Chapter 4 - The Fortress of Thorns
By midnight, the blizzard outside had turned into a raging vortex, matching the storm brewing within the Ravenna syndicate. Twelve of Luca's highest-ranking captains sat around the long obsidian table in the basement war room.
"The Romanos think they have an advantage," Luca announced, standing at the head of the table. He threw a photograph of Silvio Romano onto the center of the glass. "They don't know I have the girls. They think Elena is their only bargaining chip."
"Boss," one of his older captains, Dominic, spoke up. "If we launch a full assault on the Romano territory during a blizzard of this magnitude, we risk exposing our logistics. The police are locked down, but so are we."
"I don't care about logistics, Dominic," Luca said, his voice dropping an octave. "They have Elena. They targeted my children. There is no negotiation. There is only elimination."
Luca turned to Marco. "Where is Silvio hiding her?"
"Our lookouts spotted an unusual amount of security at the abandoned meatpacking plant near the Union Stock Yards," Marco replied, pulling up a digital map on the monitors. "It's a Romano stronghold. Heavily fortified, thermal cameras, and at least thirty armed guards. Because of the weather, they aren't expecting a synchronized strike."
"Good," Luca said. "We split into three teams. Dominic, you take the rear exit. Marco, you're with me on the main breach. We don't leave a soul alive except Silvio. I want him breathing until he tells me exactly where Don Marcello is hiding."
Before Luca could leave the war room, Arthur, the butler, stepped in with a tablet. "Sir, there's a secure transmission coming through on the private line. It’s routed through an encrypted server in Italy."
Luca took the tablet. The screen flickered, revealing the weathered, wrinkled face of Matteo, sitting in a sunlit villa in Sicily.
"Luca," the old man said, his voice dripping with false grandfatherly affection. "I hear there's a storm in Chicago."
"Matteo," Luca said, his tone dangerously smooth. "You look well for a dead man walking."
Matteo chuckled darkly. "I did what was best for the Ravenna family, Luca. Your father built an empire. You were going to ruin it over a nurse and two bastards. A king cannot have weaknesses. If you had known you could have an heir, you would have softened. You would have made peace."
"You lied to me. You stole five years from my daughters."
"And look what it made you," Matteo countered, leaning closer to the camera. "The most feared man in America. But it seems Silvio Romano found out about your little family before I could properly dispose of them. If you want the girl back, you will cede the Chicago ports to the Romanos by dawn. If you don't, Silvio will send her back to you piece by piece."
May you like
Luca leaned in, his gray eyes flashing like lightning. "Matteo, enjoy the sun in Sicily tonight. Because tomorrow, my men will find you, and you will learn exactly what happens when you try to clip a wolf’s claws."
Luca smashed the tablet against the edge of the table, shattering it into pieces. He locked his weapon into his holster. "Move out."
