Chapter 4 - The Silver Tag and the Cane Corsos

When the black armored convoy returned to the Marchetti estate at 9:00 AM, the household was in an uproar.
Staff, caterers, and private security guards lined the main driveway, preparing the grand ballroom for the annual Regional Logistics Consortium—a high-stakes gathering of forty corporate directors, port commissioners, and family capos.
Aldo stepped from the lead vehicle, carrying Elia in his arms.
The girl was wrapped in the plush shearling blanket, her hair freshly dried, holding a cup of warm broth. As Aldo carried her up the stone steps, a murmur of astonishment rippled through the staff.
Standing on the terrace was Vittorio Marchetti—Aldo’s thirty-two-year-old nephew and the vice-president of Marchetti Maritime. Dressed in a bespoke Brioni suit, wearing a platinum Rolex and diamond signet rings, Vittorio watched the arrival with narrow, suspicious eyes.
"Uncle Aldo," Vittorio said, stepping forward with a manufactured smile. "Who is this street urchin you're carrying into the family residence? We have forty international delegates arriving in three hours. It’s hardly appropriate for domestic hygiene."
Aldo didn't even slow his pace. He walked straight past his nephew, his shoulder brushing Vittorio aside with dismissive force.
"If you ever refer to this child with disrespect again, Vittorio," Aldo said without turning his head, "you will find your office on the sidewalk."
Vittorio’s jaw twitched, his face flushing crimson with suppressed rage as he watched his uncle carry the girl toward the master east wing.
Ten minutes later, in the sun-drenched private library, the double mahogany doors opened.
Rocco and Ulisse bounded into the room, their massive paws skidding against the polished parquet.
Marco and two bodyguards instinctively stepped forward to intervene, but Aldo raised a single hand.
The two hundred and forty pounds of lethal muscle didn't growl. They didn't bark.
They trotted straight to the velvet armchair where Elia sat. Rocco rested his massive chin gently in her lap, letting out a deep, contented rumble from his chest, while Ulisse pressed his forehead against her knee, his tail thumping steadily against the floor.
Elia buried her face in Rocco’s neck, weeping softly as she stroked the familiar scars behind his ears.
"My good boys," she whispered in the ancient mountain dialect. "You grew so big."
From beneath her oversized collar, Elia pulled out a small, tarnished silver tag on a worn leather cord—the twin of the brass medallion hanging from Rocco’s collar, hand-stamped with the date of the puppies' birth: 14.04.2020 — Mateo Rinaldi.
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Aldo watched from the desk, a profound, unbreakable resolve settling into his soul.
The bloodline of his savior had returned. And anyone who dared threaten her would answer to the full wrath of the Marchetti empire.