41. Miserable Childhood

Carlo stepped into his father’s study, and the stifling air hit him immediately. The room was steeped in silence, with only the faint sound of waves crashing against the cliffs outside, as if the ocean itself was sighing endlessly. Near the large floor-to-ceiling windows, Leonardo Ferretti sat quietly in his wheelchair, his gaze unfocused as it lingered on the vast ocean before him, lost in a state of deep, weary contemplation.

At sixty, Leonardo's body was beginning to show signs of aging.

Three years ago, an assassination attempt from a family rival nearly claimed his life. Though he miraculously survived the gunshot wound to the head, it left him comatose for three years. He had only recently regained consciousness three months ago, but the ordeal had taken its toll. His once powerful physique had withered, and now he moved with difficulty, his pallor a stark reminder of his vulnerability.

This man, who once led the most powerful Mafia family on the East Coast with an iron fist, w