All Chapters of Blood and Badge : Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Villa Isabella, Sabine MountainsOne week after the shootingDante was slowly recovering.The bullet had passed cleanly through his shoulder, without damaging anything vital, but he had lost a lot of blood and his recovery was slow. He spent his days in the garden with Matteo and Bruno, letting the sun and air do their work.Elena rarely left his side, not out of distrust, but because, after seeing him fall, she needed to feel him close.Alessandro was still at the villa, but no longer a prisoner. Catalina had spoken with him for hours, days, telling him the story of the family, of those who had left, of those who remained. He listened in silence, absorbing decades of information in just a few days.One afternoon, while Dante was napping, Alessandro approached Elena in the garden."May I sit here?"Elena nodded. "It's your home, too."Alessandro smiled sadly. Is it?It can be if you want it to be.He was silent for a moment. Then he said:I spent sixty years hating and dreaming of thi

Villa Isabella, Montes SabinosThree days after the rescueEnzo was slowly recovering.His wounds were superficial cuts, lack of food and water but the deeper damage was unseen. He spent hours in silence, staring into space, processing what had happened.Elena visited him every day, sitting beside him without speaking, simply keeping him company."You don't have to come," Enzo said on the third day."I know. But I want to."Enzo looked at her for a long time. His eyes, always cold, showed something new: vulnerability."At the factory, when we were tied up, I thought I was going to die. And all I felt was… relief."Elena waited.Relief that it was finally over. That I didn't have to keep fighting, distrusting, just surviving. She swallowed. "That's what Salvatore did to me. A man who would rather die than live."Elena took his hand.But you didn't die. And now you can choose to live truly.Enzo looked at her.Do you think it's possible?I'm trying every day.The MeetingThat night, Dan

Southern ItalyDawnThe estate emerged from the fog like a stone ghost.Elena stopped the car a kilometer away, hidden among ancient olive trees. Dante got out with her, assessing the terrain with the trained eye of someone who had spent his life in ambushes.Antonio and Andrea approached in silence.It's big, Antonio said. High walls, watchtowers. It's well-prepared.Andrea nodded. It has men. Many.Elena took out her binoculars. She observed the movements at the entrance, the guards' rounds, and the security cameras.The main entrance is impossible. Side flanks under surveillance. But in the back... She pointed. There's a forest behind it. We can approach from there.Dante hesitated. It's what he would expect.I know. But that's all we have.Antonio intervened: Let's split up. You and Dante through the woods. Andrea and I went to the east. If one falls, the other keeps going.Elena nodded.Two hours. At nine, we attack.The forestThey walked in silence, stepping on dead leaves, dod

Villa Isabella, Montes SabinosOne week laterPeace came at a price.Elena learned it when the envelope appeared in the mailbox, no return address, just her name handwritten on it. She opened it in the kitchen, while the coffee cooled on the table.Inside, a photograph.Sofia.Her sister, alive, smiling, in a place Elena didn't recognize. A plaza, a fountain, pigeons. The date on the back: three days before her death.And a note:"Do you remember when you were happy? I do. And I'm going to make sure you never are again."Elena felt the world stop.Dante appeared beside her. What's wrong?Elena wordlessly handed him the photo.Dante looked at her; his expression hardened.Who?I don't know. But he knows things. Things that only… Elena stopped. Only someone very close could know.One of us?I don't know.The investigationThey gathered everyone in the library.The photo was passed around. No one recognized her. No one knew anything."It has to be someone on the inside," Antonio said. So

Villa Isabella, Sabine MountainsOne week after the trip northSofia's letter was framed above the fireplace in the library.Elena had placed it there, next to the photographs of her mother and the other women. A constant reminder of why they fought, why they kept going.Luca had fully integrated. He played with Matteo, helped in the kitchen, and listened to Alessandro's stories. But there was something in his eyes, a shadow that never quite disappeared.That night, as they strolled through the garden, Elena asked him:What aren't you telling me?Luca stopped. He looked at her for a long time.How do you know?Because I know you. Because you're like me. Elena sat down on the stone bench. What is it?Luca hesitated. Then he sat down beside her.Before she died, Sofia gave me something. Something I was supposed to give you if anything happened to her. He took a small box from his pocket. "I couldn't give it to you before. I was afraid."Elena took the box with trembling hands. It was sm