Chapter 4 - THE AMBUSH AT LAKE COMO
At 11:15 P.M., heavy rain began to batter the iron gates of the Moretti estate.
Inside the private study, Luca sat before three large security monitors showing the surrounding perimeter walls. Marco stood beside him, racking the bolt of an assault rifle.
"Aldo Vega won't wait until morning, Boss," Marco said grimly. "Once Enzo fails to check in, Vega will know the betrayal was exposed. He’ll hit us tonight."
"Let him come," Luca replied, pulling a heavy silver revolver from his desk drawer and checking the cylinder. "Vega thinks he’s attacking a wounded lion in a cage. He doesn't realize I built this house as a fortress."
Suddenly, all three security monitors went black simultaneously.
The lights inside the mansion flickered once, twice, and died, plunging the vast estate into pitch-black darkness.
Outside, the muffled pop of suppressed rifle fire echoed through the courtyard as Vega’s strike team breached the outer security gates.
"Backup generator line was cut!" Marco hissed, turning on a tactical flashlight. "They have night vision gear!"
"Get Elena and Mia into the panic room beneath the wine cellar!" Luca commanded, turning his wheelchair toward the hallway. "Now!"
Marco sprinted down the corridor toward the servants' quarters while Luca navigated the darkened halls using memory and muscle power.
Shouts and gunfire erupted in the grand foyer downstairs as Moretti loyalists engaged the invading mercenaries. Bullets shattered glass chandeliers, sending sparkling shards raining down like deadly hail.
Luca reached the top of the grand staircase, aiming his revolver into the gloom below. Through the flashes of muzzle fire, he saw six heavily armed men in black tactical gear advancing up the stairs.
A voice called out from the dark below—a smooth, mocking voice Luca recognized immediately: Aldo Vega.
"Luca!" Vega laughed, his footsteps crunching on broken glass. "You should have stayed in your wheelchair and taken the pension Enzo offered you! Now I have to finish what my sniper started three years ago!"
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Luca didn't answer with words. He raised his revolver, fired three precise shots through the dark, dropping the lead mercenary instantly.
"He's at the top of the stairs!" Vega roared. "Flank him!"
