School of the City
The classroom smelled faintly of chalk dust and warm air trapped beneath the slow-turning ceiling fans. Heat clung to the walls, making the atmosphere heavy and sluggish. Even breathing felt thick.
And in the center of the room lay Antonio Moretti.
He was sprawled across his desk as if the classroom belonged to him. One arm was folded beneath his head, dark hair falling across his eyes, his body stretched comfortably in complete disregard for the strict order that normally ruled a school environment.
Antonio was asleep.
His breathing was slow, deep, and steady.
Yet the entire classroom remained tense.
Students sat stiffly at their desks, careful with every movement. Chairs shifted cautiously. Pens were lifted gently. Even the teacher at the front of the room hesitated before writing on the board.
No one wanted to be the one who woke him.
The quiet was almost unnatural.
A faint sound suddenly broke the silence.
A pencil rolled off a desk in the back row and clattered against the floor.
The student froze immediately.
Antonio's fingers twitched.
That tiny movement sent a ripple of fear through the classroom. Every student stiffened, eyes snapping toward him.
Would he wake up?
For a moment, no one breathed.
Flashback – Antonio's Anger
It had happened before.
A student once made the mistake of disturbing Antonio's sleep during class. A careless movement. A dropped notebook.
Something meaningless anywhere else—
But not here.
Antonio had lifted his head slowly, his eyes cold and sharp as they locked onto the boy responsible.
The student barely understood what was happening before Antonio grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head into the corner of the desk.
The crack echoed through the room.
The boy collapsed immediately, clutching his head as blood spread across his fingers.
Gasps and screams filled the classroom.
And then Antonio simply returned to his desk.
He closed his eyes.
And went back to sleep.
The message had been clear.
No one disturbed him.
Back in the present, the classroom remained frozen in silence.
The clock ticked loudly on the wall.
No one moved.
Then the classroom door creaked open.
The sound sliced through the quiet like a blade.
Every head turned.
Nick Moretti stepped inside.
Unlike everyone else, he moved casually, completely unconcerned with the tension in the room. He walked straight toward Antonio's desk without hesitation
The student sitting behind Antonio didn't move fast enough.
Nick shoved him aside with one hand.
The boy fell from his chair with a startled thud.
That sound was enough.
Antonio's eyes snapped open instantly.
He grabbed a book from his desk and hurled it toward the teacher's desk.
The book slammed against the wood with a loud crash.
"Who the hell made that noise?" Antonio growled.
His voice rolled through the classroom like thunder.
The teacher froze.
Students held their breath.
Nick leaned casually against a desk nearby, completely unbothered.
For a moment, it looked like the cousins might fight.
Flashback – The Cousins' Fight
A few weeks earlier, a small argument between them had nearly destroyed the entire hallway.
It had started with nothing important. A comment. A shove.
But things escalated quickly.
Words turned into punches.
Furniture was overturned as the hallway erupted into chaos. Students scattered in panic while teachers tried desperately to stop them.
Antonio and Nick fought with terrifying intensity.
They moved fast, striking and dodging with the instinctive understanding of people who had grown up fighting each other.
Blood ran from split lips. Chairs shattered against the walls. Desks were pushed aside like obstacles.
Yet even during the violence, there had been a limit.
They fought fiercely, but never with the intent to truly destroy each other.
Blood came first.
Always.
Back in the classroom, tension hung heavily in the air.
Antonio glared at Nick.
Nick simply smirked.
Then he spoke.
"I've got news."
Antonio frowned slightly.
"What news?"
Nick glanced around the classroom as if the students didn't exist.
"About the uploader."
The word spread through the room like poison.
Students stiffened.
Whispers began in the back rows.
The shadow of the Moretti name seemed to deepen inside the room.
At that moment, footsteps approached the classroom.
Lucia Moretti appeared at the door.
She stepped inside calmly.
Her presence immediately changed the atmosphere.
Students noticed it instantly.
Unlike the teachers or staff, Lucia didn't need authority.
Her name carried enough weight.
Her eyes moved between Antonio and Nick.
"Enough," she said quietly.
"Both of you."
For a moment neither cousin moved.
Antonio's gaze flicked toward her.
Nick straightened slightly.
The classroom exhaled.
Flashback – The Teacher Incident
There had once been a teacher who made the mistake of insulting Vincenzo Moretti during class.
He called him cruel.
A monster.
Antonio reacted immediately.
Nick joined him seconds later.
The attack had been brutal but controlled.
Their strikes were precise, deliberate.
By the time the chaos ended, the teacher lay on the floor with broken legs.
The message spread through the school instantly.
No one insulted the Moretti family.
Lucia stood calmly between them now.
She didn't shout.
She didn't threaten.
She simply stood there.
That was enough.
Even Antonio and Nick respected the boundary.
Students whispered quietly:
"She's the only one who can stop them…"
"Even they listen to her…"
Lucia ignored the whispers.
Her attention stayed on the boys.
Flashback – Vincenzo's Visit
There had been another incident.
A boy once hurt Lucia accidentally during class.
She had cried quietly, shaken by the sudden pain.
Hours later, Vincenzo himself arrived at the school.
His presence alone had frozen the building.
Teachers stopped talking.
Students avoided looking at him.
He spoke calmly.
He said he would file the complaint.
No one doubted him.
The boy who had hurt Lucia disappeared shortly afterward.
No one ever saw him again.
Back in the present, Nick finally continued speaking.
"Matteo."
Antonio raised an eyebrow.
"The uploader?"
Nick nodded.
"He's at the station."
The room froze.
Students exchanged nervous glances.
Even the teacher didn't move.
Antonio leaned back slightly.
"And?"
Nick shrugged.
"And Vincenzo knows."
Silence swallowed the classroom.
Everyone understood what those words meant.
Fear spread slowly through the whole classroom.
The name Vincenzo Moretti carried a shadow that stretched far beyond the school walls.
Lucia watched the two boys carefully.
She could keep them from fighting.
But she couldn't erase the influence their older cousin had left on them.
Antonio tapped his fingers lightly against the desk.
"If he's at the station…" he murmured.
"Anyone who thinks the law will protect him is stupid."
Nick's smirk widened slightly.
"Exactly."
Around them, students sat frozen between fear and fascination.
The classroom no longer felt like a place for learning.
It felt like a stage where something far more dangerous was unfolding.
And at the center of it all sat Antonio and Nick Moretti, quietly measuring the weight of the shadow their cousin had cast over the entire city.