Chapter 3 - Whispers in the Rain
Outside, the storm broke over the sprawling marble terraces of the Moretti estate, thunder rattling the reinforced glass windows. Inside, the tension was thick enough to choke on.
Elena Bellini, Sophia’s mother, knelt by the corner of the war room, wringing her hands so hard her knuckles were white. "Mr. Moretti, please," she whispered, her voice trembling. "We are just staff. We know nothing. Let me take my daughter home. We saw nothing, we heard nothing."
"You saw everything that matters, Elena," Rocco said quietly, walking over and placing a heavy hand on the terrified woman's shoulder. "And because of that, you are no longer safe here as staff. You are witnesses to a war."
Sophia clutched a small, worn wooden toy she had found in the pocket of her sweater, her eyes fixed on the doors. "They’re coming."
"Who, Sophia?" Rocco asked, dropping to one knee so he was at eye level with the eight-year-old.
"The men with the wet boots," she replied simply. "I saw three of them jump the back perimeter fence when the lights flickered. They didn't use the path. They used the drainage pipe."
Rocco’s instincts flared. The drainage pipe was a legacy blueprint feature installed during his father's era—a detail known only to true blood Morettis and the highest-ranking capos. If outsiders knew about it, someone inside the bunker had just transmitted the blueprint coordinates.
He spun around. His eyes locked onto the lead legal counsel, an older man named Vance who had served the family for thirty years. Vance’s hand was sliding slowly toward his breast pocket, where a burner phone was hidden.
"Vance," Rocco said softly.
The lawyer froze, his fingers twitching against the fabric of his suit.
"Take it out," Rocco commanded, drawing his custom nickel-plated Beretta with blinding speed and leveling it directly between the lawyer's eyes. "Slowly."
May you like
Vance smiled, a thin, greasy smirk. "It’s too late, Rocco. The perimeter is already breached. The Savino strike team is coming up the private elevator. Valentina was just the distraction. We wanted you down here in the bunker, isolated, with nowhere to run."
Before Vance could pull the phone out, a muffled explosion echoed from the upper floors. The security lights flickered, died, and emergency red backup strobes began to pulse across the concrete walls, casting long, bloody shadows.
