Chapter 10 - The Vault Beneath BellanoteThe restaurant held the family's darkest secret
We returned to Bellanote after midnight.
Dante brought six men.
Matteo brought three.
Lucia stayed with Sophia in a secured apartment nearby.
My mother refused to leave my side.
The hidden vault was beneath the restaurant kitchen.
The crescent pendant fit into a brass slot disguised inside the old oven.
The wall opened.
Inside was a narrow staircase.
We descended.
Cold air crawled across my skin.
The vault was circular.
Shelves covered every wall.
Documents.
Jewelry.
Passports.
Bank ledgers.
Photographs.
Names.
Entire lives reduced to paper.
Dante walked to the center.
"Find the ledger."
We searched.
I found it.
A black book wrapped in oilcloth.
I opened it.
Every page was filled with names.
Politicians.
Judges.
Cops.
Business owners.
And Russo family members.
Then I saw one name circled in red.
DANTE RUSSO.
I looked at him.
He took the book.
His face changed as he read.
"What?"
He flipped several pages.
Then stopped.
"This isn't possible."
"What?"
"My father transferred ownership of everything."
"To who?"
He showed me the final page.
The beneficiary line was blank.
Except for a handwritten note.
THE HEIR MUST BE CHOSEN BY THE WOMAN OF THE CRESCENT.
I touched my necklace.
"Me?"
"No."
Dante looked at me.
"Your mother."
A sound echoed from the stairwell.
Footsteps.
Everyone raised their weapons.
Tony appeared at the top.
He didn't look frightened.
He looked amused.
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Dante aimed his gun.
"Why?"
Tony descended.
"I spent twenty years waiting."
"For what?"
"For the Russo family to destroy itself."
Matteo stepped forward.
"You're working for the woman in the photograph."
Tony smiled.
"She was my employer."
"Was?"
Tony's smile disappeared.
"Now she's my prisoner."
Dante's eyes narrowed.
"Where is she?"
"Close."
Tony looked at me.
"Your mother was never the target."
He pointed at my necklace.
"You were."
I stepped backward.
"Why?"
"Because she was the only person who knew what you really are."
"What am I?"
Tony laughed.
"You are the second heir."
Dante went still.
"The second heir?"
Tony nodded.
"Your father created two bloodlines."
"Why?"
"To ensure one survived."
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
She whispered:
"I'm sorry."
Tony pulled out a remote.
The vault doors slammed shut.
A timer appeared on the wall.
04:59.
Dante stared at him.
"Tony."
Tony backed away.
"This family was built on secrets."
He smiled.
"Tonight, you all get to die with them."
The timer hit 04:30.
Dante turned toward the door.
"Everyone move."
I grabbed the ledger.
Matteo searched for an exit.
My mother screamed:
"Elina!"
I looked back.
Tony had vanished.
And someone inside the vault had begun bleeding.
It was Dante.
May you like
A thin line of red appeared beneath his shirt.
Then he collapsed.
Related Stories
