Chapter 238

• GUSTAVO
• ~•~
• I kept my knee pressed hard against Matteo’s chest on the cold marble floor of the central hall. Blood from the wounds on my shoulder and side pooled beneath us both. The knife in my hand rested steady against his throat. The blade had already drawn a thin red line across the skin. Matteo’s breathing came ragged and wet. His eyes still held no fear. Only that same cold light he had carried since we were boys. My finger hovered near the trigger of the pistol I had retrieved from the floor. The metal felt heavy and warm in my grip. The hall around us stayed silent. Ricci’s guards stood along the walls with their weapons lowered but ready. They waited for the order that would end the fight. I felt the weight of every second. The truth about our mother had already reshaped everything inside me. Now I held the power to end the brother who had helped bury her.