It had just started to rain.
It had just started to rain when the black SUV pulled up in front of the old little shop. Rocco Moretti got out to make a call, but before he could dial, a small, trembling voice stopped him. « Sir… can you buy my bicycle? »
He turned around and saw a little girl standing in the rain, clutching a rusty pink bicycle. Her shoes were worn out, her clothes soaked, and her pale face bore the exhaustion of someone far too young to know such suffering. Rocco frowned. « What are you doing here alone? »
The girl pushed the bicycle toward him. “Please. Mom hasn’t eaten in days.” Something tightened in Rocco’s chest. Most people feared him, but this child was too desperate to be afraid. “He asked softly. She hesitated. Rocco’s eyes narrowed. The girl glanced around nervously before whispering, “Those who said Mom owed money. They took everything.” Rocco’s jaw hardened. He had heard of cruel men who used debt to destroy families, but when the girl rolled up her sleeve to show bruises on her thin arm, his expression changed completely. “They told Mom not to talk,” she said. Rocco leaned closer. The little girl swallowed, her voice trembling. “He was from your gang, sir.” Rocco froze.
Not because he was guilty, but because someone
Not because he was guilty, but because someone had used his name to rob a starving mother and child. He slowly stood up in the rain. “Home,” she whispered. Rocco gave her the keys to his SUV. The drive through the rain was silent. The girl, Emma, was only seven years old. For a week, she had tried to sell everything she could find, just to buy bread. She led him to a dark, dilapidated street with broken lamps and abandoned houses. When they stopped in front of her house, Rocco saw peeling paint, crooked doors, and windows with no lights on. Emma opened the door with a key hidden under a loose brick. Inside, the house was completely empty.
