Chapter 7 - THE FALL OF RAFAELRafael crumpled to the stone floor, the gun clattering away into the dark corners of the cellar.
Standing behind him, breathing heavily and holding a shattered piece of oak wood, was Elena Costa. My late father’s elderly secretary.
“Nobody threatens a Rossi child,” Elena said, her hands shaking as she dropped the broken wood.
I didn't hesitate. I dove for the gun, grabbing it before Rafael could recover. I aimed it squarely at him as he groaned and rolled onto his back.
A second later, Augusto Ferreira burst into the wine cellar, followed by a swarm of my loyal security guards who had disarmed the corrupt federal police.
Augusto stopped dead in his tracks.
He saw Isabella behind the iron gate.
The old man dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
“Isabella,” he wept, crawling toward the bars. “My beautiful girl. My Isabella.”
“Papa,” she cried, reaching through the iron to touch his face.
I tossed the brass key to one of my guards. “Open it.”
The guard unlocked the gate. Isabella practically collapsed into her father’s arms. After twenty years of lies, grief, and war, the Ferreira family was whole again.
I looked down at Rafael. Two of my guards hauled him to his feet, zip-tying his hands tightly behind his back.
“You’re finished, Rafael,” I said coldly. “The police outside heard everything. The real police. Not your bought men.”
Rafael spat blood onto the floor. He glared at me, his arrogant smirk returning.
“You think this is a happy ending, Mateo?” he sneered. “You think because you found your lost love, everything goes back to normal?”
He looked over at Ana, who was holding Beatriz tightly.
“Ask her,” Rafael laughed. “Ask Ana how she afforded a private clinic cleaner job while drowning in debt. Ask her who paid off her brother’s gambling loans four years ago.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
I turned slowly to look at Ana.
The terrified banquet server was shaking. But she wasn't looking at Rafael. She was looking at the floor.
“Ana?” I asked, my voice tight.
Isabella pulled away from her father. She stared at the woman who had raised her child.
“Ana,” Isabella whispered. “What is he talking about?”
Ana looked up, tears pouring down her face. She pulled Beatriz closer, kissing the top of the little girl’s head.
“I didn't want to do it,” Ana sobbed. “He told me if I didn't take the baby from the clinic and hide her, he would kill my whole family.”
Rafael smiled wickedly.
“She didn't stumble upon your baby, Isabella,” Rafael taunted. “She was my inside woman. She stole her for me.”
Ana fell to her knees, weeping bitterly.
I felt a surge of pure rage. I raised the gun toward Rafael.
But before I could do anything, Beatriz slipped out of Ana’s grasp.
The four-year-old girl walked right up to Rafael. She wasn't crying. She wasn't shaking. She looked up at the man who had caused all this pain.
May you like
She reached into her little dress pocket and pulled out a small, heavy silver object.
And dropped it perfectly onto Rafael’s shoe.
