Chapter 8 - The Hostages
Aleandro spun around, aiming his rifle toward a large window made of thick, bulletproof glass at the back of the basement.
The lights flipped on behind the glass, illuminating a separate, sealed observation room.
Vincenzo Caruso stood there, leaning heavily on a gold-headed cane and smiling wickedly.
But Vincenzo was not alone in the room.
Tommy, the traitorous security chief, stood beside him holding a gun to Rosa's head.
Mia was clinging to her mother's leg, crying silently in terror.
"How did you find them?" Aleandro roared, slamming his fist against the bulletproof glass.
"Tommy never turned off the secondary tracker in the girl's shoe," Vincenzo laughed.
"He used the phone call to lure you here while my men went to the warehouse to collect my wayward niece."
Aleandro realized Tommy had played them all for absolute fools.
Marco leaned heavily against the concrete wall, clutching his bleeding shoulder.
"Let the woman and the child go, Vincenzo," Aleandro demanded.
"You have me now, the war is over."
Vincenzo shook his head, his eyes burning with years of bitter hatred.
"The war doesn't end until your entire bloodline is erased from this earth," Vincenzo spat.
Vincenzo pressed a red button on a control panel near the glass.
Heavy metal grates in the floor of Aleandro's basement room suddenly slid open.
Ice-cold water began pouring into the room at a terrifying speed.
"You and your friend are going to drown down there, Romano," Vincenzo gloated.
"And then I am going to legally adopt my sweet little niece and take total control of this city."
The water quickly rose to Aleandro's ankles, freezing and relentless.
He aimed his rifle and emptied an entire magazine into the bulletproof glass.
The glass spider-webbed, but it did not shatter.
Rosa placed her hands against the glass, her tears mixing with the condensation on the window.
She mouthed the words "Save her" to Aleandro.
May you like
Vincenzo turned to Tommy and nodded toward Rosa.
"Shoot the mother," Vincenzo ordered coldly. "I only need the child alive."
