Chapter Seven: On the Edge of the Abyss

Franco was on the edge of the abyss at that moment. His feelings were conflicted; the betrayal he had discovered, the choices he had before him, were too complex for a single mind to comprehend. He sat there, in the seat he had shared with Marco for years, surrounded by the silence that weighed down the air around him. Marco's last words echoed in his mind: If you decide to stand against us, you will pay a heavy price.

Was he willing to bear those consequences? Was he able to face the terrifying and bloody truth he was forced to discover?

He thought about every moment he had spent working, collaborating with Marco, the time after time he had thought that everything was fine. It was not easy for him to accept that all those years had been nothing but carefully woven lies. But he knew one thing: he had to make a decision now.

"I will go all the way." He whispered to himself, his eyes looking at the cold cup of coffee in front of him. The decision had been made, but now he had to face the consequences.

Franco stood up suddenly and walked out of the café without looking back. He felt an unprecedented tension sweeping through his body, but despite that, there was a kind of determination that began to burn in his heart. He knew that he could not go back. This was the moment of truth.

He headed straight to the police headquarters. The place was quiet at that early hour of the day, but the lights were still on in many offices, where the security services were working silently to cover up every detail. Franco felt that the atmosphere here had changed. There was something different, something invisible but filling the place. He knew that if he wanted to uncover the truth, he had to act now.

When he reached the office of the head of investigations, he stood for a moment in front of the closed door, and heard the familiar voices that were coming from inside. He hesitated for a moment, but then pushed the door open forcefully, and quickly entered.

"I want to talk to you about Luca Ferri." Franco said in a decisive tone as he entered the room.

The head of investigations, an elderly man with serious features, was sitting behind his desk. He raised his head slightly, then motioned for him to sit down. "I think you've discovered more than you wanted, Franco."

He said it in a low tone, as if he was reading Franco's mind.

"Yes, and I want to know everything." Franco said in a firm voice, sitting in front of him. "How is Marco connected to all this? And why wasn't I told about Luca Ferri from the beginning?"

The head of investigations took a deep breath, then began to speak: "It was a well-thought-out plan from the beginning. Marco is not just an ordinary employee. He was working for a large criminal group, a network that includes many people in high places. Luca Ferri is just a name in this network. But Marco had another role, he was our eye inside this group."

The words came as a new shock to Franco, but something seemed to clear up in his mind. "If Marco was working for you, why did he deceive me? Why was he leading me to believe that I was in the dark?"

"Marco was the one who convinced you that you were part of justice," the chief of investigations replied with cold sympathy. "But you were part of monitoring the people who were part of this network, without realizing it. Your role was to be the agent who carried out the orders, but you were far from the bigger picture."

It wasn't as surprising as it had been before, but it was hard for Franco to comprehend. He had felt like he was being played for years, and now he discovered that he was just a tool in the hands of others.

"If I knew the truth now, what would I do?" Franco asked, feeling the weight of reality on his heart.

"Now, you have to choose. You can go ahead with this path, or reveal the truth. But remember, this path is not without a price." The chief of investigations said as he rose from his seat.

At that moment, Franco felt the weight of the decision pressing on him even more. He had to decide whether to stand up to the entire system, or continue his battle with the shadows.