Chapter 5 - The War Beneath the City
The old Mercer theater looked abandoned.
Broken windows.
Chained doors.
Dust.
Darkness.
But beneath it was an underground complex.
Security cameras covered every entrance.
Matteo had prepared for war.
Damiano entered first.
I stayed behind the second team.
Emma remained at the mansion.
I hated leaving her.
But Damiano insisted.
“She's safer with the entire security division.”
I nodded.
He kissed her forehead before we left.
She held his face.
“Come back.”
“I promise.”
“Bring Mama.”
“I will.”
We entered the underground level.
Gunfire erupted immediately.
The peace alliance responded.
For hours, the city beneath the city became a battlefield.
But Damiano refused to retreat.
We found Elliot in a control room.
He was holding a folder.
“You're late.”
Damiano approached.
“You betrayed my family.”
Elliot smiled.
“No.”
“I'll ask once.”
“You've already lost.”
He pressed a button.
Every monitor displayed Emma.
Live footage.
She was in the mansion.
Someone had accessed the security system.
My heart stopped.
“No.”
Damiano turned toward me.
Rafael shouted through the radio.
“Boss!”
“What?”
“They're inside the mansion.”
Damiano looked at Elliot.
“You used my own cameras.”
“No.”
Elliot smiled.
“Matteo did.”
Damiano raised his weapon.
“Where is he?”
“Behind you.”
A voice came from the doorway.
Matteo.
He held no weapon.
He didn't need one.
“Damiano.”
Damiano turned.
Matteo looked at me.
“You finally understand.”
“What?”
“Your daughter's value.”
“She is not a possession.”
“To you.”
Matteo smiled.
“But to the law, she is an inheritance holder.”
He handed Elliot a document.
“The trust transfers control if Damiano dies.”
Damiano's eyes narrowed.
“You planned this.”
“For years.”
“Why?”
“Because your father should never have chosen you.”
Damiano's face tightened.
“He chose me because I was his son.”
“No.”
Matteo shook his head.
“He chose you because he knew you could be manipulated.”
Silence.
“Your mother betrayed your father.”
I stared.
“What?”
Matteo looked at me.
“She fell in love with Grace Vale.”
My heart stopped.
“My mother loved your family?”
“Yes.”
“And your father found out.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“He killed her.”
Damiano went still.
“You killed my mother?”
Matteo smiled.
“I arranged it.”
Damiano moved.
Gunfire exploded.
Matteo's men opened fire.
Damiano dragged me behind a concrete wall.
“Stay down.”
“I won't.”
“You will.”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“You told Emma you were coming back.”
He stared at me.
Then nodded.
“Fine.”
We moved together.
For the first time, I wasn't a woman being protected by the Mafia boss.
I was fighting beside the father of my child.
We reached the command room.
Matteo escaped.
Elliot was captured.
His files revealed the final plan.
Emma was supposed to be kidnapped the next morning.
The peace agreement would be blamed on rival families.
The dons would attack each other.
Damiano would be killed.
The inheritance would be transferred.
And Matteo would control everything.
We returned to the mansion.
Emma ran into Damiano's arms.
He lifted her.
“I knew you'd come back.”
“I promised.”
She touched his cheek.
“You're bleeding.”
He smiled.
“So are you.”
She frowned.
“Mama?”
I hugged her.
“I’m okay.”
She looked between us.
“Did you win?”
Damiano glanced at me.
“Not yet.”
Emma hugged him tighter.
“I think you did.”
For the first time, Damiano smiled without fear.
But outside the mansion, a black SUV stopped.
Matteo had one last move.
The driver stepped out.
A child sat beside him.
A photograph was sent to Damiano's phone.
The boy was young.
Terrified.
And the caption read:
SOPHIA'S BROTHER.
May you like
Damiano's expression changed.
The war wasn't over.
