Chapter 12 - THE SHADOW FALLS
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Arthur collapsed to his knees, his forehead pressing against the mahogany desk as he wept tears of pure, unbridled relief.
“Marco?” Luca commanded, his voice shaking with intense adrenaline as he pinned Victor to the floor with his boot.
“Report!”
“The girl is safe, boss,” Marco’s voice boomed through the speaker with absolute authority.
“We breached the east loading dock three minutes ago.”
“Dante and his four associates have been completely neutralized.”
“Lily has her inhaler, she’s wrapped in my coat, and she’s drinking hot chocolate in the back of my SUV.”
“She asked if her grandpa is coming to tuck her in tonight.”
Arthur raised his hands to the heavens, sobbing so hard his entire frail body shook violently against the floor.
“Thank God,” the old man wept, his voice cracking with pure emotion.
“Thank you, almighty God!”
Vanessa stared at the glowing phone in her hand as if it had transformed into a venomous scorpion.
Her fingers went completely limp, and the device dropped onto the carpet with a dull plastic thud.
Her eyes were wide, glassy with absolute terror as she realized her final shield of protection had evaporated into dust.
She looked at Luca, who slowly turned his gaze from the phone back toward her trembling figure.
There was no anger left in Luca’s face; there was only the cold, terrifying certainty of an executioner.
“Luca, please,” Vanessa whimpered, backing herself into the corner between the drapes and the wall.
“Victor forced me into this!”
“He threatened to kill my brother if I didn't help him steal the shipping routes!”
Victor let out a vicious snarl from beneath Luca’s boot on the floor.
“You lying whore!” Victor spat, wiping blood from his broken nose.
“You came to me in Miami with the plan to poison Lorenzo!”
“You said the old man was too weak to run the docks and Luca was an arrogant boy who could be easily blinded by pretty skirts!”
“You planned the entire heist from day one!”
The two conspirators tore into each other like starving dogs trapped in an iron cage, hurling accusations and confessions.
Every word they screamed only cemented their guilt, echoing against the portrait of the dead don watching from above.
Luca reached inside his coat pocket, pulling out his personal encrypted phone.
He pressed a single speed-dial button and held the receiver to his ear.
“Special Agent Miller,” Luca spoke clearly into the line, his voice echoing through the silent room.
“This is Luca Moretti.”
“The evidence you requested regarding the homicide of Lorenzo Moretti and the Calumet extortion ring is secured.”
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“Send your federal task force to the main gates.”
“The front doors are unlocked.”
