Chapter 18 - The Ultimate Betrayal
The blast shook the reinforced walls of the panic room, sending a cloud of concrete dust swirling into the air. The keypad sparked and died, leaving the massive steel door hanging half-open on its twisted hinges.
Through the smoke stepped a man wearing an unmarked tactical vest, holding a suppressed assault rifle. But behind him stepped someone far more dangerous—a woman in a tailored black suit who had clearly found a way to bypass the federal penitentiary walls through high-level political corruption and bribed wardens.
Valentina Moretti smiled, her eyes gleaming with cold triumph as she looked down at Leo and Sophia.
"Well, well," Valentina purred, stepping into the ruined panic room. "Look at the little stray maid and the precious heir, cornered like rats."
Sophia stepped protectively in front of Leo, her eyes blazing with fury. "You broke out of a maximum-security federal prison just to commit suicide?"
"I didn't break out, my dear," Valentina laughed softly. "When you control the judiciary, doors open themselves. And now, this entire estate belongs to the true owners once again."
She raised a small, encrypted detonator toward the central security console. "One push of this button, and the entire mainframe goes up in flames, taking every record of the Moretti syndicate with it—along with everyone inside."
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Leo didn't panic. He looked directly into Valentina’s eyes, echoing the exact cold, unyielding tone of his father. "You think my father didn't anticipate every single move you made?"
Valentina’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second. "What are you talking about?"
