Chapter 5 - The Snake in the Garden
The silence in the study hung like a drawn blade.
Vittorio Moretti stepped further into the room, his hand tightening around his whiskey glass until his knuckles turned white. His eyes flicked from Luca’s emotionless face down to the six-year-old child held safely in his nephew’s arms.
“Alessandra’s... daughter?” Vittorio stammered, his polished, elder-statesman composure cracking at the edges. “Luca, what nonsense is this? Alessandra died twelve years ago! You know this! We buried her!”
“We buried an empty box, Uncle,” Luca corrected smoothly, his voice dangerously soft as he walked over to the armchair and placed Emily down gently. “Leo, take Emily back to her room.”
Leo, who had been waiting in the shadows of the hallway, stepped into the room immediately. He held out his large, calloused hand to Emily.
The little girl looked at Luca, who gave her a reassuring nod. She took Leo’s hand and walked quietly out of the study, the heavy door clicking shut behind them.
Now, only the two men remained in the room.
Luca stepped around his mahogany desk, reaching down to open the bottom drawer. He pulled out two items: the tarnished brass key and Alessandra’s opened diary. He placed them side-by-side on the polished wood.
Vittorio stared at the diary, his breathing growing shallow and rapid.
“She kept a record, Vittorio,” Luca said, sitting back in his high-backed leather chair, steepling his fingers. “Twelve years of dates, times, financial transfers... and names. Do you know whose name appears on page fourteen, dated August 12th, twelve years ago?”
Vittorio didn't answer. He couldn't.
“It lists a offshore account in the Cayman Islands,” Luca continued, his dark eyes burning into his uncle’s soul. “A transfer of three million dollars from Julian Vance to Vittorio Moretti... paid six hours after Alessandra’s car was run off the coastal road.”
Vittorio dropped his whiskey glass.
CRASH!
The heavy crystal shattered against the floorboards, amber liquid soaking into the oriental rug.
Vittorio took a step back toward the door, his face twisting from fake concern into a ugly mask of desperate greed.
“She was going to ruin everything, Luca!” Vittorio hissed, dropping all pretense of innocence, his voice raspy and frantic. “Your father was old and soft! He wanted to make peace with the Vance syndicate by giving them our shipping docks! I made a deal with Julian to preserve our family’s strength! Alessandra found out about the deal, and she was going to tell your father!”
“So you sold your own niece to a monster?” Luca roared, rising from his chair like a demon breaking free of its chains!
“I didn't know he was going to lock her up for twelve years!” Vittorio yelled back defensively, pulling a small snub-nosed revolver from his inner coat pocket! “Julian was supposed to send her to Europe! But he became obsessed with her!”
Vittorio raised the gun, pointing it at Luca’s chest with shaking hands!
“Don't make me do this, Luca!” Vittorio wept hysterically. “Give me the diary! Hand over the kid to Julian, and we can keep the peace! If you start a war with the Vance family, our entire syndicate will be destroyed!”
Luca didn't flinch. He didn't even raise his hands. He looked at the gun pointed at his heart, then looked up into his uncle’s eyes with utter contempt.
“You think I care about the syndicate, Vittorio?” Luca whispered, stepping straight toward the barrel of the gun. “I am the Don of this family. And my first duty is to protect my blood.”
Before Vittorio could pull the trigger—
THWIP!
A suppressed shot echoed from the dark corner of the room.
A bullet slammed into Vittorio’s right shoulder! He shrieked in pain, dropping his gun as he fell to his knees on the ruined rug, clutching his bleeding arm!
Dante, Luca’s chief of security, stepped out from behind the velvet curtains, holding a silenced pistol.
Luca walked over to his fallen uncle, kicking the snub-nosed revolver far across the room. He reached down, grabbing Vittorio by his hair, pulling his face up until their eyes met.
“You aren't going to die tonight, Uncle,” Luca hissed into his ear. “Dying is too easy. You are going to sit in our deepest vault, and you are going to watch me tear Julian Vance’s empire to dust.”
Luca nodded to Dante. “Take him away. Lock him in the sub-basement. No food, no light, only water.”
“With pleasure, Don Luca,” Dante gritted out, dragging the screaming, bleeding traitor out of the room.
May you like
Luca stood alone in the study, breathing heavily. He picked up Alessandra’s diary, holding it tight against his chest.
The internal traitor had been eliminated. Now, it was time to destroy the monster who had stolen his sister’s life.
