Chapter 6 - The Shadows of the Past
While the wolves circled in the study, Sophia sat in the secure west-wing suite with Emma, who was happily coloring in a book Luca had managed to find.
The heavy oak door unlocked, and Luca stepped inside, carrying a tray of warm pastries and milk.
“How are you holding up, Sophia?” Luca asked, closing the door behind him.
Sophia stood up, nervously wiping her hands on her apron. “Mr. Marino... is it true? Is Mr. Moretti going to hurt us? Everyone downstairs is saying the bride was a spy, and my little girl—she’s the one who exposed it all. If the family finds out—”
“Listen to me,” Luca interrupted, placing a firm, heavy hand on her shoulder. “Nobody is going to touch you or Emma. You did the right thing. More importantly, you opened the boss’s eyes before it was too late.”
Emma looked up from her coloring book, her blue eyes shining with innocence. “Is the bad man with the hood going to come back?”
“No, sweetheart,” Luca smiled gently, a rare expression for the seasoned enforcer. “The bad man isn't coming back. In fact, Mr. Moretti is about to clean house.”
Luca turned back to Sophia. “I need you to stay in this room. Do not open the door for anyone except me or the boss himself. Understood?”
“Understood,” Sophia whispered, clutching her cross necklace.
Luca nodded and stepped back out into the corridor. He pulled out his encrypted satellite phone and dialed a direct line.
“Secure the perimeter around the eastern gate,” Luca ordered into the receiver. “And check the digital mainframe. Ryan’s personal terminal should be unlocking his private safe right about now.”
Back in the main office suite, Ryan Mercer sat at his mahogany desk, his fingers flying across his keyboard with frantic excitement. He had accessed the encrypted master server. He was transferring the offshore accounts, the logistical manifests, and the legal transfer documents into his own name.
Everything was falling into place. Fifteen years of patience, of whispering in the right ears, of framing Liam Hale for embezzlement to trap Vanessa into spying—it was all culminating in this exact moment.
He clicked Save on the final transfer file and leaned back in his leather chair, letting out a long, triumphant breath.
“Checkmate, Alessandro,” Ryan murmured to the empty room.
Suddenly, the overhead lights in his office flickered and died. The room plunged into sudden, deep shadow, illuminated only by the pale blue glow of his computer monitor.
Ryan stood up, his hand sliding inside his jacket toward the concealed shoulder holster.
“Looking for your gun, Ryan?”
The voice came from the darkened corner of the office.
Ryan spun around. Standing beside the bookshelf, half-shrouded in darkness, was Alessandro Moretti. He wasn't holding a gun. He was holding a small, silver flash drive—the master backup key to Ryan’s private terminal.
“Alessandro,” Ryan said, forcing a calm, steady tone into his voice, though his heart hammered against his ribs. “What are you doing here? You should be preparing for the midnight meeting.”
Alessandro stepped into the blue light of the monitor. His expression was a mask of cold, terrifying granite.
May you like
“There is no meeting at the rail yard, Ryan,” Alessandro said quietly. “There never was.”
Ryan’s eyes darted toward the office door, but standing in the doorway, blocking any exit, were Luca Marino and four armed enforcers, their weapons drawn and leveled straight at his chest.
