Chapter 2 - The Midnight Raid and the Shadows of the DeLuca Syndicate
The wood of my apartment door shattered inward with a noise like a gunshot.
It was 10:42 PM. Lily had just fallen asleep in her bassinet, her little chest rising and falling softly. I was sitting on the edge of my second-hand couch, clutching a cold cup of chamomile tea, staring at the cream envelope Natalie had left behind three months ago.
Then the world exploded into splinters.
Three men in heavy tactical gear, wearing dark ski masks, burst through the frame. They didn't shout. They didn't demand cash or jewelry. They moved with a terrifying, military precision straight toward the small bedroom where Lily slept.
"Hey!" I screamed, dropping the mug. It shattered against the hardwood floor. "Get out of my home!"
I hurled myself in front of the hallway door, grabbing a heavy brass floor lamp and swinging it with everything I had. The heavy base caught the lead man across the shoulder, making him stumble back. But he was twice my size. A second man grabbed my arm, twisting it sharply behind my back, slamming my chest against the hallway wall.
"Grab the kid," the third man grunted, his voice deep and raspy. "Boss wants the girl before sunrise."
"No! Leave her alone!" I fought like a feral animal, kicking behind me, biting at the gloved hand pinned near my mouth. Tears burned my eyes as I heard Lily wake up, her high-pitched, terrified scream piercing the quiet apartment. "Take anything! Take whatever you want!"
"We're taking the child," the man holding me cold-bloodedly whispered into my ear.
The lead intruder reached for the bassinet.
Suddenly, a muffled thud-thud echoed from the shattered entrance.
The man reaching for Lily dropped like a sack of concrete, clutching his leg where a silenced bullet had passed through. Before the remaining two men could react, the living room flooded with men in dark charcoal coats.
At the front stood Dante Moretti.
He didn't look like the man standing in the supermarket parking lot anymore. The calm, slightly amused stranger was gone. In his place stood a predator. His dark eyes were cold, void of mercy, and the heavy black pistol in his right hand was leveled with absolute precision.
"You're in the wrong neighborhood, boys," Dante said quietly. His voice was lower than a whisper, yet it filled the room like thunder.
"Moretti..." the intruder holding me gasped, his grip slackening in immediate panic.
"Release her," Dante commanded softly. "Or your mother picks out your casket tomorrow morning."
The man released me instantly, taking a step backward with his hands raised. I collapsed onto the floor, pulling myself up and sprinting into the bedroom. I snatched Lily from the bassinet, holding her tight against my neck, kissing her tiny head as she sobbed against my collarbone.
Dante's men—the same two who had been typing on phones at the grocery store—disarmed the three intruders in less than ten seconds, forcing them onto their knees on the floor.
Dante stepped over the shattered porcelain of my tea mug, stopping right in front of me. He looked over my face, scanning for injuries, his jaw clenching tightly when he saw the red burn mark on my wrist where the intruder had pinned me.
"Are you hurt?" Dante asked, his dark eyes softening just a fraction.
"I... I'm okay," I stammered, my body shaking so violently I could barely stay upright. "Lily is okay. Who were those men, Dante? What did they mean when they said 'Boss wants the girl'?"
Dante turned his head toward the lead intruder on the floor. He rested the tip of his polished leather shoe against the man's jaw, forcing him to look up.
"Speak," Dante said softly. "Who sent you to Sophia's apartment?"
"Go to hell, Moretti," the man spat through his mask. "Belandi owns Chicago now. Your family's time is up."
Dante didn't get angry. He simply flicked his wrist, and his lead lieutenant—a man named Marco—struck the intruder across the face with the butt of his pistol, knocking him unconscious.
Dante turned back to me, holstering his weapon inside his jacket with practiced elegance. "Pack a bag, Sophia. You and the baby are leaving."
"Leaving?" I blinked, holding Lily tighter. "Where? This is my home!"
"Your home has a broken door, three hitmen on the floor, and a syndicate boss who knows your address," Dante replied matter-of-factly. "You have ten minutes. Grab her formula, her clothes, and whatever documents your sister left behind."
My jaw dropped. "How do you know about the documents?"
Dante looked at me, his gaze holding an unsettling level of awareness. "Because Natalie didn't just work for Belandi Imports as a secretary, Sophia. She was their primary accountant. And six months ago, she uncovered a truth that could send half the politicians in Illinois to federal prison."
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"What truth?" I whispered.
Dante stepped closer, his thumb gently reaching out to stroke Lily's tiny cheek, soothing her crying instantly. "Your sister stole thirty million dollars from the Chicago mob. And she left the key inside your niece."
