Chapter 6 - Betrayal from Within
Panic seized my chest like an iron vise. "The T-cell compounds? They take three weeks to synthesize! My mother’s next infusion is in forty-eight hours!"
"I know," Salvatore said, stepping over to his safe and pulling out a silver-handled Beretta. He racked the slide with a cold, metallic CLACK. "Matteo didn't hijack that truck for money. He knew what was inside. He wants to drag me out into the open. He wants me to beg him for her life."
"Salvatore, no! It’s a trap!" I cried, grabbing his sleeve.
"It is a trap," Salvatore agreed calmly, checking the magazine. "Which means he expects me to act like a desperate old man. He forgot that I am the man who built the foundation he walks on."
He turned to his chief of security, a towering man named Marco. "Assembly the elite strike team. We move on the Jersey warehouse in twenty minutes."
"I’m coming with you," I said firmly.
"Absolutely not," Salvatore commanded sternly. "You stay here under guard."
"It’s my mother’s medicine!" I argued, stepping into his space, my eyes blazing with fierce determination. "If Matteo sees me with you, he’ll know his psychological game failed. He expects you to come with a ransom. He doesn't expect us to come to war."
Salvatore stared at me for three long seconds. A dark, proud smirk curved his lips. "You truly are a Constantino, aren't you?"
An hour later, four black armored SUVs sped down the industrial turnpike into New Jersey, stopping half a mile from an abandoned shipyard warehouse near the docks.
Rain poured down in torrents. Inside the lead SUV, Salvatore adjusted his tactical coat, handed me a small, concealed silver pistol, and showed me how to clear the safety.
"Stay behind Marco unless I tell you otherwise," he instructed softly, kissing my forehead. "Tonight, we end Matteo."
Through high-powered thermal scopes, Marco confirmed eight armed men inside the warehouse. Matteo was sitting near a wooden crate holding the temperature-controlled medical briefcase containing my mother's life-saving treatment.
"He thinks he's hidden," Salvatore sneered quietly. "Marco, cut the main power grid."
CLICK.
The entire warehouse complex plunged into absolute darkness.
Before Matteo’s men could react, flashbang grenades shattered the warehouse skylights with deafening explosions. Bright white light and concussive sound filled the structure.
Salvatore moved with terrifying, fluid precision. Despite his age, he was faster, smarter, and far more lethal than any man inside that building. His suppressed weapon barked softly in the darkness—THWIP, THWIP, THWIP. Three of Matteo’s guards dropped before they even raised their rifles.
Salvatore’s team breached the steel doors, taking control of the floor in less than ninety seconds.
When the emergency backup lights flickered on, six of Matteo’s men were disarmed and pinned to the concrete floor. Matteo was backed against the wooden crate, bleeding from a graze on his shoulder, his hands trembling as he pointed a gun toward the entrance.
Salvatore walked into the light, his dark coat wet with rain, his weapon resting loosely at his side. Beside him walked Marco and me.
Matteo’s eyes dilated in terror as he looked at Salvatore. "You... how did you locate this position so fast?!"
"You bought a corrupt lieutenant in my Philadelphia crew, Matteo," Salvatore said softly, taking a calm step forward. "Did you really think I didn't know he was on your payroll? I fed him the route myself so you would take the bait."
Matteo looked from Salvatore to me, his face twisting into a desperate, pathetic mask. "She’s manipulating you, Don Salvatore! You’re burning down the syndicate for a waitress!"
I stepped past Marco, walking straight up to the crate holding the medical briefcase. I checked the temperature gauge on the side—it was green. The medicine was safe.
I picked up the case, turned to Matteo, and looked down at him with icy disdain.
"He isn't burning the syndicate, Matteo," I said smoothly. "He’s cleaning house."
Salvatore stepped up beside me, placing his hands on my shoulders. "Take the medicine to the car, my love. Marco will escort you."
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"What are you going to do with him?" I asked quietly.
Salvatore stared down at Matteo, his grey eyes void of all mercy. "He broke the sacred law. He targeted family. The council meets tomorrow morning, and Matteo will face his judgment."
