Chapter 5 - The Shadow War
While peace settled over the interior of the Moretti estate, a storm was brewing in the dark underbelly of Manhattan.
Deep inside an underground warehouse in Brooklyn, Marco Rossi slammed his fist against a steel table, shattering a glass of whiskey.
“What do you mean the old man failed?!” Rossi roared at his terrified lieutenant. “Vincent had direct access to his wine! It was foolproof!”
“It wasn't foolproof, boss,” the lieutenant stammered, sweating profusely under Rossi’s furious glare. “Moretti didn't die. Someone intervened at the last second. They say... they say a little girl saved him.”
“A little girl?” Rossi snarled, his face twisting in disbelief. “A child outsmarted us? Find out who she is. Find out who she belongs to. If Moretti is weak enough to care about someone, we will use them to tear his empire apart piece by piece.”
Little did Marco Rossi know, Adrian Moretti was already several steps ahead of him.
Back at the Sands Point estate, Adrian stood in his private command center behind the study. Monitored screens displayed every camera angle around the property, as well as intercepted communications from the Rossi syndicate.
Standing beside him was Frank, the head of his private security detail.
“They’re mobilizing, boss,” Frank reported, handing Adrian a encrypted tablet. “The Rossi family is planning an assault on our shipping docks in Queens tomorrow night, thinking we’re distracted by the internal betrayal.”
Adrian took the tablet, his eyes scanning the tactical maps with cold, laser precision. For three years, he had operated with a cold, detached efficiency, caring little whether he lived or died. But now, something inside him had shifted. He had a reason to protect his home. He had a family living under his roof—even if it was just a housekeeper and her brave little girl.
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“Let them come to the docks,” Adrian said, his voice dropping into a deadly whisper. “Set a trap. I want every single one of their warehouses hit simultaneously at midnight. Leave no survivors, and make sure Marco Rossi knows that anyone who threatens my household answers directly to me.”
“Understood, boss,” Frank said, a grim smile touching his lips. The old, ruthless Adrian Moretti was back—and this time, he had a vengeance that could not be stopped.
