Chapter 5 - The Confession of Blood
The gunfight in the west wing lasted less than three minutes. Rocco’s estate was not merely a home; it was a fortress designed by men who had waged urban warfare for half a century.
Dante and Team One swept in from the flanking corridors, catching Marco’s remaining operatives in a deadly crossfire. The suppressed weapons spat rhythmic, controlled bursts that silenced the intruders one by one.
When the smoke cleared, Marco DeLuca was on his knees near the shattered dining table, a bullet wound through his right shoulder, his weapon lying ten feet away. Valentina was crouched behind him, sobbing hysterically, her hands covered in her brother’s blood.
Rocco walked down the grand staircase, his weapon lowered at his side. He didn't have a single scratch on him. His eyes were cold, dead voids.
He stopped in front of Marco, looking down at his brother-in-law like a man looking at a cockroach on his kitchen counter.
"Where is she?" Rocco asked.
Marco spat blood onto the white marble floor, laughing through his pain. "You think you won, Rocco? You’re too late. She was taken to Blackwater Bay hours ago. The boat leaves for international waters at midnight. By morning, Clara Rossi will be at the bottom of the Atlantic, and you’ll never find the body."
Rocco didn't raise his voice. He didn't strike Marco. He simply looked over at Dante. "Bring Dr. Finch’s medical kit."
Dante returned moments later with the heavy black case.
Rocco opened it, selecting a long, clear syringe filled with succinylcholine—a paralytic used for emergency intubations. Without a word, Rocco bent down and plunged the needle directly into Marco’s uninjured shoulder, depressing the plunger completely.
Marco’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated terror. "What... what did you do to me?"
"That is a total neuromuscular blocker," Rocco said smoothly, checking his gold watch. "In approximately ninety seconds, your diaphragm will cease to function. You will remain completely conscious, fully aware of your surroundings, but unable to draw a single breath of air. You will slowly suffocate over the course of four minutes."
"Rocco! No! Please!" Valentina shrieked, crawling toward him and grabbing his trousers. "He’s my brother! I did it for us! I did it so we could have a real family without that whore’s ghost between us!"
Rocco looked down at her with pure disgust. He kicked her hand away with enough force to send her sprawling across the floor.
"You threw an infant down a trash chute into an incinerator," Rocco said, his voice flat. "You are not a woman. You are a monster."
Marco’s breathing was already beginning to hitch. His jaw slackened, his eyes rolling back as his chest muscles locked up, unable to expand. He clawed at his throat, letting out strangled wheezes.
Rocco knelt beside him, leaning in close to his ear. "Tell me the slip number at Blackwater Bay, Marco. Tell me, and I give you the reversal agent. Lie to me, and you die on this floor."
Marco’s face was turning purple. The veins in his neck stood out like thick cords. With the last ounce of voluntary motor control remaining in his body, he forced his trembling, paralyzed lips to form words.
"Slip... Slip forty-two..." Marco gasped out, the sound like dry paper scraping together. "Trawler... *The Northern Star*..."
Rocco stood up. He tossed the reversal vial to Dante. "Give him half a dose. Keep him alive long enough to watch his family lose everything."
Rocco turned to Valentina, who was curled into a ball, weeping uncontrollably. "Lock her in the sub-level cells. If she speaks, gag her. If she resists, break her fingers."
"Rocco, please!" she screamed as two guards dragged her across the blood-slick marble. "I love you! I did it for you!"
Rocco didn't even look at her. He turned toward the hallway leading to the wine cellar. "Dante. Mobilize the convoy. Every man we have. We’re going to Blackwater Bay."
"Boss," Dante said, gesturing toward the back corridor. "What about the girl? And the baby?"
May you like
Rocco paused at the threshold. For a moment, the lethal shadow over his face lifted. "Sophia stays with her mother in the vault. Post four guards at the door. If anything happens to that child, Dante... I will burn this city to ash."
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