Chapter 12 - The Falcone Ambush
|
My blood ran entirely cold. The room spun around me.
"That's a lie," I choked out, clutching Leo tighter. "My mother wouldn't do that. She wouldn't try to kill a baby! She wouldn't try to kill her own grandson!"
"She's a Falcone operative, Alina," Marco spat, stepping toward me with a murderous glare. "She stole millions from them to buy her freedom, and now she’s trying to assassinate Dante’s heir to secure a pardon from the Falcone boss. You’re a Trojan horse, and you don't even know it."
"Marco, enough," Dante roared, stepping between his brother and me. "I don't care what the chef said. Elena Valdez is dead to me. But Alina stays under my protection."
"You're thinking with your heart, brother, not your head," Marco warned, his face twisting with frustration. "The Falcones have called a parley. They want to meet tonight at the abandoned shipyard. They say they have proof of Elena's involvement. You have to go, Dante. We have to end this before they launch a full-scale assault on the estate."
Dante’s jaw clenched. He looked at me, torn between his duty as a mafia king and his desperate desire to keep his family safe.
"I will go," Dante finally said, checking his weapon. "Marco, you stay here. You lock this estate down. Nobody enters, nobody leaves. If a single hair on Alina or Leo's head is harmed while I am gone, I will take your life myself."
"You have my word," Marco said solemnly, bowing his head.
Dante turned to me, pressing a fierce, lingering kiss to my forehead. "Stay in the bunker. Do not open this door for anyone but me."
He left, the heavy steel door sealing shut behind him with a final, terrifying clank.
I sat on the cot, rocking Leo, trying to calm my racing heart. Two hours passed in agonizing silence. I watched the security monitors, praying to see Dante's armored convoy return.
Suddenly, the monitors flickered and died. Total blackness filled the screens.
The estate had lost power.
May you like
A moment later, the bunker's intercom buzzed with static.
"Alina," Marco’s voice whispered through the speaker, laced with a sinister, cruel amusement. "Dante isn't coming back. The parley was a trap. And now, I’m coming down there to finish what your mother started."
