I mention Curtis on purpose, offering him the rawest nerve I have because it’s the only peace treaty I can make: my grief beside his.
Alessio’s expression softens, just a fraction. He reaches out and cups my face, his thumb brushing over my cheekbone. His touch is heavy, but this time it’s fear, not command. "You shouldn't have to carry this, Amara. I brought you into this house to protect you, and all I’ve done is drown you in my family’s filth."
“I was already drowning, Alessio,” I say, leaning into his palm. “You didn’t put me in the water. You gave me someone to swim beside. Let’s finish this. Together. We dismantle the switch, we find Vane, and then... then we deal with Turi."
He closes his eyes, leaning his forehead against mine. We stand like that while the machines hum around us and the clock keeps moving. The hum of the servers is the only sound, a constant reminder that the clock is still ticking.
“Twelve hours,” Alessio murmurs. “Dominic gave us twelve before he moves on Vane. Four hours of work behind us. We have the rest to find the master server.”
"Then let’s get back to work," I say, pulling him back toward the monitors.
We work through the next hour in data, timestamps, and truths neither of us wants. Now that I know what to look for—Turi’s digital signature—the map comes together with terrifyingspeed. It’s like a veil has been lifted. Every anonymous tip in Vincenzo’s Guardian archive—the ones that began years after the first betrayal—it was Turi.
Turi was trapped between the sin and the atonement, feeding the Costas warnings while hiding the lock he helped build. Not a hero. Not a clean traitor. Something worse: a guilty man trying to control the damage.
“There,” I say, pointing to a flickering dot on the map of the South Loop. “That’s the master server. It’s not in a bank or an office. It’s the South Loop warehouse. Wabash.”
Alessio’s breath hitches. “Not the South Side warehouse.”
“What is it?”
“That’s where my father was killed,” he says, his voice a ghost. “Carlo. They lured him there and executed him. That’s where the war started. But Vane runs his empire from Wabash now.”
The symmetry of it is sickening. The Bellantis didn't just take their lives; they turned the place into infrastructure. They have been running the war from the place where they broke the Costa family’s back.
“If we hit that server and the relays we cut stay down, the switch is neutralized for good,” I say. "Vane will know the second we touch it. He’ll have his finger on the trigger."
"He won't have time," Alessio says. He’s back now. The surgeon, the killer, the keeper of secrets. He picks up his phone and dials a number. “Nico. Tell Dominic the master server is live. We’re moving on my clearance.”
“Alessio, wait,” I say, grabbing his jacket. “The physical bypass from Turi’s log—the one I haven’t cracked yet—is the final lock. Even if you get into the warehouse, you can’t shut it down without it.”
He looks at me, his eyes dark with a feral sort of promise. "I’ll find it."
"No," I say, my voice firm. "I’m coming with you. I built the bypass program. I’m the only one who can run it while you’re holding the line."
"Absolutely not," he says, his hand tightening on my waist. "It’s a kill zone, Amara. I am not putting you in the middle of a South Side warehouse with the Bellantis."
"I’m already in the middle of it!" I snap, my sassy side finally bubbling to the surface. I’ve had enough of being the protected little flower. "I’m the one who found the money. I’m the one who found the mole. I’m the one who’s been hunting Vane for ten years too. You don't get to sideline me now because you’re feeling 'possessive.'"
I use the word like a weapon, and it lands. He winces, his jaw tight.
"I can't lose you," he says, and for a second, the mask slips. The sheer, naked terror in his voice makes my heart ache. "Amara, if anything happens to you, I won't just burn this city. I’ll burn myself down with it. You are the one thing this war has given me that I can’t stand to lose.”
"Then keep me close," I say, stepping into his space, my hands flat against his chest. I can feel his heart slamming—a frantic, heavy thud. "Don't leave me behind in this vault with your ghosts. Take me with you. Let’s end this together."
He stares at me for a long beat, his eyes searching mine. He’s looking for weakness, for hesitation. He finds none. I’m a runner who has finally found something worth standing for, and I’m not moving.
"Fine," he says, his voice a low growl. He grabs the back of my head and pulls me into a hard, desperate kiss. It tastes like coffee and adrenaline and the promise of a future I’m finally starting to believe in. When he pulls away, he’s breathless. “But you stay on comms. If I say down, you drop. If you see the code before I do,you call it and I move. You’re mine to protect, Amara—so cover me.”
“I understand the plan,” I say. “And he understands I’ll break it if the job requires it.”
We leave the vault, the heavy steel door clicking shut behind us. The compound is already buzzing. I can hear the sounds of weapons being checked, the low rumble of engines in the courtyard. The air is electric, the scent of impending violence heavy in the hallways.
As we pass the sub-level corridor, Turi watches us through the reinforced glass of the holding room, a cup of tea going cold in his hands. His gaze finds mine, and he smiles—that warm, fatherly smile that made me feel so safe just a few hours ago.
Through the holding-room glass, Turi says, “Be careful, children. The night is long.”
I feel Alessio's entire body vibrate with the need to lunge at him. I squeeze his hand, my fingernails digging into his palm. Not yet.
