Chapter 12 - The Blood Beneath the FloorCarlo collapsed against the piano.
For a heartbeat, Dante thought the man was dead.
Then Carlo groaned and clutched his shoulder.
A dark stain spread across his expensive jacket.
Silas turned toward the shooter.
Standing at the ballroom entrance was Rossi, his weapon raised.
“Drop your guns!” Rossi shouted.
Several of Dante's guards moved in behind him.
The balance shifted.
Silas's men hesitated. They had expected a weakened household, divided and distracted by the discovery of Matteo.
They had not expected Dante's security chief to turn the ballroom into a trap.
Dante rushed toward Sophie.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head and clung to his jacket.
Bruno stood beside her, breathing heavily but unharmed.
Dante pressed one hand against the dog's thick neck.
“Good boy.”
Sophie buried her face in Bruno's fur.
“He came back.”
“He always comes back.”
For the first time that night, Dante allowed himself to believe they might survive.
Then a sharp crash sounded near the ballroom entrance.
Silas had seized a fallen weapon and was forcing his way toward the service corridor.
“Stop him!” Dante shouted.
Two guards pursued him.
Rossi helped Elena to her feet, while Matteo kept Sophie behind the marble pillar.
Dante turned toward Carlo.
The older man was still conscious, his face pale with pain.
“Where's Silas going?” Dante demanded.
Carlo laughed weakly.
“Where he belongs.”
Dante crouched beside him.
“What's beneath my estate?”
Carlo's laughter stopped.
Dante leaned closer.
“The archive. The tunnels. Rafael's recording. What else did you hide?”
Carlo stared at him.
“You still think this is about documents.”
“Then explain it.”
“Your father built an empire on secrets. He believed that if he kept enough information on everyone, nobody would dare betray him.”
“And you killed him because you wanted those secrets?”
“No.”
Carlo's answer came so quickly that Dante paused.
“I killed him because he was going to destroy everything.”
“Everything you had stolen.”
“Everything he had built!”
Carlo's voice rose above the chaos.
“Your father was preparing to hand the family business to outsiders. He planned to dismantle the old alliances, sell the properties, and surrender years of work to men who would have destroyed us. I gave him a chance to reconsider.”
“And when he refused?”
Carlo looked away.
Dante's expression turned cold.
“You ordered the ambush.”
“I protected the family.”
“You murdered my father.”
“I saved the organization!”
Dante stood.
For years, he had believed his father's death had been the beginning of his burden.
Now he understood it had been the beginning of Carlo's deception.
Rossi approached.
“Boss, Silas escaped through the west corridor. We've secured the main exits, but he's heading toward the old service tunnels.”
Dante looked toward Matteo.
His brother nodded once.
“The archive.”
They moved immediately.
Dante left Carlo under guard and followed Matteo through the ballroom's side entrance. Bruno stayed with Sophie and Elena, refusing to leave them despite the noise.
The hidden tunnel stretched beneath the house, its walls slick with moisture. Red emergency lights flickered overhead.
Matteo led the way.
“He'll try to destroy the records,” he said. “If he gets there first, we'll lose the only evidence that connects him to the original murder.”
“Then we don't let him reach it.”
They descended the stone steps.
At the bottom stood the archive cabinet, its lock damaged but intact. Matteo inserted the metal key and turned it.
Inside lay several ledgers, a stack of legal documents, and a small metal box.
Dante opened the first ledger.
Names filled the pages.
Business owners.
Judges.
Police officers.
Politicians.
And beside many of those names were dates and payments.
Carlo had kept a record of every favor he had purchased and every person he had compromised.
He had not merely built a criminal empire.
He had built a map of everyone who could threaten him.
Matteo opened the metal box.
Inside lay a photograph of Dante's father, a second digital recorder, and a sealed envelope addressed to Dante.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
His father's.
Dante stared at the envelope for a long moment.
Then he opened it.
The letter contained only a few lines.
Dante, if you are reading this, then the people I trusted have already turned against us.
Do not confuse obedience with loyalty.
And never assume the most dangerous man in a room is the one holding a gun.
At the bottom was a name.
Carlo Bellini.
Dante lowered the letter.
Matteo's voice was quiet.
“He knew.”
Dante nodded.
“Our father knew.”
A distant metallic crash echoed through the tunnel.
They turned.
Silas Vane stood at the far end, holding a small device connected to a bundle of wires.
“Step away from the cabinet,” he ordered.
Dante raised his pistol.
“Put that down.”
Silas smiled.
“You really think a few old documents can destroy us?”
He lifted the device.
“This entire archive can disappear in seconds.”
Matteo moved slightly toward the wall.
Silas noticed.
“Don't.”
He pointed the weapon at Matteo.
“I already survived your father's little war. I won't lose everything because two brothers suddenly decided to play detectives.”
Dante kept his voice steady.
“You've lost already.”
“Have I?”
Silas pressed a button.
A warning light flashed on the device.
Then every light in the tunnel went dark.
May you like
From somewhere above them came the distant sound of Bruno barking.
And beneath it, Sophie screamed.
