Chapter 12 - Fireworks Over Milan
No one moved.
Kemal stood on the balcony overlooking the ballroom.
Below him, hundreds of people stared upward.
Security officers raised weapons.
Luca raised one hand.
“Don't.”
Elena looked at him.
Kemal laughed.
“Still protecting everyone.”
“No.”
Luca's voice was calm.
“Protecting you from making this worse.”
“Worse?”
Kemal gestured toward the investigators.
“You destroyed your family.”
“No.”
Luca looked around the ballroom.
“You did.”
Kemal's eyes hardened.
“You think your father was innocent?”
“No.”
“Your mother?”
“No.”
That surprised Kemal.
Luca continued.
“They made choices. They caused damage. They tried to correct some of it.”
He looked toward the ledger.
“You never did.”
Kemal raised the weapon slightly.
“You know nothing.”
“I know you killed Leyla.”
Silence.
Elena watched Kemal's face.
He didn't deny it.
Luca saw the answer too.
Something inside him changed.
Not rage.
Sadness.
“Why?”
Kemal's voice broke unexpectedly.
“Because she was going to destroy everything.”
“For money?”
“For family.”
Luca laughed bitterly.
“You murdered your sister-in-law for family?”
“She would have sent Yusuf to prison.”
“So?”
Kemal stared.
“You don't understand loyalty.”
“No.”
Luca looked toward Elena.
“I finally do.”
Elena's heart tightened.
Kemal followed his gaze.
Disgust crossed his face.
“For her?”
Luca turned back.
“For myself.”
He stepped forward.
“I spent fifteen years believing strength meant people feared me.”
Kemal smiled.
“It does.”
“No.”
Luca shook his head.
“That is what cowards teach boys because fear is easier to create than respect.”
Several people in the ballroom looked at him.
Elena did not know if he was speaking to Kemal anymore.
Maybe he was speaking to himself.
“Put the weapon down.”
Kemal tightened his grip.
“No.”
“Uncle.”
Luca's voice softened.
“It's finished.”
For one moment, Kemal seemed old.
Not powerful.
Not terrifying.
Just tired.
Then his eyes moved toward Elena.
The weapon followed.
Everything happened quickly.
Luca moved.
Investigators shouted.
Elena ducked.
A second gunshot cracked.
The chandelier shook.
Kemal's weapon fell.
Dario had fired into the railing beside his hand.
Not him.
Officers rushed the balcony.
Kemal disappeared beneath them.
Luca was beside Elena immediately.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“Look at me.”
“I'm fine.”
His hands touched her shoulders.
She could feel them shaking.
“You're shaking,” she whispered.
“So are you.”
“I have an excuse.”
“So do I.”
Elena laughed.
The sound came out half sob.
Then she wrapped her arms around him.
Luca held her.
Around them, Palazzo Nero collapsed into chaos.
Investigators seized records.
Guests demanded attorneys.
Santi shouted threats.
Adrian sat silently beside the stage.
Paolo spoke with prosecutors.
Marco's sister was freed.
But Elena heard none of it.
She pressed her face against Luca's chest.
His heart raced beneath her cheek.
“You chose differently,” she whispered.
“What?”
“You could have turned this into a war.”
Luca looked down at her.
“I almost did.”
“But you didn't.”
“No.”
“Why?”
His eyes searched hers.
“Because you asked me to learn.”
Elena felt tears again.
“That's annoyingly romantic.”
“I can stop.”
“Don't.”
Outside, fireworks began.
Elena looked toward the ceiling.
Luca almost smiled.
“Wrong direction.”
“What?”
“The fireworks.”
Minutes later they stepped onto the rooftop terrace above Palazzo Nero.
Milan spread before them.
News vehicles crowded the streets below.
Sirens echoed.
Above the cathedral, fireworks from a public festival painted the night gold.
Elena laughed softly.
“This city has terrible timing.”
“I disagree.”
“You would.”
They stood near the railing.
No crowd this time.
No Matteo.
No jealous performance.
Just them.
Luca looked at her.
“May I kiss you?”
Elena smiled.
“You're learning quickly.”
“Answer the question.”
“Yes.”
He kissed her.
Slowly.
Gently.
Fireworks burst behind them.
When they separated, Elena rested her forehead against his.
“What happens now?”
“Investigations.”
“Fun.”
“Lawyers.”
“Better.”
“Probably prison for several people.”
“Excellent.”
“And Demir Holdings will be examined.”
Elena pulled back.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“Are you worried?”
“Yes.”
She was surprised.
“About prison?”
“No.”
“What then?”
“Losing you.”
Her expression softened.
“Luca.”
“I don't know what the investigation will find.”
“Neither do I.”
“My business wasn't clean.”
“I know.”
“I told you.”
“You did.”
“There may be consequences.”
“There should be.”
He nodded.
That mattered too.
Elena touched his face.
“I am not promising forever tonight.”
“I know.”
“I am not promising everything will be easy.”
“I know.”
“And if you start ordering me around again, I will become unbearable.”
“You already are.”
She hit his shoulder.
Luca laughed.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who?”
“Prosecutor Bellini.”
He answered.
Listened.
“What?”
Elena watched his face.
“When?”
Another pause.
“I understand.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?”
Luca looked toward the city.
“Santi has offered a deal.”
“For what?”
“Information.”
“About?”
Luca's jaw tightened.
“Your father's death.”
Elena stopped breathing.
“What does he know?”
“He says Giovanni's accident wasn't an accident.”
She had expected it.
Still, hearing the words felt like the ground shifting.
“Who killed him?”
“Santi says he didn't.”
“Do you believe him?”
“No.”
“Who does he blame?”
Luca looked at her.
“Adrian.”
Elena stared.
“Your mother's brother?”
“Yes.”
“But Adrian helped us tonight.”
“Yes.”
“Why would he kill my father?”
“I don't know.”
Elena turned toward the stairwell.
“Where is he?”
“Being questioned.”
“I want to see him.”
“Elena.”
She looked sharply at Luca.
He stopped.
Old habit.
Then he nodded.
“I'll come with you if you want.”
She did.
Together they descended.
Adrian sat alone in a private office guarded by two investigators.
He looked exhausted.
When Elena entered, he sighed.
“Santi told you.”
“Yes.”
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Did you kill my father?”
“No.”
“Then why would Santi say you did?”
“Because he knows what Giovanni discovered.”
“What?”
Adrian looked toward Luca.
Then Elena.
“Your father wasn't killed because of the ledger.”
“Then why?”
“Because six months before he died, Giovanni found Sofia's original bank files.”
Elena's heart pounded.
“My mother's?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“They contained something none of us knew.”
“What?”
Adrian swallowed.
“Proof that Bellarosa Holdings didn't belong to Santi.”
Luca frowned.
“Then who?”
Adrian looked directly at Elena.
“Giovanni put the company in your name.”
Elena felt the room tilt.
“What?”
“You inherited Bellarosa when he died.”
“That isn't possible.”
“It is.”
“Santi has been collecting money through it.”
“Yes.”
“So legally—”
“You own the company that holds thousands of illegal debt contracts.”
Elena stared.
All those families.
All those victims.
All those years.
She had thought she was the poorest woman in the room.
Instead, somewhere on paper, she controlled the very machine that had destroyed her father.
And that meant she could do something none of them expected.
She could shut it down.
Every debt.
Every threat.
Every family trapped the way she had been.
Elena looked at Luca.
He understood immediately.
“Do it,” he said.
For the first time, she didn't need him to tell her.
She smiled.
May you like
“I was going to.”
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