Chapter 5 - The Betrayal Inside the House
The betrayal came from the person nobody expected.
Nico.
The man who had stood beside Alessio for ten years.
The man who protected him.
The man who saved him.
Vivienne discovered it by accident.
She wasn't supposed to be awake.
But she heard voices downstairs.
Nico.
And a Greco soldier.
"You promised me the girl."
Vivienne froze behind the doorway.
Nico answered:
"I promised information."
"You failed."
"You don't threaten me."
A pause.
Then:
"The boss trusts her."
The Greco man laughed.
"The boss trusts nobody."
Vivienne stepped back.
Her shoe touched the floor.
The voices stopped.
Nico looked up.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Nico whispered:
"Vivienne."
She didn't wait.
She ran.
She found Alessio in the main hallway.
"Nico is working with the Grecos."
The words hit harder than any weapon.
Alessio went completely still.
"What did you say?"
"I heard him."
"No."
The certainty in his voice surprised her.
"You trust him?"
"I know him."
"People change."
Alessio stared at her.
"You think I don't know that?"
The anger wasn't toward her.
It was toward himself.
Minutes later, Nico entered.
He saw their faces.
And understood.
"It's true."
Alessio's voice was dangerously calm.
"Tell me why."
Nico looked exhausted.
"Because they had my daughter."
Silence.
Vivienne's anger disappeared.
"They threatened your child?"
Nico nodded.
"They said if I didn't give them information, she would disappear."
Alessio closed his eyes.
A long silence.
Then:
"You should have come to me."
Nico laughed bitterly.
"And tell you I failed?"
"You are my brother."
Those words broke something.
Nico lowered his head.
"I was wrong."
Alessio looked at him.
"You were."
A pause.
"But you're still alive because you told the truth."
Vivienne realized something.
The Marchetti family wasn't built only on fear.
It was built on loyalty.
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And Alessio valued it more than revenge.
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