Chapter 16 - The Father's Final Gambit
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I walked into the center of the room, keeping my pistol trained directly on his chest.
“It’s over, Vittorio,” I said, my voice echoing off the marble walls. “The estate is surrounded by Interpol. Your accounts are frozen. Your guards are down.”
Vittorio chuckled softly, leaning back in his leather chair. “Interpol? You brought police to solve a family matter? How disappointing. Your mother always said you lacked the stomach for real blood.”
“My mother is spending the rest of her life in a federal prison,” I replied, stepping closer until only the glass desk separated us. “And you’re going to the cell right next to hers.”
Vittorio’s smile slowly faded, replaced by a cold, sharp glint in his eyes.
“You think you’ve won because you have a wife and a child?” he hissed quietly. “You think that little girl makes you strong? She is your greatest vulnerability, Adrian! The moment you let sentiment into your life, you became weak!”
He reached slowly toward a small red button beneath the rim of his desk.
“If I press this,” Vittorio smirked, “the fuel lines beneath the dock will ignite. The boat carrying your sweet Grace will vanish in a ball of flame before your Interpol friends can even reach the shore.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't flinch.
I didn't lower my gun.
Instead, I let out a calm, quiet sigh.
“You always assumed everyone around you was an idiot, father,” I said gently. “You thought my mother was too foolish, Sophia was too crazy, and I was too emotional.”
I pulled a small black device from my pocket and set it on the glass desk between us.
It was the remote detonator from the dock’s fuel lines—already disarmed, its wires completely cut.
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“Grace found the charge ten minutes ago,” I smiled. “She restored art for five years before I met her, Vittorio. She knows how to find hidden seams in wood and metal better than any of your high-priced engineers.”
Vittorio stared at the disarmed detonator, his face finally draining of color.
