Chapter 8 - The Gala Trap
Aunt Camilla did not look like a woman who had just been caught.
She looked like a spider watching a fly land perfectly in her web.
Santiago instantly realized something was terribly wrong.
He grabbed Ruby and Sophia’s hands, trying to pull them back toward the exit doors.
The heavy oak doors of the ballroom slammed shut with a deafening thud.
A dozen armed men in tailored suits stepped out from behind the velvet curtains, blocking every single exit.
The elegant guests in the room began to panic, screaming and backing away from the armed guards.
Aunt Camilla tapped the microphone on the stage, the sharp feedback silencing the terrified crowd.
"Please remain calm, my esteemed guests," Camilla's voice echoed through the massive room.
"We are simply detaining a traitor to the Moretti family."
She pointed a manicured finger directly at Santiago.
"My nephew has gone insane," she lied smoothly to the syndicate bosses in the audience.
"He murdered his own father, and now he has brought the daughter of the rival Falcone family here to kill me."
The crowd gasped, turning their hostile glares toward Santiago and Ruby.
Camilla had masterfully spun the narrative to make Santiago the villain before he could even speak.
"Arrest them," Camilla ordered her loyal guards.
The men raised their weapons, advancing slowly on Santiago’s position.
Santiago shielded Ruby and Sophia behind his broad shoulders.
He drew his pistol, but he knew he could not shoot his way out of a crowded ballroom without causing a massacre.
"You are a liar, Camilla!" Santiago roared over the murmuring crowd.
"Sophia saw you and Tomas murder our father!"
Camilla laughed a cold, dismissive laugh.
"The poor girl hasn't spoken a word in seven years, Santiago."
"Nobody is going to believe a mute child and a Falcone spy over me."
Suddenly, Sophia stepped out from behind Santiago.
She did not look scared anymore.
She walked bravely toward the center of the room, her green dress swishing against the marble floor.
Ruby followed closely beside her, raising her hands to translate.
"Sophia has something to say to all of you," Ruby announced loudly and clearly.
Sophia raised her hands and began to sign with fierce, undeniable confidence.
Ruby’s voice rang out, translating every single motion with perfect precision.
"I saw my aunt Camilla put the poison in my father's whiskey glass," Ruby translated for the silent room.
"I saw Tomas drag his body into the burning car."
"And I saw the snake ring on her finger when she threatened to cut my tongue out if I ever told anyone."
The syndicate bosses in the room began to murmur nervously, looking at Camilla's hands.
Camilla’s face turned bright red with fury.
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"Shoot them all right now!" Camilla screamed, losing her composed facade.
Before the guards could pull their triggers, a massive explosion rocked the hotel lobby just outside the ballroom doors.
