Chapter 6 - The Broken Engagement And The Ring Thrown Into The Fire
The steel door of the underground safe room closed with a heavy pneumatic hiss.
Behind me, four electronic locks slid into place.
A green status light blinked on the wall terminal.
The safe room was not a dungeon.
It was an underground bunker furnished with plush leather sofas, shelves of military-grade rations, a private bathroom, and a wall of twelve digital monitors displaying every camera angle across the Moretti estate.
I could see the front iron gate.
The long gravel driveway bordered by trimmed boxwood hedges.
The dark waters of Lake Michigan beyond the tree line.
And the outer courtyard where Luca stood.
He had removed his silk tie.
His top collar buttons were open, exposing the dark black ink of dragon scales rising along his throat.
He wore a Kevlar tactical vest strapped tightly over his dress shirt.
In his hands was an automatic rifle, matte black and unyielding.
Around him, twenty of his most loyal capos and soldiers fanned out behind the stone balustrades.
Marco was checking a heavy drum magazine.
Gianni was barking coordinates into a encrypted radio headset.
And in the corner of one monitor screen—
A heavy iron drum burned with bright, crackling flames.
A disposal barrel used for classified documents.
Luca walked toward that barrel.
He reached into his pocket.
He pulled out the four-carat diamond ring he had torn from Vanessa’s hand.
The ring that was supposed to bind the Moretti and Bellini empires.
The ring that represented three years of deceit, betrayal, and his sister Elena’s murder.
On the audio feed piped into my room, I heard his voice.
Low.
Deadly.
Unforgiving.
“To three years of lies,” Luca said.
He opened his fingers.
The diamond ring tumbled into the white-hot coals.
The metal sizzled.
The gemstone disappeared into the inferno.
He turned back toward the courtyard.
“Marco.”
“Yes, Don Moretti.”
“Notify the city’s five families. The engagement between the Moretti syndicate and the Bellini family is null and void. The Bellinis are officially declared hostile enemies of this house. Any associate found harboring Salvatore or Vanessa Bellini will face immediate execution.”
“Understood, Boss.”
“What about the girl, Don Moretti?” Gianni asked quietly, stepping closer to Luca’s side.
My heart jumped into my throat.
The girl.
Me.
I leaned closer to the monitor speakers.
“Claire stays under absolute protection,” Luca answered without hesitation. “If a hair on her head is harmed tonight, I will tear this city apart stone by stone.”
“Boss,” Gianni murmured, “Romano’s scout cars just turned onto Lake Shore Drive. Four black SUVs. No headlights.”
Luca pulled the charging handle of his rifle back.
The metallic click sounded sharp through the speaker.
“Let them reach the gate,” Luca said softly. “Then teach them why this city belongs to the Morettis.”
The monitors flickered.
On camera three, four black SUVs with blackened windows slid into view like sharks beneath dark water.
They stopped fifty yards from the outer gate.
May you like
The siege had begun.
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