Occupation: Criminal Associate

Parents: Carlo and Destiny Bravetti

Siblings: Mickey Donovan

Relationships: Alex Reynolds

Appearances: Season 1

Who’d Play Him: Giovanni Ribisi

The Man Who Lost Twenty-Five Years: Nicodemo “Nico” Bravetti was the son of Carlo and Destiny Bravetti, raised from childhood as the heir to one of Los Angeles’s most powerful crime families. Groomed for influence and accustomed to privilege, Nico’s future changed forever after the death of young actress Patty Ruiz at Sunset Studios.

Five teenagers—Miranda Blackthorne, Stormy Blackthorne, Heather Rydell, Eddie Distefano, and Courtney DeLoache—testified that Nico had pushed Patty from a catwalk. Their statements sent him to prison for twenty-five years. During his incarceration, Nico adopted the name “The Beast,” becoming hardened by violence, isolation, and an obsession with the people he believed had stolen his life.

Of the five witnesses, Miranda remained the center of his anger. Years earlier, when she was fourteen, she had developed an intense crush on the twenty-two-year-old Nico. He encouraged her attention and made her feel older without crossing a physical line. Her feelings turned to rage after she discovered that Nico was having an affair with her mother, Alex Reynolds.

Upon his release, Nico returned to Los Angeles determined to confront the witnesses. He reunited with his half-brother, Mickey Donovan, and his father, Carlo, who encouraged him to focus on rebuilding the Bravetti family rather than pursuing revenge. Nico ignored the warning and became increasingly consumed with exposing the truth about Patty’s death.

As old evidence resurfaced, the certainty surrounding his conviction began to collapse. Heather admitted that she had never been sure what she saw, while Courtney acknowledged that Miranda may have influenced the other teenagers’ memories. Nico abducted Courtney and forced her to speak publicly, further intensifying the scandal surrounding the case.

Flashbacks ultimately revealed that Nico had struck Patty during an argument and followed her onto the catwalk, but he had not pushed her. Patty lost her footing and fell while the teenagers watched from a distance. None of them had clearly seen what happened.

Nico’s own state of mind remained deeply unstable. After stumbling upon the murders of Zoanne Voss and Ty Stratton on the night of his release, he convinced himself that “The Beast” might have killed them. In reality, he had only taken Zoanne’s guns, while the murders were later traced to Franklin Merrick.

The greatest irony of Nico’s return came when Miranda and her daughter Tiger were abducted by Destiny. Blaming Miranda for the twenty-five years taken from her son, Destiny tied them inside the Bravettis’ abandoned winery as wildfires closed in. Nico attempted to stop his mother, but she locked him inside Corso’s liquor storeroom before carrying out her plan.

Once freed, Nico drove into the wildfire to save them. Trapped inside the burning winery, Miranda finally confessed that she had lied and knowingly helped send an innocent man to prison. Rather than demand revenge, Nico focused on getting her and Tiger out alive.

He carried Tiger through the flames, then returned inside after Eddie rescued Miranda. Moments later, the winery collapsed. Human remains were recovered, but they were too badly burned to identify conclusively, leaving Nico presumed dead.

Nico returned to Los Angeles as a man determined to punish the people who had destroyed his life. Instead, he uncovered the truth, saved the daughter of the woman he hated most, and may have sacrificed himself in the process. After twenty-five years defined by vengeance, his final act was one of redemption.