Chapter 70: FINALLY OVER(1)

Nothing happened.

Antonio burst into laughter, loud and sickening.

He clutched his stomach, wiping tears from the corners of his eyes.

"You all should see your faces! It is not a real bomb. Just a little trick. Relax"

Matteo’s jaw tightened. Maya cursed under her breath. Aurora felt rage burn her chest.

Antonio laughed harder.

Then his laughter suddenly broke.

He choked.

A wet, ugly sound came from his throat as blood poured from his mouth. He turned slowly, confusion frozen on his face.

Nicholas stood behind him.

The knife was buried deep in Antonio’s back.

"I just had to do this, Dad" Nicholas whispered.

Antonio gurgled, reaching for his son, but Nicholas stepped back.

Matteo’s eyes darkened.

Without hesitation, Matteo pulled out a long, curved blade.

A weapon meant for pure execution.

He grabbed Antonio by the hair.

The sound of steel slicing through flesh.

Antonio’s severed head fell to the floor with a dull thud.

His body crumpled right after.

Maya, newly freed by Ace, snatched a gun from the floor.

"Piece of shit!" she screamed.

She emptied the bullets into Antonio’s corpse, each shot fueled with years of rage. Her hands shook violently as she fired again and again until Axel stepped forward.

"Move" Axel said, his voice cold.

He lifted a heavy weapon and fired once, straight into Antonio’s chest, blowing it open completely.

Silence followed.

The triplets stood over the man who killed their mother. Justice, revenge. All drenched in blood.

Matteo turned away from the body.

His eyes locked on Aurora.

He scanned her from head to toe, checking for injuries, bruises, cuts.

His voice dropped low, rough.

"Mia" he breathed.

She didn’t wait.

Aurora ran to him and he caught her immediately, pulling her tightly against his chest. Her fingers dug into his back, her body trembling with relief.

"I missed you" Matteo whispered into her ear.

Her breath hitched. She buried her face in his neck.

But then she remembered.

"Matteo… we have one more thing to do. There are innocent girls underground. They need to be released"

Matteo pulled back slowly, eyes flat and cold again.

"That is none of my business"

"Matteo!" she snapped.

He sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Fine"

He lifted a hand.

"Lead the way"

Nicholas stepped forward quietly, wiping blood from his hands.

"I will lead you there"

Aurora looked at him, sincerity softening her expression.

"Thank you"

A soft shuffle echoed from behind a column.

The maid stepped out of her hiding place, face streaked with tears. She ran straight to Aurora and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you" she whispered, sobbing into Aurora’s shoulder.

And now… they descended into the underground.

Nicholas moved ahead of them, his footsteps echoing down the long corridor. Matteo stayed close to Aurora’s side, one hand resting lightly on the small of her back, guiding. Maya, Ace, Axel, and the rest of Matteo’s crew followed with weapons raised.

Nicholas reached the metallic door at the far end of the hall. The same door Aurora had once cracked open alone.

He typed in a long code, fingers steady.

Beep.

Beep.

Click.

The heavy metallic door unlocked with a sharp snap. The sound seemed to travel through the entire mansion.

Nicholas pushed the door open.

Cold air rushed out, carrying that same metallic tang Aurora remembered.

"Stay close" Nicholas said.

Aurora ignored it. She stepped inside first.

Matteo smirked slightly.

"That’s my queen" he murmured under his breath.

The stairwell lights flickered on automatically.

Everyone descended.

The deeper they went, the colder it became. The shadows clung to the walls like living things. Maya clenched her jaw. Axel cracked his knuckles. Ace twirled his knife with excitement. Viper inhaled sharply, scenting the damp air like a predator.

When they reached the underground floor, the chamber came alive with harsh white light.

Ten metal doors, padlocks, paintings of girls, blood stains, dried and smeared. Photographs pinned to the walls like trophies.

Maya cursed under her breath.

Aurora stood in the center of the room.

"I didn’t get to open any door last time"

Nicholas grabbed a crowbar and forced open the first door.

A girl stumbled out, thin, shaking, her clothes torn, her eyes swollen. She froze at the sight of so many armed people.

The maid gasped behind Aurora.

"Lila!"

Aurora’s eyes widened.

"So this is your sister"

The maid nodded quickly, tears streaming down her face.

"My name is Tessa… I… I never got to tell you. Lila is my sister, she… she…"

"Enough" Aurora said softly. "She’s safe now"

Lila ran into Tessa’s arms, clinging to her in sobs.

Nicholas moved to the next door.

Matteo didn’t wait. He kicked it open himself, the metal bending under the force.

Two more girls emerged, terrified but alive.

Ace rushed forward, tearing the padlock off the third door.

Rosa cut the chain off the fourth with her blade.

Storm planted a small explosive on the fifth and blew the lock open cleanly.

One by one, doors swung open.

One by one, girls stepped out.

One by one, lives were freed.

Aurora stood tall, watching every girl leave their prison with a controlled calm that demanded respect.

Nicholas approached her.

"There is one more door," he said. "The last one at the end. The one no one has opened before"

Matteo’s eyes narrowed.

"Why?"

Nicholas looked away.

"Only my father had the key"

Aurora stepped forward before Matteo could.

"Then we break it"

Scarlett pulled a dagger from her thigh holster and adjusted her grip.

Nicholas lifted the crowbar, Ace tightened his gloves, Axel cracked his neck while Storm lifted a small explosive.

Everyone prepared.

The girls huddled behind Maya and Tessa, Lila still crying softly.

Nicholas took a deep breath.

"Alright. Here we go"

He jammed the crowbar into the final lock.

Matteo signaled his team.

Scarlett’s weapon was already raised.

The lock snapped and the door creaked.

Nicholas pushed the door open.

It swung open and Aurora froze. Maya did too and even Axel stepped back.

Matteo’s breath stopped.

Because inside that cell, covered in dirt, with tangled gray-streaked hair, and a thin body that trembled like a leaf, was Isabella Moretti.

Their mother.

Alive.

Barely.

Her hollow eyes lifted slowly toward the light. For a second, she didn’t recognize them. Fifteen years had been carved brutally into her face. But then her gaze landed on Matteo, and something inside her cracked open.

"Ma..." Matteo’s voice broke. It was the voice of the eleven-year-old boy he used to be, not the lethal mafia boss he had become.

Her lips parted.

"Matteo... mio figlio..."

His knees almost buckled.

Maya stepped forward, choking on a sob she didn’t let escape. Axel’s nostrils flared, fury and heartbreak burning together.

Aurora, moved beside Matteo and rested a hand on his back, grounding him.

He stepped into his mother’s cell slowly, like he was approaching a ghost.

Isabella lifted a trembling hand.

"Matteo... my brave boy..."

He collapsed into her embrace, not as a Don, not as a killer, but as a son finally returned to the only woman who ever loved him.

Maya fell to her knees beside them. Axel’s chin trembled once before he turned his face away.

Aurora watched them, her heart tightening, not with weakness, but with fierce resolve.

Matteo finally lifted his head from his mother’s shoulder, his jaw clenched in cold fury.

"Ace" he said, voice hoarse but deadly calm, "burn this place down"

His eyes glinted sharply.

"With pleasure" he smirked, signaling to storm and Axe.