EPISODE 15 — THE PRICE OF PROTECTION
918 Words
The dining room remained silent after Lorenzo's last words.
Bianca stared at the photograph on the table.
Her mother was smiling in it.
Completely unaware that someone had been watching her.
"Where was this taken?" Lorenzo asked.
The security chief examined it.
"Outside the hospital."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
Lorenzo's eyes hardened.
"So whoever took this was close enough to watch Bianca leave."
He turned toward the guards.
"Nobody leaves this house without clearance."
Bianca immediately looked at him.
"Wait."
Lorenzo turned.
"You said I wouldn't be a prisoner."
"You aren't."
"Then don't make rules without asking me."
His expression softened slightly.
"I need you safe."
"And I need to breathe."
Alessandro watched them silently.
Finally, he spoke.
"She's right."
Lorenzo looked at him.
"Grandfather—"
"Protection isn't the same as imprisonment."
Lorenzo said nothing.
Alessandro continued.
"Give her guards. Give her a driver. But let her live."
Lorenzo looked at Bianca.
She wasn't backing down.
Finally, he nodded.
"Fine."
Bianca relaxed slightly.
"Thank you."
"But there's one condition."
She frowned.
"What?"
"If you're leaving the mansion, I know where you're going."
She sighed.
"Deal."
---
THE SECURITY OFFICE
Lorenzo stood over the security monitors.
"Show me the hospital footage."
The screens changed.
Bianca appeared.
Then Sofia.
Then the unknown man.
Lorenzo leaned closer.
"Pause."
The image froze.
The man was wearing a dark cap and medical mask.
"Zoom in."
The security chief tried.
The image became blurry.
"Nothing."
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
Then he noticed something.
The man's left hand.
A small scar crossed his thumb.
"Find everyone connected to Ferraro with that scar."
His security chief looked surprised.
"That's going to take time."
"Take it."
---
BIANCA'S ROOM
Bianca sat on the floor surrounded by her old university books.
She had decided to start looking for work again.
Her marriage hadn't erased the life she had before Lorenzo.
She still wanted something of her own.
She opened her laptop.
A message from her former professor appeared.
I heard you graduated with distinction. There's an opening at a company looking for a business administration graduate.
Bianca stared at the message.
For the first time in weeks, she smiled.
A real opportunity.
She immediately replied.
Then she heard a knock.
"Come in."
Lorenzo entered.
He glanced at the books.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for a job."
He frowned.
"Why?"
"Because I want to work."
"You don't need to."
"I know."
"Then why?"
Bianca closed the laptop.
"Because before I became Donna Romano, I was Bianca Moretti."
Lorenzo was silent.
She continued.
"I studied for years. I graduated with excellent results. I don't want to spend the next three years sitting in this mansion waiting for our contract to end."
Lorenzo looked at her.
"What kind of job?"
"Business administration."
"Where?"
She hesitated.
"I haven't decided."
"Send me the company's information."
Bianca frowned.
"Why?"
"I'll have security check it."
She sighed.
"Of course."
Lorenzo turned to leave.
"Wait."
He looked back.
"You don't have to stop me from working."
"I'm not."
"You looked like you wanted to."
"I want you safe."
"I can be both."
Lorenzo nodded.
"Then prove it."
He left.
Bianca smiled to herself.
That was probably the closest thing to permission she was going to get.
---
FERRARO'S MEN
Ferraro listened as his man reported.
"Bianca is looking for a job."
Ferraro looked up.
"Already?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"We don't know yet."
Ferraro smiled.
"Find out."
His man nodded.
"Should we interfere?"
"No."
Ferraro walked toward the window.
"Not yet."
He had learned something useful.
Lorenzo could protect Bianca inside his mansion.
He could protect her at the hospital.
He could surround her with guards.
But he couldn't control every place she might go.
Ferraro smiled.
"Let her choose where she wants to work."
His eyes darkened.
"Sometimes the easiest trap is the one your victim walks into willingly."
---
VALENTINA
Valentina sat in a café across the city.
Her phone rang.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A familiar voice spoke.
"You're back in the city."
Valentina's expression changed.
"Who is this?"
The call ended.
She stared at the phone.
A second later, another message appeared.
You shouldn't have returned.
Valentina looked around.
Nobody seemed to be watching.
She quickly put the phone away.
For the first time since returning, she felt uneasy.
She had spent so much time thinking about Lorenzo and Bianca that she had forgotten something.
She had enemies too.
---
THAT NIGHT
Bianca was standing on the balcony when Lorenzo joined her.
"You found a job?"
She turned.
"Maybe."
"Maybe?"
"I have an interview."
"When?"
"Monday."
Lorenzo nodded.
"I'll arrange transportation."
"I can go myself."
"No."
She rolled her eyes.
"You really enjoy saying that word."
"Yes."
She laughed.
For a moment, they simply stood together.
Then Bianca said,
"Lorenzo?"
"Hm?"
"Do you ever regret becoming Don?"
He looked toward the city.
"Every day."
She looked surprised.
"Then why stay?"
"Because if I leave, someone worse takes my place."
Bianca was quiet.
"That's a terrible reason to live."
"I know."
She looked at him.
"Maybe someday you should find another reason."
Lorenzo turned toward her.
Their eyes met.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Lorenzo looked away.
"Goodnight, Bianca."
"Goodnight."
He walked inside.
Bianca remained on the balcony.
Neither of them noticed the car parked far beyond the mansion gates.
Inside it, a man lowered a pair of binoculars.
He looked at the photograph in his hand.
It was Bianca's application for a job interview.
He smiled.
"Monday."
The car disappeared into the darkness.
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