Chapter 6 - The Sniper
The echoing crack of the sniper rifle shattered the tense silence of the pier.
A second mercenary dropped before the first one even hit the wet gravel.
Chaos erupted in the heavy rain.
Vanessa screamed, wildly aiming her pistol into the darkness.
She fired blindly, desperate to hit an unseen target.
Luca didn't waste a fraction of a second.
He dove forward, tackling his bound mother to the ground.
He shielded her fragile body with his own as bullets ricocheted off the steel containers.
Sophie reacted entirely on instinct.
She lunged toward the heavy pistol Luca had placed on the ground moments earlier.
She grabbed the cold metal grip, her fingers slipping slightly on the wet steel.
She scrambled behind a stack of wooden shipping pallets, breathing heavily as she gripped the weapon.
The third mercenary swung his assault rifle toward Sophie's hiding spot.
Before he could pull the trigger, another deafening shot rang out from the shadows above.
The mercenary collapsed instantly, his weapon clattering across the asphalt.
Vanessa was now entirely alone, completely surrounded by the unseen sniper's crosshairs.
She panicked, backing away from the blue container.
She kept her gun aimed at Luca, her hand shaking violently.
“Who is out there?” Vanessa screamed into the darkness.
“Call them off, Luca, or I swear I will kill you right now!”
Luca slowly pushed himself up from the ground, keeping his mother safely behind him.
He looked at Vanessa with a terrifyingly calm expression.
He didn't yell.
His voice was dangerously quiet.
“I didn't bring a sniper, Vanessa.”
“I thought your men disabled the security system.”
Vanessa's eyes widened as the horrifying reality set in.
If Luca hadn't brought backup, the unseen shooter belonged to a third party.
Someone else was watching them.
Someone else knew about the Blue Door.
A deep, chilling laugh echoed from the top of the shipping containers directly above them.
A spotlight suddenly clicked on, blinding everyone on the ground.
A man climbed down the metal rungs of a nearby crane and stepped into the light.
He was wearing a tailored silver suit, entirely out of place on the dirty pier.
He carried a suppressed pistol in his right hand.
Luca’s expression darkened instantly.
“Dominic,” Luca said, his voice laced with pure venom.
Dominic was the head of the rival Rossi syndicate, a man who had been trying to dismantle the Moretti family for a decade.
“Hello, Luca,” Dominic smiled, stepping closer.
“I have to thank Vanessa for being such a useful, predictable pawn.”
Vanessa stared at Dominic in utter betrayal.
“You promised me half the offshore accounts if I found the ledger!” she screamed.
Dominic laughed again, shaking his head.
“There never was a ledger, Vanessa.”
“The only thing inside that container is the proof that Luca's father murdered his own son.”
Dominic turned his gaze toward Luca.
“The commission has strict rules about family execution without a trial.”
“When I show them this skeleton, they will strip you of all your territory.”
Dominic raised his suppressed pistol, aiming it directly at Luca's head.
“But I'd rather just kill you and take the territory myself.”
Sophie watched from the shadows, her hands shaking as she aimed her stolen gun at Dominic.
She had never fired a weapon in her life.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and prepared to pull the trigger.
Suddenly, a voice rang out from the darkness that made everyone freeze.
“Drop the gun, Dominic.”
It was Mrs. Moretti.
She had managed to stand up, her hands still bound.
May you like
And she was staring directly at Dominic with a look of absolute, terrifying authority.
“Or I will tell them what happened in this container fifteen years ago.”
