บททั้งหมดของ Blood and Badge : บทที่ 31 - บทที่ 40

Sabin Mountains ForestDawnElena walked alone among the trees.The fog swirled around her like dancing ghosts, and each step she took on the dead leaves sounded like a gunshot in the silence. Bruno had stayed behind at the villa, reluctantly, watched over by Dante. Enzo had wanted to follow her, but she had been clear: alone.Catalina had been specific.Come alone or don't come at all.Elena carried her father's knife in her boot and a pistol at her waist. She didn't intend to die without a fight. But she also didn't intend to shoot a sixty-five-year-old woman without listening to her first.The clearing appeared suddenly, as if the forest had decided to part.In the center, a cabin. Small, old, made of dark wood. Smoke rose from the chimney.And in the doorway, a woman.Dark-haired, gray-haired, dressed in black. Gray eyes, the same eyes they all had. But in her face, something different: there was no hatred. No vengeance. Only weariness and an infinite sadness."Elena." Her voice w

Villa Isabella, Montes SabinosOne week laterLife at the villa had changed.It wasn't just that Antonio had stayed. It was that, for the first time, everyone seemed to breathe the same air without fear. Marco and Luca came more often, taking turns spending entire weekends there. Carla had taken a leave of absence from her job and had moved into one of the guest rooms. Catalina cooked every afternoon, filling the house with aromas it had never known.And Matteo... Matteo was happy.Elena watched him from the library window as he ran after Bruno with Antonio. The man who had come to kill them was now teaching him how to make kites. The boy laughed, stumbled, got up, and kept running."You look like a statue."Dante appeared beside her, two cups of coffee in his hands."Thinking." Elena accepted the cup. "About how quickly everything changes."Dante nodded. "A year ago we were in Rome, not knowing each other. Now..." She pointed to the garden. "This.""Do you regret it?"Dante looked at

Villa Isabella, Montes SabinosTwo weeks after the burialCalm had returned to the villa, but it was an eerie calm, like the kind that follows a storm when the air still smells of electricity.Elena was in the library, reviewing the latest documents they had found in the basement. The police had taken most of them, but some things remained: personal letters, photographs, objects that had no legal value, but plenty of emotional value.Among them was an envelope she hadn't opened.It read: "For Elena. Only for her."The handwriting was her mother's.Elena held it for a long time before daring to open it. Dante was beside her, silent, waiting.Inside, a letter and a key."My dear Elena:If you're reading this, it's because you've found my body. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.I didn't want you to grow up with this burden, but Salvatore left me no choice. He knew too much. And you… You were my weakness.The key that accompanies this letter opens a safe deposit box at the Banco di Napoli, in the

Villa Isabella, Montes SabinosOne week after Andrea's arrivalThe full moon illuminated the garden as if it were daytime.Elena was sitting on the stone bench, near the red roses, when Andrea appeared beside her. She said nothing, simply sat and shared the silence.She had been at the villa for a week, but still felt like a stranger in her own skin. As if she couldn't quite believe it was all real."Don't you sleep?" Elena asked."Little. Since I got out of prison, I haven't slept much."Elena nodded. "I understand."Andrea looked at her. "You were locked up too. In your own mission, in your own lie.""Yes. But it was different.""Different?" Andrea smiled without joy. "Confinement upon confinement. It doesn't matter if the walls are made of stone or lies."Elena thought about her months as Lia Moretti. In the constant surveillance, in the perpetual fear, in the loneliness of wearing a mask day and night.Perhaps you're right.Andrea was silent for a moment. Then she said:In prison,

Sabin Mountains Forest Night;The moon barely illuminated the path through the trees.Elena walked first, with Dante to her right and Enzo to her left. Behind them, Antonio, Andrea, Marco, and Luca formed a second line. All armed, all prepared, all knowing they might not return.Catalina had insisted on coming, but Elena was clear: someone had to stay with Matteo. Someone had to make sure the story didn't end here.The clearing appeared suddenly, as if the forest had parted for them.In the center, a figure.Tall, slender, dressed in black. Gray hair, pale skin, gray eyes—the same eyes they all shared—gleaming in the dimness.Alessandro.Beside him, De Luca, kneeling, gagged, with a black rose pinned to his lapel.Welcome, nephews. Alessandro's voice was a blood-curdling whisper. They took their time.Dante stepped forward. "Let De Luca go. This is between us.""Between us?" Alessandro laughed, a dry, joyless laugh. "Everything is between us. It always was. Ever since we were born, ev