

The words stung because part of me wondered if he was right. If killing him would make me just another monster.

"She's nothing like you," Lorenzo said, his voice hard. "Because unlike you, she's fighting for justice. Not greed. Not cowardice. Justice."

I looked at Lorenzo. At the man who'd stood by me through everything. Who'd held me while I cried. Who'd promised me a future built on something other than blood.

Then I looked back at Giovanni. This man who'd destroyed everything I loved.

"You're right," I said quietly. "Killing you would make me like you. And I refuse to be anything like you."

I lowered the gun.

Giovanni's face flooded with relief. "Thank you. Thank you, Marcella. I'll disappear. You'll never see me again. I swear."

"I'm not finished." I handed the gun back to Lorenzo. "You're going to prison. Lorenzo has evidence. Documents from Claudia. Salvatore's confession. Enough to put you away for the rest of your life."

"No. Please. Anything but prison. They'll kill me in there."

"Good. That's what you deserve." I turned to Lorenzo. "Call the authorities. Tell them we have evidence concerning the Vale murders."

Lorenzo nodded and pulled out his phone.

Giovanni started screaming. "You can't do this! Marcella, please! I'm sorry! I'll do anything!"

But I was already walking away, my good hand pressed against my chest where the pain was building again.

Outside, the cool air felt like relief. I leaned against the warehouse wall, trying to catch my breath.

Lorenzo joined me a moment later. "The police are on their way. Are you okay?"

"No. But I will be." I looked at him. "Did I do the right thing? Letting him live?"

"Yes. Because killing him wouldn't have brought your family back. But seeing him rot in prison? That's justice."

"It doesn't feel like justice. It feels empty."

"That's because revenge always does. But give it time. Eventually, you'll realize you did the right thing."

I closed my eyes, letting the exhaustion wash over me. "Can we go home now?"

"Yes. Let's go home."

The flight back to Sicily was quiet. I slept most of the way, my head on Lorenzo's shoulder, his arm around me.

When we finally landed in Catania, Rosa was waiting with the car. She took one look at me and her eyes filled with tears.

"Signora," she said softly. "Welcome home."

Home. The word felt strange but right.

At the estate, Lorenzo carried me inside despite my protests. He took me straight to our room and laid me on the bed.

"Rest," he ordered. "I'll bring you food."

"I'm not hungry."

"You're eating anyway."

He disappeared, and I lay there staring at the ceiling. It was over. Cesare was dead. Giovanni was in custody. The people who'd destroyed my family were finally paying for it.

So why did I still feel empty?

Lorenzo returned with a tray. Soup, bread, tea. He sat beside me and made sure I ate every bite.

"What happens now?" I asked when the bowl was empty.

"Now you heal. Properly this time. Physical therapy for your shoulder. Rest for your body." He took the tray away. "And we start planning our future."

"The legitimate one."

"Yes. I've already started the process. Selling off the illegal operations. Investing in real estate and shipping. In six months, the De Luca name will be clean."

"And the other families? Will they let you just walk away?"

"They don't have a choice. I have enough evidence to destroy them all if they try to stop me." He climbed into bed beside me, pulling me carefully against him. "But I don't think they will. Most of them are tired too. Tired of the violence. The blood. They're ready for change."

I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I love you. Even though this whole thing started with lies and revenge."

"I love you too. And maybe that's the point. We started with darkness. But we're choosing to build something light."

"Something clean."

"Something ours."

I closed my eyes, feeling safe for the first time in weeks. The pain was still there. The nightmares would probably come tonight. But for now, I was home. I was loved. And I was choosing to let the past stay in the past.

"Lorenzo?"

"Yes, amore?"

"Thank you. For saving me. For loving me. For giving me a reason to keep fighting."

"You never needed me to give you that. You've always been a fighter. I just made sure you had something worth fighting for."

"And what's that?"

"Us. Our future. The life we're going to build together."

I smiled against his chest. "Okay. Let's build it."

"Starting tomorrow. Tonight, we rest."

And for the first time since the fire that destroyed my family, I felt like I could finally breathe.

The revenge was over.

The healing could begin.

And whatever came next, we'd face it together.