Chapter 7 - THE NIGHT THE MORETTI FAMILY FELL
The shaking intensified.
Marco grabbed Dante's arm.
“Boss, we need to move!”
A mechanical alarm sounded overhead.
Salvatore had activated the facility's emergency lockdown system.
Smoke began pouring from the far end of the warehouse.
Dante looked toward Daniel.
“Get him out!”
Two guards rushed upstairs.
Salvatore disappeared behind a metal door.
Daniel fought against his restraints.
“Dante! Don't let him reach the control room!”
Dante ran toward the staircase.
A gunshot shattered the air.
One guard fell.
Marco returned fire.
The entire building erupted into chaos.
Outside, Sophia heard the gunfire.
She reached for the door handle.
Marco's voice came through the radio.
“Stay in the vehicle!”
She froze.
Then another voice came through.
A frightened guard.
“Marco is down! We need assistance!”
Sophia looked toward the entrance.
She could see smoke rising through the broken windows.
She knew she had promised Dante she would stay.
But she also knew Daniel was inside.
And she couldn't lose him again.
She climbed out of the vehicle.
The security guard tried to stop her.
“Ma'am, you can't go in!”
“My husband is in there!”
“Your baby—”
“Then help me get him out!”
The guard hesitated.
Finally, he followed her toward a side entrance.
Inside, Dante had reached the second floor.
Salvatore was waiting.
“You look just like your father,” his uncle said.
Dante raised his weapon.
“Where is Daniel?”
“Still alive. For now.”
“Release him.”
Salvatore smiled.
“You still think this is about money?”
He pulled a photograph from his pocket.
It showed Alessandro Moretti lying in a hospital bed.
Dante stared.
“Your father discovered the truth too late,” Salvatore continued. “He wanted to hand the entire organization to you. I couldn't allow that.”
“You killed him.”
“I gave him a choice. He chose you.”
Dante's jaw tightened.
Salvatore stepped closer.
“Your father begged me to spare you.”
Dante's eyes turned cold.
“And you didn't.”
“I spared you for seven years.”
A shot rang out.
Salvatore staggered backward.
Daniel had managed to free one hand and grabbed a fallen guard's weapon.
“Dante!” he shouted.
Dante rushed toward him.
Daniel fell against the railing.
“Where's Sophia?”
“Outside.”
“Get her away from here!”
Before Dante could answer, the warehouse lights went out.
An explosion shook the lower floor.
Dante grabbed Daniel and pulled him behind a concrete pillar.
Through the smoke, he saw a familiar figure.
Victoria.
She had entered the building.
“Mother?”
She was carrying a small metal case.
Salvatore emerged from the darkness, bleeding from his shoulder.
“You brought it?”
Victoria nodded.
“The original records.”
Dante looked at her in disbelief.
“Mother, what are you doing?”
Victoria turned toward him.
For one second, their eyes met.
Then she threw the case onto the floor.
“I'm ending this.”
Salvatore raised his gun.
“You stupid woman.”
He fired.
Victoria collapsed.
Dante rushed toward her.
Daniel shouted.
“Dante, no!”
But Dante was already beside his mother.
Blood spread across her coat.
“Stay with me.”
Victoria struggled to breathe.
“I should have told you.”
“Don't talk.”
“Your father…”
She gripped his hand.
“Your father didn't die in that hospital.”
Dante froze.
“What?”
Victoria looked toward Daniel.
“He was transferred. Salvatore told everyone he died, but I never saw a body.”
Dante felt the world tilt.
Another secret.
Another funeral.
Another empty grave.
Victoria pressed something into his palm.
A small silver key.
“Room 317,” she whispered.
Then her hand went limp.
Dante looked up.
Salvatore was gone.
The smoke thickened.
Daniel pulled him toward the exit.
“We have to go!”
They found Sophia near the side entrance.
She ran toward Daniel.
He caught her in his arms.
For a moment, neither could speak.
Then Daniel lowered his forehead against hers.
“I'm sorry.”
Sophia began to cry.
“You're alive.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I'm here.”
Dante watched them.
Then he looked down at the silver key in his hand.
Room 317.
May you like
His father might still be alive.
And somewhere in the smoke, Salvatore Moretti had disappeared again.
