Chapter 5 - The Rising Threat
The second-floor storage annex was cold, smelling of cedarwood, old linen, and dust.
Armed with a tactical flashlight, Luca and Marco moved through the maze of antique armoires, covered furniture boxes, and clothing racks.
“Look here, Boss,” Marco called out softly, shining his light against the dark wainscoting near the baseboard behind a heavy velvet drapery rack.
A loose wooden floor panel had been pried open slightly, revealing a small, dark cavity cut into the subfloor.
Luca knelt down, sliding his fingers into the crevice, and pulled out a small, heavy black ledger and a burner smartphone wrapped in a plastic zip-lock bag.
He popped the phone’s SIM card out and slid the ledger open under the beam of Marco’s flashlight.
The pages were filled with meticulous, handwritten notes. Names of staff members, their schedules, their families, their vulnerabilities. And near the back, a series of financial wire receipts bearing the letterhead of a shell corporation registered in Delaware—a known front company for the Moretti syndicate.
Luca’s thumb paused on the final page.
There was a fresh note written in Sophia’s sharp handwriting, dated just two days prior:
“Primary target secured. The girl is isolated. Moving to phase two on Saturday night during the staff rotation.”
Luca’s breath hitched.
Saturday night. Tomorrow night.
They weren't just planning corporate espionage or pearl theft. They were planning a hit on the estate, using the domestic staff schedules Sophia had provided to bypass the outer sensors.
And right in the path of the coming storm were Elena and three-year-old Mia living in the isolated west wing cottage.
A cold, blinding fury surged through Luca’s veins—a rage so absolute it made his vision narrow to a pinpoint.
“Marco,” Luca commanded, his voice dropping into the tone of an executioner.
“Boss?”
“Double the perimeter guards on the west wing. Install biometric locks on the cottage doors immediately. And bring every tactical enforcer we have back from the city by dawn.”
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“You think they’re coming for the house?”
“They’re coming for whatever they think will break me,” Luca stated, standing up and sliding the ledger into his coat pocket. “And nobody touches anyone on this property. Not while I’m breathing.”
