Chapter 6 - The Uncle Who Never DiedDante stared at the man he had seen only in photographs.

Matteo Belucchi looked older than the image.

Much older.

His hair was mostly white, but his eyes were clear.

He held the gun steadily.

Lily was frozen.

Nico had a weapon aimed at him.

Matteo didn't blink.

"Tell him to lower it," Matteo said.

Dante swallowed.

"Nico."

"We're not lowering anything."

"Do it."

Nico hesitated.

Dante nodded.

Nico lowered his gun.

Matteo finally looked at Lily.

His face changed.

Not anger.

Not fear.

Grief.

"She's grown."

Dante stepped slightly in front of her.

"Stay away from her."

Matteo's jaw tightened.

"That's exactly what I tried to do."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because Gabriel found her first."

Dante looked around.

"Where is Sophia?"

"Alive."

"Where?"

"Not far."

"Bring her."

Matteo shook his head.

"You don't understand the arrangement."

"Then explain it."

Matteo lowered the gun.

Thirty years of anger seemed to leave his face all at once.

"Your father and I found a network inside this city."

"Criminal network?"

"Worse."

Dante waited.

"Institutions."

The word was quiet.

"Courts. Finance. Police. Politics. Private hospitals. They bought people. They sold influence. They didn't care who owned what street."

Dante looked at Gabriel's archive.

"Gabriel was part of it."

"Gabriel was more than part of it."

"Who did he work for?"

Matteo looked at Lily.

"Her."

Dante frowned.

"The child?"

"No."

He pointed toward a file.

"Her mother."

Dante felt confused.

"Sophia?"

"Not Sophia."

Matteo walked to the archive cabinet and pulled out an old photograph.

A young woman.

Dark hair.

Sharp cheekbones.

The same eyes Lily had.

Dante stared.

"Who is she?"

Matteo looked at him.

"Your sister."

The air left the room.

"My sister died before I was born."

"That's the lie."

"Who is she?"

Matteo's voice cracked.

"Isabella."

Dante looked at the photograph again.

"When was she born?"

"Two years before you."

"Why did nobody tell me?"

"Because your father took her."

"For what?"

"Protection."

Dante laughed bitterly.

"My father didn't protect children."

"No."

Matteo looked away.

"He used them."

A distant siren sounded.

Matteo moved quickly.

"We have minutes."

"Who is Isabella?"

Matteo stared at the door.

"She was the only person your father feared."

"Because she knew everything?"

"Because she could prove he lied."

Dante felt the pieces shift.

"And Lily?"

Matteo looked at the girl.

"Lily is Isabella's daughter."

Dante stared.

"What?"

"Your niece."

Lily looked at Dante.

"Uncle?"

The word broke something in him.

Nico whispered.

"Dante..."

Matteo continued.

"Sophia agreed to protect the girl because Isabella vanished."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Gabriel?"

"Gabriel knows."

Dante moved toward him.

"Then take me to Gabriel."

Matteo caught his wrist.

"You're already standing in his trap."

Dante looked down.

The floor had a faint red light.

A laser.

Then another.

Then ten.

The archive was wired.

Matteo whispered:

"Don't breathe."

A digital clock appeared above the exit.

00:03:17.

Dante looked at him.

"What happens in three minutes?"

"Everything burns."

They ran.

Nico kicked open the side door.

Dante grabbed Lily.

Matteo shoved a server cabinet aside, revealing a narrow escape tunnel.

Behind them, fuel started spreading beneath the floor.

Gabriel's voice came through the ceiling speakers.

"You keep running toward answers, Dante."

The timer hit 00:58.

Gabriel laughed.

"That's why you'll never survive."

Dante carried Lily through the tunnel.

Matteo followed.

Nico came last.

At twenty seconds, the archive exploded.

Heat tore through the corridor.

They reached the opposite exit and burst into an alley.

Smoke rolled into the night.

Dante put Lily down.

"Matteo."

The old man turned.

"Where is Gabriel?"

Matteo's face went pale.

"You still don't understand."

"Then make me understand."

Matteo looked at Lily.

Then at Dante.

"Gabriel doesn't need to find Sophia."

Dante's stomach tightened.

"Why?"

"Because Sophia already brought him the only thing he needed."

"What?"

Matteo pointed at the music box.

"The final key."

Dante opened it.

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