Chapter 3 - The Shadow of the Syndicate
The name Valerio Rossi hung in the air like toxic smoke.
Rossi was the head of the old Sicilian branch of the Chicago Syndicate—a cruel, traditionalist mob boss who had been waging a quiet, cold war against Luca’s modernizing leadership for over two years. Rossi viewed Luca’s refusal to participate in human trafficking and narcotics as a sign of weakness, and he had been seeking a way to decapitate the Moretti leadership before the upcoming council vote in December.
"Rossi used a pregnant woman as a delivery system," Marco muttered, his fists clenching at his sides. "He knew you wouldn't suspect a temporary waitress carrying a cup of coffee."
"He didn't just use her," Luca said, his voice dropping an octave into a register of sheer, lethal promise. "He threatened her child."
Luca walked back over to the couch. Elena’s eyelids were fluttering slowly now. She let out a soft, pained groan as consciousness slowly clawed its way back into her body. Her fingers immediately reached out, searching blindly for her son.
"Milo..." she rasped, her voice dry and hoarse. "Milo... where are you?"
"I'm here, Mommy! I'm right here!" Milo cried, leaning over the edge of the sofa to wrap his small arms around her neck.
Elena pulled her son close, tears spilling down her pale cheeks as she kissed the top of his head repeatedly. Then, her eyes opened fully, catching sight of the giant of a man standing at the foot of the couch.
She flinched violently, trying to pull herself back against the cushions, shielding Milo behind her slender frame.
"Please," Elena begged, her dark blue eyes wild with panic. "Please don't hurt him! I didn't want to do it! The man... the man said if I didn't put the liquid in your cup, he would make sure Milo never left his school today!"
"Calm down," Luca said gently, kneeling down beside the couch so that his towering frame was below her line of sight. "You are safe, Elena. Your son is safe. No one in this city is going to touch either of you again."
Elena stared at him in utter shock. "You... you know my name?"
"I know your name. I know you saved my life tonight," Luca said softly, his obsidian eyes fixing on her with an intensity that made her breath catch. "And I know who forced your hand."
"They're going to kill us," Elena whispered, her voice breaking as she stroked Milo’s hair. "You don't understand who those men are. They have people everywhere. The police, the hospitals..."
"They don't have people in my house," Luca replied flatly. He stood up to his full height and looked at Marco. "Prepare the armored convoy. We are taking them to the estate in Lake Forest."
Marco blinked, surprised. "The estate, Boss? You haven't brought a civilian to the main house in seven years."
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Luca looked down at Elena, seeing the terrified, beautiful resilience in her eyes—a woman who had been willing to sacrifice her own life and soul to keep her child safe.
"She isn't a civilian anymore," Luca declared, his voice echoing with absolute authority. "As of tonight, she and her children are under my personal protection. Anyone who looks at them with bad intent answers to the entire Moretti empire."
