Chapter 12 - The Grand Gala Ambush
Luca didn't flinch.
He carefully placed his mother’s letter and the charter back into the rosewood box, handed it to me, and whispered:
“Stay behind the clock, Emma.”
“Luca, there are too many of them!” I pleaded, clutching the heavy box to my chest.
Luca pulled two fresh magazines from his tactical vest, clicking them into his pistols with a cold, terrifying smile.
“They’re in my mother’s house, Emma. They’ve already made their fatal mistake.”
Luca stepped out onto the mezzanine landing.
“Silvio!” Luca’s voice boomed through the manor like rolling thunder.
Silvio aimed his weapon up at the staircase. “Drop your guns, Moretti! We have twenty men surrounding the perimeter!”
“Check your radios, Silvio,” Luca said calmly.
Silvio frowned, pressing his earpiece.
Static hissed through the speaker. Then, a voice came over the channel:
“Silvio Bellini, this is Commander Harrison of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Captain Miller of the Chicago Police Department. Drop your weapons immediately. The house is surrounded by fifty federal tactical officers.”
Silvio’s face twisted in horror. “What? You brought the feds into family business?”
Daniel walked out onto the landing beside Luca, holding his tablet high.
“Emma transmitted the entire decrypted ledger to the Department of Justice thirty minutes ago,” Daniel announced triumphantly. “Every offshore account, every bribe, every murder contract the Bellinis signed for twenty years has just been made public record.”
Red laser sights painted the walls, windows, and Silvio’s chest through the shattered front doors.
“Drop your weapons!” tactical officers shouted as flashbangs detonated in the front courtyard.
Silvio’s men threw their weapons down, raising their hands in surrender.
Silvio cursed violently, attempting to raise his gun toward Luca, but a single sniper shot shattered the weapon in his hand, sending him sprawling across the marble floor.
Within minutes, federal agents swarmed the manor, securing the perimeter and cuffing Silvio and his surviving mercenaries.
Luca walked down the grand staircase, unhurried, commanding the room with absolute authority.
An FBI Special Agent in a dark suit walked up to him, showing his badge.
“Don Moretti.”
“Agent Harrison,” Luca replied, shaking the man’s hand firmly. “The evidence drive is with my Chief Auditor, Ms. Reed. Every document has been forensically authenticated.”
Agent Harrison looked toward me, nodding with immense respect.
“Ms. Reed, the Justice Department owes you a debt of gratitude. You’ve just dismantled the largest criminal enterprise in the Midwest.”
May you like
I smiled softly, holding the rosewood box securely.
“Just doing my job, Agent Harrison.”
