Chapter 10 - The Bloodstained Ledger
The subterranean panic room was reinforced with six inches of solid titanium plate, impenetrable to anything short of a direct mortar strike.
Daniel Thorne stood by the master surveillance console, his knuckles bruised, watching feeds from thirty different security cameras across the estate.
"The breach at the west gate has been contained, Boss," Daniel reported without looking up.
"Six Sterling operatives neutralized, two captured alive in the staff quarters."
"And Marcus Vance?" Luca asked, gently setting Lauren down on a plush leather sofa before turning toward his head of security.
"Vance swallowed a cyanide capsule before my men could tackle him," Daniel said grimly.
"Classic Sterling syndicate protocol."
"They don't leave loose ends."
"They didn't leave a living witness, but they left something better," Luca said coldly.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew the hard drive he had ripped straight out of Marcus Vance's desk before securing the room.
"This drive contains the entire mirrored database of every communication between the Bellini family and Viktor Sterling over the last three years."
Lauren sat quietly on the sofa, pulling the edge of her blanket over her bandaged leg.
She looked up as Luca walked over to her, his fierce expression softening slightly as his gaze met hers.
"You saved my life back in that hallway," Lauren said softly, her voice barely audible above the hum of the air filtration system.
"You shouldn't have been out of bed," Luca replied, though there was no heat in his words.
"You risked your life for Hannah."
"And you risked your life for everyone in this house tonight, Lauren."
Luca sat down on the edge of the sofa, resting his large, calloused hand over hers.
"When this is all over—when Sterling and the Bellinis are permanently stripped of their power—you will never have to worry about rent, or hospital bills, or working another day in your life unless you choose to."
Lauren looked into his dark, intense eyes, feeling a strange, terrifying warmth bloom in her chest.
"I don't want a handout, Mr. Moretti," she whispered, a faint smile touching her lips.
"I just want to finish my shift."
Luca let out a rare, low chuckle—a rich, genuine sound that chased away the shadows of the bunker.
"Your shift, Lauren Mitchell, has officially evolved into something far more dangerous than managing an antique cradle."
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He stood up, looking over at Daniel, who was already keying coordinates into the communications array.
"Prepare the strike teams," Luca's voice dropped back into the cold, lethal register of a mafia boss preparing for war.
