Chapter 4 - Blood in the Dark
The revelation hit Enzo harder than any bullet could have.
He stumbled backward against the damp tunnel wall, clutching his bleeding ribs.
He muttered that he had buried Marco with his own two hands.
Beatrice calmly checked the magazine in Leo’s pistol before sliding it into her waistband.
She tied a strip of cloth tightly around her bleeding forearm.
She told Enzo that men like them rarely stay buried if there is power to be gained.
Enzo shook his head, refusing to accept that his own flesh and blood would slaughter his men.
Beatrice grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to focus.
She reminded him that standing in a dark tunnel mourning a traitor would only get them both killed.
They had to reach the end of the passage and get off the estate immediately.
They left the bodies behind, moving swiftly toward the exit hidden in the lakeside cliffs.
The air grew colder and smelled of fresh water and algae.
They pushed through a heavy iron grate covered in ivy, stepping out into the freezing night air.
The estate above them was illuminated by floodlights and burning vehicles.
Police sirens wailed in the distance, growing louder by the second.
Beatrice pointed toward a small utility boat hidden under a wooden dock.
They climbed in quietly, Beatrice hotwiring the engine in less than twenty seconds.
The boat glided away from the shore just as armed men swarmed the cliffs behind them.
Enzo sat in the back, gripping his side as the cold wind whipped across his face.
He looked at the imposing woman steering the boat through the dark water.
He realized she was his only chance of surviving the night.
He asked her where they were going.
Beatrice did not look back, keeping her eyes scanning the dark horizon.
She said they needed a place that didn't exist on any map.
Enzo nodded, giving her directions to an old, undocumented safehouse in the industrial district.
They abandoned the boat a mile down the shore and stole a rusted sedan from a diner parking lot.
An hour later, they pulled into an abandoned warehouse on the edge of the city.
The safehouse was hidden behind a false wall in an old mechanic's garage.
Inside, the room was dusty but stocked with medical supplies and weapons.
Enzo collapsed onto a cot, his adrenaline finally fading.
Beatrice began cleaning his wound, pouring harsh antiseptic over his ribs.
The room was completely silent, isolated from the rest of the world.
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Then, the rotary phone on the desk suddenly began to ring.
Enzo and Beatrice stared at it, knowing the line had been physically disconnected for years.
