Chapter 3 - The Ghost from the Past
Inside the subterranean safe room, banks of computer monitors flickered with live camera feeds from every corner of the estate. My heart hammered against my ribs as I watched the screens.
Adrian was no longer in the library. He had wheeled himself out into the central courtyard, drawing the remaining attackers away from the hidden passages. Armed with a submachine gun mounted to his custom chair and sheer, unadulterated fury, he was systematically dismantling the assault team.
But then, the feed shifted to the front gates.
A sleek black limousine pulled through the shattered iron entrance, and a man stepped out into the pouring rain. Even through the grainy night-vision camera, I recognized him instantly.
Vincenzo Rossi.
The man who had betrayed my father. The man who had orchestrated the massacre nineteen years ago and seized control of the Romano empire.
Vincenzo walked unhurriedly toward the courtyard, a sadistic smile twisting his scarred face. He held a cane with a silver wolf-head handle—my father’s cane, stolen the night he died.
"Well, well, well," Vincenzo’s voice boomed through the estate’s intercom system, echoing off the stone walls. "The great Adrian Moretti, crippled and cornered like a dog. You think because you built this fortress you can hide the Romano girl forever?"
On the monitor, Adrian sat motionless in his wheelchair in the center of the courtyard, rain soaking his dark hair and expensive suit. He didn't flinch. He didn't show an ounce of fear.
"You're late, Vincenzo," Adrian’s voice echoed back, calm, icy, and dripping with venom. "I've been waiting twenty years to finish this conversation."
"You think you can protect her?" Vincenzo laughed, stepping closer. "She's a liability, Adrian! Just like her father. Hand her and the brat over, and maybe I’ll let you die quickly."
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"You never understood why your brother betrayed you, did you?" Adrian said softly, his hand resting casually on his lap, right above a concealed detonator switch wired to the estate’s perimeter security grid. "Gabriel didn't die because he was weak. He died because he had honor. Something you traded away for a crown of ash."
Vincenzo’s face twisted with rage. He raised his pistol, aiming directly at Adrian’s chest. "End of the line, boy."
