Chapter 6 - THE TRAITOR'S VOICE
I picked up the secure satellite phone on the bunker's console and dialed a number I knew by heart. It rang twice before it was answered.
"Lorenzo," Carlo's voice came through, smooth and dripping with false concern. "My boy, I just heard the police scanner. There's a disturbance at your estate. Are you secure?"
The sheer audacity of his lie made my grip on the phone tighten until the plastic creaked. "I'm perfectly fine, Uncle. Just a minor pest problem. Some rats tried to get into the house."
A slight pause on the other end. "Rats can be dangerous if cornered. I'll send my personal security team to assist you."
"That won't be necessary. The rats are dead," I lied smoothly. "But it seems they were looking for something. Or someone. A maid of mine. Funny thing, she claims to have been at the safehouse the night my father died."
The silence that followed was deafening. I could hear his rapid breathing over the line.
"Lorenzo, you must be careful," Carlo finally said, his voice dropping an octave, losing its warmth. "People say crazy things to get close to power."
"She had my father's pendant, Carlo."
"I see." The pretense was over. "You were always too sentimental, Lorenzo. It’s a weakness. Your father had it, and now you have it. That woman is a ghost, and ghosts only bring death."
"The only one bringing death tonight is me, Uncle," I said, my voice a deadly whisper. "Look out your window."
Before the attack on my mansion, I had initiated protocol 'Viper'—a standing order for my sleeper agents to surround the properties of my top lieutenants in case of a coup. Carlo's heavily fortified penthouse in the city was currently painted with the laser sights of six sniper rifles.
"You wouldn't dare," Carlo hissed. "Half the syndicate is loyal to me. You kill me, and you start a civil war."
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"I am the syndicate," I replied. "And I don't start wars. I end them."
I hung up the phone. The board was set. It was time to clear the board.
