Chapter 6 - THE GHOST AWAKENS
The silence in the cellar was heavier than the stone walls.
Isabella fell to her knees, her hands trembling as she stared at the dead man.
“Domenico,” she whispered, as if speaking to the devil himself.
Domenico Moretti took a slow sip of his scotch. He looked older, frail, a massive scar running down the left side of his neck where Victor’s bullet had missed his heart fifteen years ago. But his eyes—the same dark, calculating eyes as Luca’s—were as sharp as ever.
“You look just like your uncle Victor,” Domenico rasped. “Too ambitious for your own good, and too stupid to realize when you’re walking into a trap.”
Luca groaned, pushing himself up to a seated position against the wall. Mia kept her hands firmly pressed against his bleeding shoulder. She looked from Luca to the old man, her mind spinning.
“You knew?” Mia asked Luca, her voice trembling. “You knew he was alive?”
“I found out a week ago,” Luca panted. “Elias came to me. Told me Isabella and Victor were planning the hit. We needed them to play their hand tonight so we could wipe them out at once.”
Domenico stood up, leaning heavily on a silver-tipped cane. He walked out of the vault, his heavy shoes echoing on the floor. He didn’t look at Isabella. He walked straight past her, toward Mia.
He looked down at the waitress whose apron was now stained with his son’s blood.
“You kept the rosary,” the old man said softly.
Mia swallowed hard, nodding. “You told me to keep quiet.”
“And you did. You survived. You raised a beautiful boy.” Domenico looked over at Leo, who was staring at the old man with wide, tearful eyes. Domenico gestured to Elias. “Cut the boy loose.”
Elias pulled a knife and sliced the ropes binding Leo. The second he was free, Leo ran across the room and buried his face in Mia’s chest. Mia wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his hair, sobbing with relief.
“I’m sorry, Mommy,” Leo cried. “I was scared.”
“I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe,” she rocked him fiercely.
Luca watched them, a strange warmth spreading through his chest despite the burning pain in his shoulder. For years, he had been surrounded by women who wanted his money, his power, his name. But looking at Mia—fierce, loyal, holding her son like he was the only treasure in the world—Luca knew what he actually wanted.
“Kill them, Elias,” Domenico said casually, turning his back on Isabella.
Isabella snapped out of her shock. Before Elias could raise the shotgun, she lunged toward the canvas bag containing Victor’s head. She reached inside and pulled out a hidden flashbang grenade.
“Burn in hell, old man!” she screamed, pulling the pin and throwing it.
“Cover your eyes!” Luca yelled, dragging Mia and Leo down beneath his coat.
A blinding white flash erupted, followed by a concussive boom that shook the dust from the ceiling. Ears ringing, Luca fought to open his eyes. Smoke filled the cellar.
When the smoke cleared, Isabella was gone.
And so was the heavy black ledger that had been resting on the table near the vault door.
“She took the book,” Elias growled, rubbing his eyes.
Domenico’s face hardened. “That book contains the bank accounts, the political bribes, the names of every corrupt judge in the state. If she leaks that to the feds, the Moretti family is finished.”
Luca forced himself to stand, swaying slightly. He ripped the sleeve of his shirt and tied a crude tourniquet around his bleeding shoulder.
“She won’t leak it,” Luca said, picking up his gun. “She’s going to use it to buy her way out of the country on the midnight cargo ship.”
Mia stood up, holding Leo’s hand tightly. “Let her go, Luca. You have your father back. The empire is safe.”
Luca looked at Mia. He stepped close to her, his good hand gently wiping a smear of soot from her cheek.
“The empire means nothing to me anymore,” Luca said softly. “But she tried to kill my wife.”
Mia’s breath hitched. “I’m not your wife.”
Luca pulled a heavy gold signet ring off his right hand. He pressed it into Mia’s palm.
May you like
“Wait for me,” he whispered.
Before Mia could speak, Luca turned and ran into the dark tunnel, hunting the bride.
