Chapter 6 - The Setup
The silence following the sudden power outage was deafening. The only illumination left in the study was the flickering, amber glow from the dying fireplace.
Bruno’s head snapped up instantly. The old dog let out a low, guttural growl that vibrated through the floorboards. Beside him, Bella scrambled to her feet, her ears pinned back, sensing the danger.
“Stay behind me,” Luca commanded in a whisper.
In a single, fluid motion, he drew a black semi-automatic pistol from his shoulder holster. He didn't panic. His breathing remained slow, controlled, lethal.
A sudden blast echoed from the estate grounds below—an explosion that shook the heavy stone walls of the mansion. Car alarms wailed in the distance, followed by the rapid, rhythmic chatter of automatic gunfire.
“They breached the outer gate,” Luca muttered. “Salvatore didn't wait for morning.”
Suddenly, the study doors rattled.
Bruno leaped up, barking fiercely despite his stiff joints, positioning his massive body directly between me and the entrance.
The handle jiggled. Luca raised his weapon, lining his sights with the center of the heavy wood.
“Boss! It’s Marco!” a panicked voice shouted from the other side. “Don’t shoot!”
Luca lowered his gun slightly. “Code word.”
“St. Michael’s cross!” Marco shouted back.
Luca stepped forward and unlocked the heavy bolt. Marco tumbled into the room, his white shirt stained with engine grease and blood. He slammed the door shut and threw the deadbolt.
“What happened to the perimeter?” Luca demanded.
“It was an inside job, Boss,” Marco gasped, pressing a hand against a grazed wound on his shoulder. “Two of the gate guards—the Miller brothers—turned their weapons on our boys. They opened the service gate for three black SUVs before we could put them down. Salvatore sent a hit squad led by Marco Santoro.”
Luca’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Santoro. Salvatore’s chief enforcer.”
“They’re not just here for Vanessa,” Marco said, his breath ragged. “They brought an electronic jamming rig. They’re trying to breach the house to find the ledger drive. And Boss… Vanessa isn't in the wine cellar anymore.”
Luca stepped into Marco’s space, his aura turning murderous. “What did you say?”
“The Miller brothers took out the guards outside the cellar before the breach,” Marco explained, swallowing hard. “They unlocked her. She’s loose inside the mansion. And she knows every secret passage in this place.”
Just as Marco finished his sentence, the heavy wooden paneling behind Luca’s private bookshelf swung open with a muffled creak.
Standing in the hidden doorway, framed by the darkness of the servant tunnels, was Vanessa Bellini.
She had stripped off her soaked scarlet gown and was now wearing black tactical gear she must have stolen from the security locker. Her hair was pulled back, her face twisted with a mixture of hysterical rage and triumph. In her right hand, she held a snub-nosed revolver.
“Step away from the desk, Luca!” she screeched, aiming the barrel directly at his chest.
Luca didn't flinch. He didn't even raise his gun. He stood tall, looking at her with pure disdain. “You always were impatient, Vanessa.”
“Shut up!” she screamed, her hand shaking violently on the trigger. “Give me the drive! Give me the key, or I swear to God I’ll paint that fireplace with your brains!”
“You won't shoot,” Luca said evenly, taking a slow step toward her. “Because if you kill me before Santoro gets up here, he won't share the empire with you. Your father views women as bargaining chips, Vanessa. You know that. Once I’m dead, he’ll marry you off to Carmine Castiglione to pay off his gambling debts.”
Vanessa’s eyes flickered with a brief flash of terror—because she knew he was telling the truth.
Taking advantage of her momentary hesitation, Bruno lunged.
The twelve-year-old German shepherd launched his seventy-pound body forward with a ferocious snarl, sinking his jaws directly into Vanessa’s right wrist.
Vanessa shrieked in agony as the gun was knocked from her grip, clattering across the floorboards. She stumbled backward, crashing into the bookshelf as Bruno pinned her arm to the wall, his growls echoing like thunder in the enclosed room.
“Get him off me! Get him off me!” she wailed, tears streaming down her face.
Luca didn't rush. He walked over calmly, picked up her dropped revolver, and clicked the safety on. He looked down at the woman who had plotted to murder his father and destroy his life.
“Release, Bruno,” Luca commanded softly.
Bruno immediately loosened his grip, backing up two paces, but kept his teeth bared, standing guard like a Roman soldier.
Luca looked down at Vanessa, whose wrist was bleeding onto the hardwood floor.
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“You made one fatal mistake tonight, Vanessa,” Luca said, his voice colder than the autumn rain outside. “You forgot that in this house, the dogs are more loyal than the humans.”
***
