Chapter 603: Please Let Me Explain

Valentina watched as Renato’s lieutenant moved up behind the man stationed at the door. The guard barely had time to react before the lieutenant caught him from behind and dropped him as quietly as possible. She held her breath and looked down the stairs. "Hang on," she whispered. "There are usually more men downstairs. Wait here."

Valentina headed down alone. She reached the lower level and looked first to the left, then to the right along the office corridor.

Empty.

She should have stopped and wondered why Commissioned, one of Luca’s most protected properties, seemed almost abandoned tonight.

But the warning signs looked like good luck. And Valentina desperately needed this to work. She knew Luca was there.

She had watched his car arrive. Tonight was the night. Everything would finally end tonight. Luca would be gone, and once he was, Veronica would be safe. Marco would be safe. Matteo would be safe. Nobody would have to spend another day wondering what Luciano Genovese might drag them into next.

Valentina knew exactly what came afterwards too. She was not running. As soon as it was all done, she would hand herself over to the police. She would confess to Vito and take whatever came with it.

Prison did not frighten her anymore. Not if the people she loved were free. Her family would finally have peace.

Valentina turned and looked towards the man waiting above her. She raised one hand and gestured.

The lieutenant understood. He reached for his phone. Valentina waited for him to make the call for the men to begin entering Commissioned one after the other.

Some of Renato’s men were already inside the club above ground, blending in until they got the signal, while the rest would come through after.

It was all happening far too easily. But she did not care. She had come too far, lost too much sleep and made too many decisions she could not undo.

Before long, men began to troop in one after the other. The sight emboldened her. Renato had actually come through.

For the first time since she had walked into Bastione Casino, she felt like perhaps this insane thing might work.

Valentina moved quickly through the corridor, heading for Luca’s office. Her heart hammered harder with every step.

This was it.

She reached the door and threw it open. Luca was not there. Marco was. Her husband sat behind the desk, watching the door with the stillness of a man who had known exactly who was about to walk through it. "Marco!" Valentina yelped.

Relief hit her so hard that for one stupid second she almost ran straight into his arms. Her body actually moved before her mind caught up.

Then she remembered the Bastione men standing behind her.

She stopped.

Oh.

That did not look good. Actually, there was probably no version of entering a Genovese office with armed Bastione men behind her that could be made to look good.

Marco simply sat there looking devastated.

"Marco... I can... please let me explain. I have been trying to reach you. I just..."

The words tangled together. She had imagined this conversation so many times, yet now that he was sitting in front of her, she had no idea where to begin.

With Voss?

With Vito?

With the fact that she had somehow reached the point where storming Commissioned with rival mafiosi had begun to feel like a reasonable family intervention?

"Where is Matteo?" she asked suddenly. ℴℴ𝘮

"You have no idea what you have done, have you?"

Valentina shook her head immediately. "No... I do. I am trying to save you." She stepped closer. "To save us... all of us."

Marco looked past her towards the men in the corridor, then back at his wife. "So, you brought Bastione men to do what? Kill Luca?"

"Yes! Marco, you have to let me do this. Please. I don’t know what else to do!" Her voice rose as the fear she had been carrying for weeks finally started spilling out. "I have tried everything. I tried getting the police involved. I tried getting proof. I tried making people understand what he does to us, what this life does to us, and every single time it gets worse."

"Please. I love... I love you so much."

The first tear slipped free.

"I love all of you. You, Matteo, Vee. I cannot keep watching everyone get hurt and pretending this is normal. I cannot bear this constant worry and heartaches and loss. I cannot." She cried, wiping desperately at her eyes.

Marco got to his feet and stepped closer to her. Immediately, the men behind Valentina stiffened. Guns lifted, steady and ready, all of them trained on Marco.

Valentina spun around so fast her hair whipped over her shoulder. "Don’t you dare point that gun at my husband, you sons of bitches!" She turned back to Marco, breathless now, her thoughts moving faster than she could organise them. "It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay."

"Just tell me where Luca is." She stepped closer. "Did he go home? No, he couldn’t have gone home. I saw him come into Commissioned. Is he somewhere else in the building?"

Marco’s hand shot out. He grabbed her by the neck and pulled her close. "Stop, Val!" he snapped. "Just stop. It’s over."

"No. You don’t understand. You just have to help me."

Marco’s face twisted. Valentina clutched at his shirt.

"Maybe I should have asked for your help from the very beginning. Things would have been better, right?" She kept talking, words tumbling over each other, trying to make him see reason. "You wouldn’t have had to leave me."

A sob broke through.

"I wouldn’t have done everything I did. It would have been perfect with me and you, together!" She clung to his shirt as though holding on tightly enough could rewind everything.

Marco looked down at her hands. Then he yanked them away from his shirt. Valentina’s fingers resisted desperately.

She did not want the distance between them.

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