Chapter 86 The Weight of the Truth

Chapter 86 The Weight of the Truth
Salvatore stood up, his legs shaky as he gripped the edge of the table so hard his knuckles paled. He looked at Vincent Harrington, then at the armed men standing by the door. His breath came in shallow gasps.
"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, his voice thin and cracked. "Vincent, you burst into my home and interrupted a private business meeting. Speak!"
Vincent didn’t spare him a glance. He kept his eyes on Lorenzo, who was pressed against the wall. He turned his head slightly toward Luca. "Show him. It’s time for your father to see the truth."
Luca stood up. He walked to the conference room door, opening it for Valeria, who stood in the hallway holding a thick leather folder. She walked inside and placed it on the table right in front of Salvatore.
"Father," Luca said. His voice was calm but very firm. "Before you sign another paper, you need to see this. You need to see who you brought into our family."
Salvatore looked at the folder, then at Isabella, who was standing at the end of the table with a bruised face. Slowly, his shaking hand reached out. He opened the folder.
The first thing he saw was a photo of Lorenzo and Bianca. They were in a dark corner of a club, locked in a deep, intimate kiss. Salvatore gasped and dropped the photo as if it burned his fingers.
"No," he whispered. "This must be a mistake."
"It is no mistake, father," Luca said.
Valeria began to spread papers across the glass table. She moved fast. "Here are the contracts," she said. "They are signed by Dorian Vane. Lorenzo has been working for him for over a year. He was never on your side."
Salvatore stared at the names. Then Valeria dropped more papers. "These are the bank records. Lorenzo has been moving Damiano's money into offshore accounts every week."
Salvatore’s face went from pale to gray. He picked up a page. It was a detailed plan to break the Damiano empire into pieces. He saw notes about his own health. He saw notes about how to isolate Isabella.
"And here," Luca said, his voice dropping an octave. "This is the order to kill Kelan. Dorian gave the order."
Salvatore let out a groan. He looked like he was shrinking into his chair. But Valeria wasn't done. She put one last paper on top of the pile.
"This is the DNA report," Valeria said. "The child Bianca is carrying is not a Damiano. It belongs to Lorenzo. The doctor was blackmailed into lying to us. He has already confessed."
The room went completely silent. Salvatore looked at the DNA report, then at the photos, then at the contracts. He looked up at Lorenzo. Tears filled his eyes and ran down his wrinkled cheeks.
"Lorenzo," he called out to him in a broken voice. "Tell me this is a lie. I treated you like my own son. Tell me you didn’t do this. Please."
Lorenzo didn’t move. He stood by the wall, trapped, looking at the faces in the room. He saw Luca’s rage, Vincent’s cold eyes. He saw the anger in Isabella, and he realized he couldn't lie any longer. His plan was over.
His face changed. His eyes turned cold and mean as he straightened his jacket.
"I don't owe you anything, old man," he spat. "The Damiano family is weak. Look at you, you look sick. Everything I did was justified. You deserved to lose it all because you were too blind to see what was happening right under your nose."
Before anyone could speak, he reached into his jacket, his hand moving fast, and pulled out a small black handgun, aiming it straight at Salvatore’s head.
"Nobody move!" Lorenzo screamed. "Back away! I will kill him! I swear I will do it!"
Isabella screamed. Luca lunged forward, his face full of terror for his father.
But Vincent’s men were faster. They didn't even hesitate. Two men tackled Lorenzo from the side. Lorenzo’s arm went up as he fell.
The gun went off, and the sound was deafening in the small room. A hole appeared in the ceiling, as white plaster rained down like snow. The gun skidded across the floor.
Vincent’s men pinned Lorenzo to the ground, twisting his arms behind his back. Lorenzo fought and kicked as they dragged him to his feet, but he didn't stop screaming.
"You think you won?" he yelled, his face turning red. "You have no idea who Dorian Vane is! He will burn this house down! He will kill all of you for this!"
Vincent stepped forward, standing right in front of Lorenzo. He looked at him like he was a bug under a boot. "Dorian Vane is being handled as we speak," he said. "You should worry about yourself, Lorenzo. Your time is up."
Vincent pulled out his phone and went to the corner to make a quick call.
An hour later, a fleet of black cars pulled into the driveway. Don Vittorio stepped out. He was an old man, but everyone in the room stood up when he walked in. He was the boss of bosses, the one who settled wars.
Don Vittorio sat at the table. He spent thirty minutes looking at the evidence. He looked at the bank records, the DNA tests. He looked at Lorenzo, who was now bound to a chair in the corner.
Finally, the old Don looked up. "Lorenzo Grusso. You have betrayed your family alliance. You have worked with an outside enemy and committed murder and theft. In our world, there is only one way this ends."
"I did what I had to do!" Lorenzo screamed.
Don Vittorio ignored him. He looked at Salvatore. "He is guilty. He will remain in our custody until the full tribunal. But he will never see the sun as a free man again."
Don Vittorio’s soldiers grabbed the chair and dragged Lorenzo out of the room as he screamed and cursed until the doors shut, and his voice finally faded away.
The room went quiet. Salvatore sat back down, looking helplessly at the evidence on the table. He looked at Isabella’s bruises, then at Luca.
"I am so sorry," he whispered. "I was so blind."
Suddenly, Salvatore’s eyes went wide. He grabbed his chest with both hands, gasping for air, but nothing came. He began to cough, a violent, deep cough that shook his whole body.
"Papa!" Isabella ran to him.
Salvatore pulled his hand away from his mouth. It was covered in blood as more blood leaked from his lips, his face turning a sick shade of blue.
"Call an ambulance!" Luca roared, catching his father before he fell to the ground.
Isabella was on her knees, holding his hand. "Stay with us, Papa! Please… Oh, God!"
The stress of the fight and the truth had been too much. Salvatore’s eyes rolled back in his head, limp in Luca’s arms.
Within minutes, the sirens were screaming outside. Paramedics burst into the room with a stretcher. They pushed Vincent’s men aside and started working on Salvatore. They pumped his chest and put an oxygen mask over his face.
"He’s in respiratory failure!" one paramedic shouted. "We need to go now!"
They lifted Salvatore onto the stretcher and ran for the door. Luca and Isabella followed right behind them, their faces wet with tears.
The ambulance doors slammed shut. The sirens wailed as the vehicle sped away, leaving the house behind.