Chapter 5 - Unmasking the Serpent
By 5:00 AM, the storm had finally cleared, leaving the sky over Chicago a bruised shade of purple and slate grey.
In the subterranean holding cell of the Romano estate, Enzo Romano sat strapped to a heavy iron chair, his shoulder wrapped in medical gauze. Gabriele stood before him, shadowed by Marco, while Federica sat at a small folding table near the door, typing into her laptop to verify every piece of information Enzo spilled.
Enzo was broken. The terror of facing Gabriele’s wrath had shattered his arrogance completely.
"It wasn't just me!" Enzo sobbed, blood crusting on his lip. "I couldn't have pulled this off alone! I didn't have access to the maritime shipping schedules to move Sterling’s weapons into the city!"
Gabriele stepped closer, his shadow falling over his cousin. "Who else, Enzo?"
Enzo looked up, his eyes wide with fear. "Vincent. Vincent Moretti. He’s been in league with Sterling for two years! They were splitting the dock kickbacks! When Matteo found out about the offshore discrepancies eight months ago, Vincent panicked and paid Sterling’s crew to tamper with Matteo’s brakes!"
Federica’s fingers stopped on the keyboard. She looked up, her heart aching as she saw the sheer, agonizing pain that flashed across Gabriele’s face.
Matteo hadn't died in an accident. His own family—the men he broke bread with—had murdered him.
"And tonight?" Gabriele asked softly, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Vincent realized Federica was doing a deep-level audit of the dock accounts," Enzo stammered. "He knew she was going to find the missing seventy million dollars within a week. So he told Sterling to grab Leo to distract you, and rerouted Federica’s car into the same tunnel so Sterling’s men could execute her and make it look like collateral damage!"
Federica felt a cold chill run down her spine. The rerouted car... it hadn't just been bad luck. She was meant to die in those dark tunnels beneath Chicago.
Gabriele slowly turned toward the door. The rage radiating from him was terrifying, a silent, suffocating heat that filled the concrete cell.
"Where is Vincent now?" Gabriele asked.
"He... he left the boardroom during the firefight upstairs," Marco reported grimly, looking at his security tablet. "He used the service elevator to reach the underground garage. He’s gone."
"He isn't gone far," Federica spoke up, her voice steadying as she looked at her screen. "Vincent’s private financial accounts just initiated an automated clearance protocol at the Port of Chicago, Terminal 4. He has a panamanian-flagged cargo vessel docked there. It leaves at 6:30 AM."
Gabriele walked over to Federica's table. He reached down and gently covered her hand with his large palm.
"You saved us again," he murmured, looking into her eyes with an intensity that made her breath catch.
"Finish it, Gabriele," she whispered, her eyes shining with quiet strength. "For Matteo. For Leo. For both of us."
Gabriele nodded once. He turned to Marco. "Get the cars. We go to Terminal 4."
"I'm coming with you," Federica said, standing up from her chair.
Gabriele frowned, his instinct to keep her hidden and safe flaring immediately. "No, Federica. It’s too dangerous—"
"Vincent has encrypted the port access gates with a military-grade firewall," she interrupted, raising her chin stubbornly. "If you try to blow the gates open with explosives, the port automated system will initiate an emergency lockdown, locking you out and giving his ship time to slip into international waters. You need me to bypass the system electronically from your mobile tactical unit."
Gabriele stared at her. She was standing in front of the head of the most feared mafia family in the Midwest, bruised, exhausted, and wearing his oversized sweater, demanding to march into a gunfight because she knew her mind was an indispensable weapon.
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A deep, ferocious pride swelled in Gabriele’s chest.
"Marco," Gabriele commanded, never taking his eyes off Federica. "Bring her a bulletproof vest. She stays in the armored command vehicle right beside me."
