Rome — Villa DeLuca, Basement War Room, 6:07 A.M.
"One woman… can unravel an entire family."
Matteo stood in front of the wall-sized tactical map, where red threads and silver pins traced years of betrayal, alliances, and disappearances. His eyes locked on one specific dot: Siena.
In his hand — a black dossier. Inside: the exact route Kael's Maserati had taken, timestamps, traffic footage. And a final coded memo: "LUNA: Phase II."
Footsteps broke the silence.
Giovanni entered, espresso in one hand, a fresh Alpha-Tracker update in the other.
"He hasn't moved," Giovanni reported. "The safehouse in Siena is active. Silent. Shielded."
Matteo didn't touch the coffee. He stared at the map like it was bleeding.
"Twelve years, Gio. We all thought Kael was dead. Buried. Forgotten. But the moment he returns…"
He doesn't finish.
The words taste like iron in his mouth.
"…he takes Ariella with him."
Giovanni waited. He always knew when to speak and when to stay quiet.
"He's not running," Matteo said finally. "He came to take something. Her heart... or something worse."
The old pendulum clock in the corner ticked like a threat. Outside, the city was waking. Inside, time was suffocating.
"Do we move in?"
Matteo's gaze sharpened, but the weight in his voice was heavier than steel.
"No. Not yet. I don't want revenge. I want answers."
He closed the folder.
In the corner of his mind, the names of his two brothers echoed: Giuliano, now living quietly in London, and Rafael, the wild card who vanished after the Palermo massacre. Both walked away from the DeLuca throne.
But Matteo stayed.
The last son still loyal to Salvatore's name.
And now, the only person he swore to protect — Ariella — was being pulled into shadows by a ghost they buried.
Siena — Safehouse, 7:12 A.M.
The scent of coffee floated in the air.
Ariella's fingers curled tighter around Kael's jacket. The fabric was coarse, but it had kept her warm through the coldest night of her life.
She opened her eyes slowly.
The room was small. Stone walls. Tungsten lights. A cracked window facing a dead garden.
No Kael.
Just a note on the table, scribbled in ink she didn't recognize:
"Don't go out. I won't be long."
Her hands trembled as she picked it up.
She walked to the window. Morning light spilled over the hills, golden and peaceful — a contrast to the war inside her chest.
She unzipped the jacket.
Her fingers reached for the locket around her neck. She opened it slowly.
Inside: a faded photo.
Salvatore. Her mother. Giuliano. Rafael. Matteo.
The only one who never left — Matteo.
Tears pricked her eyes.
She used to think she knew who she was.
Now she wasn't sure if she was her father's daughter… or someone entirely different.
Rome — DeLuca Archives, 7:43 A.M.
Matteo sat on the marble floor. Papers and files surrounded him like ghosts.
In his hand: an old photo — him, Ariella, and Kael. Younger. Before the betrayals. Before blood mattered more than memory.
He stared at a wall of documents.
One name burned through everything: Project LUNA.
Handwritten notes from Salvatore. Kael's fingerprint. Date: 2010 — the year he 'died'.
No. Kael didn't disappear.
He was erased.
And now he had returned — dragging Ariella into the middle of something she wasn't meant to see.
Matteo stood.
He holstered his gun. Threw on his coat.
He wasn't going to Siena for revenge.
He was going for truth.
And maybe, just maybe… to bring her home.
Siena — Kitchen, Safehouse, 8:10 A.M.
"Did you run away… or did you come to save me?"
Ariella's voice was soft — too soft for the weight of what she was asking.
Kael set the bags down. Bread. First-aid. A burner phone. And one small USB.
He didn't answer immediately.
Then he stepped closer and placed the USB in her palm.
"In here… is the reason your father wants you caged. And why I couldn't leave you behind."
Her hands trembled.
"Why now? Why you?"
Kael met her gaze.
"Because fifteen years ago, I couldn't protect someone who mattered. I failed her."
His voice cracked for the first time.
"This time… I won't fail again."
Ariella stared at him. "That person… it's me now?"
His silence was an answer.
And the way his eyes burned — that was the truth.
Rome — Villa DeLuca, CCTV Command Room, 8:30 A.M.
"Matteo's car has left the compound," the operator reported.
Salvatore stood before the screen, watching Ariella and Kael inside the Siena safehouse.
"Don't interfere. Let him go. Just keep eyes on both of them."
"Understood. And Kael?"
Salvatore gave a cold smile.
"Let him think he's winning. When the moment comes… we take it all back. Including my daughter."
He opened the final page of the file on his desk.
PROJECT LUNA — Phase II: Ariella DeLuca
"She thinks she's free," he muttered. "But freedom has always been an illusion. One I created."
Siena, Safehouse
Ariella traced the curve of the USB with her thumb.
Kael stood by the table, checking the burner phone.
It buzzed.
No name. No number.
Just one word:
RUN.
Kael's head snapped up.
Ariella stepped back. "What is it?"
The rumble of engines echoed outside — one… two… no, four vehicles.
Kael grabbed his gun. "They found us."
Shadows moved outside the windows. Boots. Weapons. Men in black.
Ariella's breath caught in her throat.
But she didn't scream.
She didn't cry.
She ran toward Kael.
And for the first time in her life — she chose to fight.