Chapter 8 - The Crossfire
The revelation hit Luca like a physical blow to his chest, stopping him completely in the dark tunnel.
Marcus was not the true mastermind behind this elaborate, deadly betrayal.
The spider tattoo belonged exclusively to the personal elite guards of his estranged Uncle Vincent.
Vincent had supposedly retired to Sicily five years ago, officially handing the empire over to Luca.
Luca realized that this entire night was a highly orchestrated coup designed to take back the Romano throne.
The echoing sounds of heavy combat boots forced them to keep running toward the subway platform.
They burst out of the tunnel just as a massive, graffiti-covered cargo train roared past them on the tracks.
Dozens of Uncle Vincent’s heavily armed enforcers swarmed the platform, completely blocking the main exit stairs.
A brutal, chaotic firefight erupted in the underground station, bullets shattering the ceramic tiles on the walls.
Luca pushed Mila and her sister securely behind a thick concrete pillar, returning precision fire to thin the enemy ranks.
He realized they were completely pinned down and heavily outgunned by Vincent’s elite death squad.
Mila looked around desperately, spotting an old, rusted maintenance hatch leading down to the sewer system.
She grabbed a heavy metal pipe from the ground and pried the heavy hatch open with all her remaining strength.
She yelled for her sister to climb down into the dark, terrible-smelling water below.
Luca provided heavy covering fire, taking a grazing bullet to his left arm as he backed toward the open hatch.
He dropped down into the dark sewer just as a grenade detonated violently on the platform above them.
The shockwave collapsed the entrance to the hatch, sealing them safely beneath the subway station.
They waded through the freezing, waist-deep water in complete darkness for over a mile.
Mila tore a piece of her ruined shirt and tightly bandaged Luca’s bleeding arm.
He looked at her, his eyes filled with a profound, undeniable respect that had nothing to do with her administrative skills.
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He promised her that he was going to end this war tonight by cutting the head completely off the snake.
They finally emerged from the sewers through a grate that opened directly onto the vast, manicured lawns of the Romano family estate.
