Chapter 6 - The Last Betrayal
Toronto was colder than London.
The kind of cold that made the city feel silent.
Lorenzo stood outside an abandoned private terminal on the edge of the city, watching the building through the windshield.
Matio was inside.
The man who had been his brother.
The man who had tried to destroy everything.
Beside him, Naomi sat quietly.
She looked at the building.
Then at Lorenzo.
“You’re thinking about what happens if he was telling the truth.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“What?”
“That I was part of it.”
He didn’t answer.
Naomi swallowed.
“Even after everything, part of you still wonders.”
Lorenzo looked ahead.
“I wonder about everyone.”
The answer hurt.
But Naomi understood.
Trust wasn’t something Lorenzo could simply turn back on.
Not after Matio.
She reached for the door.
“I’ll go inside first.”
“No.”
“Lorenzo—”
“You’re not a weapon.”
She looked at him.
“And neither are you.”
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Lorenzo quietly said:
“Stay close.”
Naomi nodded.
---
Inside the terminal, the lights were still on.
Too easy.
Lorenzo immediately noticed.
“Something’s wrong.”
Carlo looked around.
“No guards.”
“Exactly.”
They moved deeper into the building.
Then a voice echoed.
“Still suspicious of everything, Lorenzo.”
Matio appeared from the second floor.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Like he had been waiting.
Lorenzo stopped.
“You knew we were coming.”
Matio smiled.
“I knew you would come.”
Naomi stepped forward.
“You planned all of this.”
Matio looked at her.
“You still don’t understand your place.”
Her expression hardened.
“My place?”
“Yes.”
He walked down the stairs.
“You were supposed to be a tool.”
Naomi stared at him.
“A tool?”
Matio smiled.
“That’s all anyone like you ever is.”
Lorenzo’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Something colder.
“You should stop talking.”
Matio looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because every word proves exactly who you are.”
Matio laughed.
“You think you’re better than me?”
“No.”
Lorenzo stepped closer.
“I know I am.”
The room became silent.
Matio’s smile disappeared.
---
“You know what the worst part was?” Matio said.
“After all these years, I still wanted you to understand.”
Lorenzo stared at him.
“Understand what?”
“That I deserved everything you had.”
A pause.
“The respect. The power. The loyalty.”
Matio’s voice became bitter.
“You were always the one people followed.”
Lorenzo shook his head.
“No.”
He looked at him.
“You had every chance.”
Matio laughed.
“You don’t get it.”
“I do.”
Lorenzo’s voice lowered.
“You weren’t angry because I had power.”
A pause.
“You were angry because I had loyalty.”
That sentence destroyed Matio’s expression.
Because it was true.
---
Suddenly, one of Matio’s men stepped forward.
“Boss.”
Matio raised his hand.
Nobody moved.
Lorenzo noticed.
The hesitation.
The fear.
Matio’s own men weren’t loyal.
They were trapped.
Just like Naomi had been.
“You lost them too,” Lorenzo said.
Matio looked around.
Nobody met his eyes.
For the first time, he looked alone.
---
Then Matio pulled out a small envelope.
“I still have one card.”
He threw it toward Lorenzo.
Lorenzo caught it.
Inside were photos.
Old photos.
Naomi with Matio.
Talking.
Meeting.
Working.
Naomi went pale.
“I can explain.”
Lorenzo looked at the photos.
Then at her.
“Explain.”
Naomi took a breath.
“I met him before I knew who he really was.”
“How long?”
“Almost a year.”
Silence.
Lorenzo’s face became unreadable.
Matio smiled.
“There it is.”
“The truth.”
Naomi stepped toward Lorenzo.
“I didn’t know his plan.”
“But you knew him.”
“Yes.”
“And you hid it.”
Her eyes filled.
“Yes.”
Lorenzo looked away.
That hurt more than he expected.
Because this time…
It wasn’t Matio.
It was Naomi.
---
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Naomi whispered:
“I was scared.”
Lorenzo looked at her.
“I thought if I told you everything, you would see me the same way you see him.”
“And now?”
She wiped her tears.
“Now I know hiding the truth only makes me more like him.”
That answer stopped Lorenzo.
Because it was honest.
No excuses.
No manipulation.
Just regret.
Matio watched them.
Waiting.
Hoping Lorenzo would turn against her.
But Lorenzo only said:
“Carlo.”
“Yes, Boss?”
“Take Matio.”
Matio smiled.
“You’re choosing her?”
Lorenzo looked at him.
“No.”
A pause.
“I’m choosing the truth.”
---
Matio was taken away.
But before leaving, he looked at Lorenzo one last time.
“You’ll regret this.”
Lorenzo didn’t react.
“No.”
He looked at Naomi.
May you like
“I won’t.”
---
