Chapter 12 - The Ghost of the South RoadWithin seconds, Gabriel had patched the encrypted live feed from the Tuscan estate onto my private wall monitor.
The high-definition camera showed the sunlit rolling hills of Tuscany, the sprawling vineyards, and the high stone perimeter walls of our safehouse. Everything looked peaceful. The gardeners were trimming hedges near the fountain, and the security detail stood at their respective posts.
“See, boss?” Gabriel said, leaning over the console. “Everything’s quiet. The kid’s just playing imagination games.”
“Sophia doesn’t play imagination games with security details, Gabriel,” I said sharply, my eyes glued to the screen. “Zoom in on camera four. The southern access road.”
Gabriel tapped the keyboard, shifting the feed.
Camera four focused on a dense grove of olive trees lining the winding dirt road about half a mile from the estate gates. Parked half-hidden beneath the shade of the branches was a matte-black sedan with no license plates. Two figures sat inside, their faces obscured by dark sunglasses and tinted glass, staring directly toward the villa through high-powered binoculars.
Gabriel’s face went pale. “Son of a bitch. How long have they been sitting there?”
“Long enough to map the shift changes,” I said coldly. “Those aren't petty thugs, Gabriel. Those are professional syndicate hitmen sent by the remnants of the Calderon loyalists who think they can finish what Victor started.”
“We have an armed reaction team twenty minutes out from Florence, but—”
“Twenty minutes is too long,” I cut him off, grabbing my custom shoulder holster and slipping it over my suit jacket. “Get my private chopper prepped on the roof pad. We’re flying to Italy right now.”
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“Boss, it’s suicide to walk into an unverified zone without tactical backup!”
“Sophia is sitting in the crosshairs of men who want to tear down everything I've rebuilt,” I said, locking my eyes onto Gabriel’s. “And if a five-year-old girl can spot an ambush from three hundred miles away through a crayon, the least I can do is show up to finish the fight.”
