"You're wrong."
Alejandro's grin falters.
"What kind of person kills kids?" I take a step closer to him. "What kind of person murders innocent people? People who never hurt anyone? Children who didn't even understand the world they were born into?"
Alejandro's jaw tightens. "This is how our world works. You know that better than anyone. You've killed for this family. You've?—"
"I've killed men who chose this life." My voice cuts through his. "Men who picked up guns and made themselves targets. Men who knew the risks. Men who had it coming."
I crouch down again. Bring my face close to his.
"I have never killed a child. I have never killed an innocent person. I have never murdered someone's family while they hid in a closet, listening to their mother scream."
Alejandro's expression doesn't change.
"That's the difference between us," I say. "That's why it was so easy for me to choose that night. When you gave me your ultimatum. When you told me to destroy my family or watch the people I love die."
I stand up. Look down at him.
"It took me less than a second to decide I was going to save them from you."
Alejandro opens his mouth to respond.
"Because none of them would have done what you did." I gesture toward the family gathered behind me. "None of them would have killed a seven-year-old boy. None of them would have murdered innocent women. None of them would have spent years planning to slaughter people who had nothing to do with their pain."
I pause. Let the words settle.
"They never knew I was half a brother to them. They had no idea Giuseppe was my biological father. No idea we shared blood." My voice hardens. "But they still gave me everything. A home. A family. A purpose. They took in a sixteen-year-old kid who was starving on the streets and they made him one of their own."
I look at them all.
I turn back to Alejandro.
"But you?" I crouch down one more time. "You are one of the greatest monsters I have ever met."
Alejandro's eyes narrow. His mouth opens to speak.
"And you are not leaving this place alive."
Alejandro starts to respond. His lips form words I don't want to hear.
Dmitri moves before anyone else can react. One moment he's standing by Vittoria's side. The next, he's behind Alejandro's chair, a strip of duct tape stretched between his hands.
The tape covers Alejandro's mouth mid-syllable.
Alejandro's eyes go wide. He thrashes against his restraints, but the ropes hold. Muffled sounds emerge from behind the tape. Protests. Threats. Pleas.
None of it matters anymore.
I straighten up. Look around the room at the faces watching me. My family. The people I almost lost. The people I would have died to protect.
"Everyone out," I say. "Upstairs. Now."
Bruno hesitates. His jaw is still tight. His hands still flexing at his sides. He wants to be the one to do this. Wants to make Alejandro pay with his own hands.
"Bruno." My voice is quiet. Final. "Upstairs."
For a long moment, Bruno doesn't move.
