Chapter 11 - the ledger of 54th street
Luca didn't lower the gun. He pressed it harder against Julian’s skull, forcing his younger brother’s head back.
"Uncle Vincent gave you the orders?" Luca demanded. "Vincent is dead."
"Not Vincent!" Julian choked out, tears of genuine terror spilling from his eyes. "Vincent was trying to protect her! That's why he told Claire to run to Ohio! He knew if she stayed in New York, she wouldn't survive the week!"
"Then who gave the order, Julian?" Luca’s voice was a razor blade. "Give me a name, or I pull this trigger and let Marco mop your brains off my floor."
"I don't have a name!" Julian shouted, his knees beginning to buckle. "I only have the account transfers! Every month, for six years, two hundred thousand dollars was wired into an offshore account in the Caymans. With instructions. Watch the girl. Don't touch her. Wait until Luca travels to the West Coast, then bring her to San Francisco."
Luca stared at his brother. "Why San Francisco?"
"Because the Western territory isn't yours!" Julian gasped. "If you kill people here, if a scandal breaks here, the Commission strips your voting rights in New York! It was a setup to remove you from the leadership!"
Marco stepped forward, holding a sleek tablet recovered from the body of one of the fallen mercenaries.
"Boss," Marco said, his voice grim. "I cracked their tactical comms. There’s a live encrypted audio link running to an offshore server. Someone was listening to this entire operation."
Luca didn't look away from Julian. "Is the link still active?"
"Just disconnected three seconds ago," Marco said. "Origin IP routed through a satellite uplink in Switzerland."
Luca slowly lowered his weapon.
Julian slumped against the wall, sliding down to the marble floor, gasping for breath, clutching his chest. "Luca... please. We're brothers. Same blood."
"You lost the right to call me brother the moment you pointed a gun at my daughter," Luca said coldly. He turned to Marco. "Lock him in the wine cellar. Take his phone, his watch, and his shoes. If he speaks, break his jaw."
"Understood, Boss," Marco said, grabbing Julian by the collar and dragging him down the hall like a sack of laundry.
Luca stood in the quiet penthouse. The smell of cordite hung heavy in the air.
He walked down the long corridor toward the master suite. He placed his thumb against the biometric scanner beside the reinforced closet door.
The scanner beeped green. The heavy steel door clicked open.
Claire was sitting on the floor inside, holding Lila tightly against her chest. She had a heavy bronze bookend raised in her hand like a weapon. When she saw Luca standing in the doorway, the bookend dropped onto the carpet.
Lila looked up over Claire’s shoulder. She saw Luca, unharmed, standing under the dim light.
"Did you win the game, Luca?" Lila asked softly.
May you like
Luca looked down at the little girl who carried his blood, his eyes, and his future. The coldness that had defined his life for twenty years cracked, just a fraction.
"Yes, Lila," Luca said, stepping into the room and extending his hand to help Claire up. "I won the game."
