Chapter 16 - The Siege
The massive glass windows of the study rattled violently as the FBI helicopter hovered directly over the Caruso estate. Bright, blinding searchlights swept across the manicured lawns.
"Nicholas, please!" Claire begged, reaching out to him. "Vance moved the timeline up! He wants a firefight. If your men shoot back, the tactical teams will kill everyone in this house!"
Nicholas stared at her with cold, dead eyes. He walked past her without saying a single word, grabbed his handgun from the desk, and stormed out into the hallway.
Claire chased after him, her heart hammering in her chest.
"Stand down!" Nicholas roared into his radio as he ran toward the grand staircase. "All Caruso security personnel, drop your weapons immediately! Do not engage the federal agents! That is a direct order!"
Down in the foyer, heavily armored SWAT teams were already using a battering ram to smash through the front doors. Wood splintered and glass shattered everywhere.
Evelyn Caruso stepped out of the drawing room, looking completely unbothered by the heavily armed men flooding her home.
"What an absolute mess," Evelyn sighed, crossing her arms.
"Mom, get on the ground!" Nicholas yelled, running down the stairs.
A dozen laser sights instantly painted Nicholas's chest in bright red dots.
"Drop the weapon, Caruso!" a voice bellowed over a megaphone.
Nicholas immediately dropped his handgun and raised his hands high in the air. He was doing exactly what Claire had asked him to do. He was surrendering peacefully to save his family.
Agent Vance walked proudly through the shattered front doors. He was a tall, arrogant man wearing a tactical vest over a cheap suit. He looked at Nicholas with a cruel, victorious smirk.
"Nicholas Caruso, you are under arrest for racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy to commit murder," Vance announced loudly.
Vance’s eyes scanned the room and locked onto Claire, who was standing paralyzed on the staircase.
"Ah, Agent Donnelly," Vance smiled wickedly. "Excellent undercover work. You played him perfectly. We have the ledgers, the audio, and the property. We have enough to put him away for three consecutive lifetimes."
Nicholas looked up at Claire, his jaw clenched tightly. The betrayal in his eyes cut deeper than any knife Roberto had ever used.
"You got what you wanted, Agent," Nicholas said to Claire, his voice devoid of all emotion.
Vance stepped closer to Nicholas, lowering his voice so only the people in the foyer could hear.
"Actually, Mr. Caruso, you aren't going to make it to the precinct tonight," Vance whispered with a sinister grin. "The Moretti family sends their regards. They paid me a fortune to ensure you tried to resist arrest."
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Vance slowly raised his own service weapon, aiming it directly at Nicholas's head. The surrounding SWAT team members did not react. Claire realized in a flash of pure horror that Vance's entire tactical team was corrupt.
They weren't here to arrest Nicholas. They were a federal hit squad paid by a rival mafia family.
