Chapter 9 - betrayal in the shadows
The deafening roar of automatic gunfire erupted across the front lawn of the Moretti estate. Glass shattered in the grand foyer as heavy rounds tore through the wooden entry doors.
Victor didn't panic. He grabbed Celeste by her collar, yanked her off the sofa, and shoved her into Marco’s arms.
"Take her to the lower security cellar," Victor barked. "Lock her with Marcus!"
"What about you, Boss?" Marco asked, drawing his sidearm.
"I'm getting my daughters," Victor said firmly.
Victor sprinted up the grand marble staircase, stepping over fallen plaster as bullets whipped through the high windows. He kicked open the door to Ellie’s bedroom.
Ellie was huddled under her bed, clutching her pale-lavender cardigan and crying silently.
Victor reached down, pulled her out, and scooped her into his broad arms. "I've got you, baby. You're safe."
"Daddy, what's that noise?" Ellie sobbed into his shoulder.
"Just loud weather, sweetheart," Victor whispered softly.
He carried her down the hidden servant stairwell behind the master bedroom, moving fast toward the subterranean safe room beneath the kitchen. He opened the reinforced steel door, where Hannah and young Mia were already waiting in terror.
Victor set Ellie down beside Mia. "Hannah, lock this door from the inside. Do not open it for anyone except me or Marco."
"Don Victor, please be careful!" Hannah gasped.
Victor kissed Ellie’s forehead, then turned and looked at Mia, gently pressing his palm against her cheek. "I'll be back for both of you."
He stepped outside, slammed the steel safe room door shut, and engaged the manual deadbolts.
Victor pulled two heavy handguns from his tactical belt and walked down the dimly lit brick corridor leading toward the garage.
As he turned the corner near the utility room, he saw a figure standing by the master power breaker panel. The man was holding a wire cutter, systematically cutting the mansion's internal security feeds.
It was Marco.
Victor stopped ten feet away, raising his weapon. "Marco."
Marco froze, his hands staying on the breaker box. He slowly turned around, his face pale in the emergency red lighting.
"Don Victor..." Marco whispered.
"You're cutting the cameras," Victor said, his eyes burning with intense fury. "You were working for Sal too."
Marco slowly dropped the wire cutters to the concrete floor. "I wasn't cutting the feeds for Sal, Don Victor. I was cutting them for your brother."
From the shadows behind Marco, a tall man in a tailored grey suit stepped into the light, holding a silenced pistol.
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It was Julian Moretti.
"Hello, big brother," Julian said, a cold smile spreading across his face. "You took far too long to figure this out."
