Chapter 7 - The Viper Unmasked
The ballroom exploded into frantic whispers.
Bianca stepped forward, her champagne glass trembling in her gloved hand. "You're lying! She's a nobody! She's a disgraced nurse whose husband died in a ditch!"
"My husband died exposing your family's corruption, Bianca," I said, my voice steady, carrying over the crowd with absolute authority. "And tonight, the evidence he gathered has finally been delivered to the Federal Prosecutor in Rome."
Before Bianca could scream another insult, the massive double doors of the ballroom slammed open.
Twenty officers from the Italian Anti-Mafia Directorate flooded the room, led by a high-ranking magistrate holding a stack of federal arrest warrants.
"Don Lucchesi! Bianca Lucchesi!" the magistrate announced loudly. "You are under arrest for treason, corporate sabotage, and complicity in the murder of Julian Vance!"
Chaos erupted.
Lucchesi tried to turn toward the side exit, but Mateo’s security team blocked the doors instantly. Federal agents swarmed the head table, forcing Lucchesi and his screaming daughter to their knees, snapping steel cuffs over their wrists.
As Bianca was dragged past us, her eyes locked onto mine, burning with tears of defeat and fury. "You took everything from me!" she shrieked.
"You took peace from my daughter," I replied softly, watching her get pulled out into the night. "I just returned the favor."
Mateo turned to me, his dark eyes glowing with quiet pride. He took my hand, lifting it to his lips and pressing a soft kiss against my knuckles in front of every powerful family in Italy.
"You played that perfectly, mia regina," he murmured.
"I had a good teacher," I smiled.
Suddenly, Mateo’s phone buzzed violently in his inner pocket. He pulled it out, answering it on speaker.
"Boss!" Gabriel’s panicked voice echoed over the line. "We have a situation at the safehouse!"
Mateo’s smile vanished in an instant. "Report, Gabriel!"
"It was a diversion!" Gabriel shouted over the sound of heavy engine roars in the background. "Silvio’s remaining mercenaries attacked the estate while the main guard was at Como! They took out the perimeter guards!"
My blood ran instantly cold. My knees buckled.
"Lily..." I choked out, grabbing Mateo’s lapels. "MATEO, LILY!"
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"Is she safe?!" Mateo roared into the phone.
"They took her, boss!" Gabriel cried out. "Silvio managed to escape his cell during the breach! He took the girl!"
