The doors of the Altieri palace flung open, and Maria appeared, pale-faced and with visible signs of torture on her body. Victoria leapt from her seat, terrified by her daughter's appearance, and everyone rushed toward her.
Maria stared at Adriano and said: "Is this the man you wanted me to marry? I did everything I could to write him secretly through the mail without the kidnappers noticing, and I succeeded. I sent him the location of where I was. And what did he do? When things got dangerous, he ran and left me behind."
Francesco looked at Adriano with an unreadable expression, then changed the subject, saying: "Go to your room and change your clothes. I'll send a maid to help clean your wounds."
Maria went upstairs and did as she was told, then came down to the breakfast table. She felt a sense of family warmth after a long absence, but she missed Matteo, who used to bring joy to her days. She ate in silence, saying nothing to anyone, while sorrow filled her heart at the thought of betraying her family.
News of Maria's return spread through the district. Some rejoiced, others were uneasy.
Meanwhile, Leonardo entered the palace and found Antonio waiting for him. He tried to rush upstairs, but his father stopped him, calling out. Leonardo turned and calmly replied: "Yes, Father?"
Antonio said: "Come here. I want to talk to you."
Leonardo sat beside him and asked: "What is it? Are we going to talk about work again?" He already knew what the conversation would be just like all the previous ones that led nowhere.
Antonio said: "No, I don't want to talk about work. I want to talk about you."
Leonardo replied: "Haven't you gotten tired of repeating this conversation every day?"
Antonio said: "No, I haven't. And I won't stop until I find out what's going on. I suspect you're involved in Maria's kidnapping."
Leonardo laughed sarcastically: "What are you saying, Father? You think I kidnapped my own friend? What would I gain from that?"
Antonio said coldly: "I don't know. But you didn't help Adriano search for her. Isn't Maria your friend?"
Leonardo's expression changed. Irritated, he said: "You know I never agreed with Adriano. Excuse me."
He got up abruptly and went to his room without waiting for a response.
Days passed, and everything continued as usual. Matteo and Leonardo went to the shop, Marco expanded the gang and recruited more soldiers, and Maria stayed home to recover.
After she had fully recovered, Maria told her family she wanted to go out, saying she was tired of staying inside. Francesco, worried, said: "Fine, but the guards will go with you. I'm afraid someone might kidnap you again."
Maria smiled: "Don't worry, Father. No one would dare. I can defend myself well. But to reassure you, I'll take the guards."
She left with the guards. Once outside the district, she said to them: "Listen carefully. Take this money and leave me alone. And don't tell my father about this."
After getting rid of the guards, she headed to the abandoned house, where Matteo was waiting. When she entered, she found him there.
She ran to him and hugged him, then pulled away and said: "I missed you so much, Matteo. Every day I felt your absence."
Matteo replied: "You missed me that much? I must be a really great guy. I missed you too, by the way."
Maria asked: "Where are Leonardo and Marco? I want to see them too."
Matteo answered: "They're at the headquarters. And we're going there now."
They went to the headquarters. Maria was amazed by how impressive the place was. Leonardo and Marco welcomed her warmly. When Maria saw Giovanni, she asked Matteo: "Who is this man?"
Matteo replied: "That's Giovanni. He brought us all together, revived the gang, and he's Marco's father."
Giovanni said firmly: "Alright, introductions done. Now we need to focus on the next mission. We must come up with a new plan to take down Adriano and this time, we will succeed."
Maria said: "I have a great idea that will make my father completely lose trust in Adriano…"
To be continued...