Chapter 12 - THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE
The Lake Geneva property had been purchased using a forged Bellucci corporate authorization.
On paper, Carmine owned it.
In reality, he had never seen it.
That was why Vittorio loved it.
If authorities found illegal assets there, the trail pointed back to Carmine.
The plan had been elegant.
Steal from Carmine.
Destroy his family.
Then frame him with the evidence.
State police surrounded the property before sunrise.
Carmine remained at the command post.
He had agreed not to enter.
He had also agreed that if Vittorio surrendered, Carmine would not interfere.
That agreement cost him more self-control than anyone understood.
Through binoculars, Carmine saw the white house standing above the lake.
Officers entered from both sides.
Minutes passed.
Then gunfire.
Carmine’s jaw tightened.
Marco stood beside him.
“Stay here.”
“I am.”
“You’re moving.”
Carmine looked down.
He had unconsciously stepped forward.
He stopped.
More officers moved toward the house.
Then smoke appeared from the rear.
“He’s burning records.”
Marco said.
Carmine’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
Vittorio.
“You brought police.”
Carmine looked toward the house.
“Yes.”
“You have become weak.”
“No.”
“I became a father.”
Vittorio laughed.
“Your father would be ashamed.”
“My father is dead.”
“So is Sofia.”
Carmine’s expression tightened.
Vittorio continued.
“And someday, Leo will learn what you really are.”
Carmine stared at the smoke.
“I hope he does.”
Vittorio went silent.
Carmine continued.
“I hope he learns every mistake.”
“Every lie.”
“Every person I hurt.”
“And then I hope he becomes better.”
Vittorio’s voice grew cold.
“You think confession makes you clean?”
“No.”
“It just stops the dirt from becoming his inheritance.”
For the first time, Vittorio had no immediate answer.
Then an officer shouted from the command post.
Movement at the dock.
Carmine raised the binoculars.
A speedboat launched from behind the property.
Vittorio was escaping.
Again.
Carmine almost smiled.
Some men only knew one way to survive.
Run.
The lake patrol moved to intercept.
Vittorio accelerated.
His boat cut across the water.
Then another vessel appeared from the opposite side.
Police closed the distance.
Vittorio turned sharply.
The boat struck a floating barrier.
He was thrown onto the deck.
Officers surrounded him.
Carmine lowered the binoculars.
Marco exhaled.
“It’s over.”
Carmine shook his head.
“No.”
“Not yet.”
Inside the house, investigators found dozens of documents.
Bank records.
Fake passports.
Corporate seals.
Photographs.
And video files.
One video showed Helena entering Sofia’s nursery after the funeral.
Another showed Matteo transferring files.
A third showed Vittorio meeting with a mechanic two days before Sofia’s boat exploded.
The mechanic had disappeared afterward.
But the strongest evidence was found inside a locked steel cabinet.
Sofia’s necklace.
Her damaged phone.
And the bloodstained scarf she had been wearing the day of the boat accident.
Vittorio had kept trophies.
Carmine looked at the evidence table.
Something inside him finally accepted the truth.
Sofia had not vanished in a storm.
She had been hunted.
But Leo had survived.
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And now the people responsible would face something Vittorio feared more than revenge.
Exposure.
