Chapter 7 - The Gathering Storm At The Gates
Before Simona could process the seismic shock of his confession, the heavy oak doors of the master bedroom flew open without a knock. Salvatore Moretti strode into the room, his face pale, his silver hair slightly disheveled—a rare sign of panic for a man who managed empires of violence. "Don Gabriel," Moretti said urgently, stopping ten paces from the bed. "We have a situation at the outer perimeter. Dante Rossi’s enforcers have breached the north gate. They are moving up the access road in three armored vehicles." Gabriel’s entire demeanor shifted in a fraction of a second. The vulnerable, confessing man vanished, replaced instantly by the cold, calculating pakhan of the Moretti-Gabriel syndicate. The air in the room grew heavy with the scent of impending war. "How many men?" Gabriel asked, his voice dropping an octave into absolute ice. "At least twenty," Moretti replied, pulling a heavy tactical tablet from his coat and tapping the screen. "They tracked the medical transport from Fiumicino. They know you are recovering from surgery, and they are moving to finish what they started in Milan." Simona’s heart leaped into her throat. Downstairs. Marco and Chiara were downstairs in the east wing. "My son," she gasped, scrambling out of the armchair. "My son is in this villa! You have to get us out of here—" "Quiet, Simona," Gabriel ordered, his voice ringing with absolute authority as he threw back the heavy blankets and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Gabriel, you just had major abdominal surgery!" Simona protested, rushing toward him as he winced sharply, his hand pressing against his fresh stitches as a dark stain of crimson slowly bloomed across the white gauze of his bandage. "If you stand up, you'll tear your stitches open and bleed out!" "I am not going to die today," Gabriel said through gritted teeth, gripping the mahogany bedpost as he forced himself to stand to his full, towering height. He looked at Moretti with eyes like shards of broken glass. "Activate the security lockdown on the east wing. Secure the safe room in the basement. Move Simona, her sister, and the boy down immediately." "And you, Don?" Moretti asked, his jaw tightening. Gabriel reached into a hidden holster beneath his tailored wool trousers and pulled out a sleek, suppressed Beretta 9mm, checking the magazine with a sharp, metallic click. "I am going downstairs to remind Dante Rossi why his father taught him never to step foot in my house."
