Chapter 12
Alina’s chair scraped backward.
“What?”
Emilio raised both hands.
“Not to hurt her.”
Lorenzo’s eyes went dead calm.
“That sentence better improve.”
Emilio’s mouth went dry.
Marcus had initially suggested using Lucy’s preschool schedule to create pressure.
A missed pickup.
A short disappearance with trusted staff.
Nothing physically dangerous.
Enough to terrify Alina.
Enough to make her question whether auditing family operations was worth putting her daughter near conflict.
Ramona rejected it.
Immediately.
That mattered.
Marcus did not.
Lorenzo stood.
Every man in the room became still.
Marcus leaned back.
His confidence looked forced now.
“You're twisting it.”
Lorenzo’s gaze stayed on him.
“Did you suggest using my daughter?”
Marcus inhaled.
No answer.
Alina’s hand moved to Lorenzo’s wrist.
He looked down.
Her grip was tight.
Not to protect Marcus.
To stop Lorenzo from becoming exactly what Marcus expected.
Alina whispered:
“Not here.”
Lorenzo’s breathing slowed.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Then he sat.
That restraint frightened Marcus more than violence would have.
Ramona stared at her brother.
“You told me you dropped that.”
Marcus looked away.
Something changed in her face.
For years she believed they were protecting the same structure.
Now she realized Marcus had crossed lines even she had refused.
“You used Lucy in the plan?”
Marcus snapped:
“I didn't touch her.”
Ramona’s eyes hardened.
“You didn't have to.”
For the first time, brother and sister were no longer aligned.
Then Ramona looked toward Alina.
Her voice came out quieter.
“I pushed you.”
Alina said nothing.
Ramona’s hand trembled against the table.
“I could’ve hurt her.”
No one comforted her.
She did not deserve comfort.
But guilt had finally entered the room.
Then Marcus stood abruptly.
“You all want someone to blame?”
His eyes moved to Lorenzo.
“Ask him why I ever needed leverage.”
Lorenzo’s stare sharpened.
Marcus smiled bitterly.
“Tell them what you did to my father.”
The room froze.
May you like
Ramona looked at Lorenzo too.
And suddenly, the oldest wound in the Carbone family was no longer about money.
