Chapter 7 - The Ghost of the Past
Lucia Russo stood in the crumbling ruins of the wine cellar, looking exactly as she had nine years ago.
Damian’s gun slipped from his fingers, clattering loudly onto the dusty stone floor.
"Mom?" Damian whispered, his voice cracking with a vulnerability he had not shown since he was a child.
Salvatore stepped out from the tunnel, his eyes wide, his hands shaking violently.
"Lucia," Salvatore gasped, falling to his knees in sheer shock.
Lucia did not smile, nor did she run to embrace her family.
Her face was as cold and hardened as marble.
"Get up, Salvatore," Lucia commanded, her voice devoid of any warmth.
"We have exactly four minutes before the local police arrive to investigate the explosion."
Elena stood frozen, her mind struggling to process the impossible reality unfolding in front of her.
The woman who was supposedly murdered nine years ago had just saved their lives with military-grade explosives.
"You have been alive this whole time?" Damian asked, anger slowly replacing his shock.
"I mourned you every single day for a decade."
"You let Dad waste away from grief."
Lucia walked forward, her tactical boots crunching over the broken wine bottles and debris.
"It was the only way to protect you both," Lucia stated flatly.
"Carlo tried to kill me, but I survived the ambush."
"I knew if I came back, he would just keep coming after you and your father to get to me."
"So I let him believe he won."
She grabbed Damian’s arm, examining his bullet wound with practiced, clinical efficiency.
"I spent the last nine years dismantling Carlo's overseas operations from the shadows," Lucia explained.
"I forced him into a desperate corner tonight, knowing he would attack the estate."
Damian pulled his arm away from her roughly.
"You used us as bait?" Damian growled, his dark eyes flashing with fury.
"You let Uncle Carlo storm our home so you could finally trap him?"
"I did what was necessary to secure the family legacy," Lucia replied without a hint of remorse.
She turned her sharp, calculating gaze toward Elena.
"And who is the secretary holding a weapon?" Lucia asked, narrowing her eyes.
"She is the only reason we are alive," Salvatore defended Elena instantly.
"She is family now."
Lucia let out a dry, humorless laugh that echoed in the damp cellar.
"In this business, Salvatore, the people you trust are always the ones who pull the trigger," Lucia warned.
She pulled a sleek satellite phone from her tactical vest and handed it to Damian.
"My extraction boat is waiting at the bottom of the cliffs," Lucia instructed.
"Take your father and the girl, and get out of the country until I clean up this mess."
Damian took the phone, looking at the woman who was a total stranger wearing his mother's face.
"I am not running from my own city," Damian refused.
Before Lucia could argue, the satellite phone in Damian's hand began to ring violently.
Damian answered it, pressing the speaker to his ear.
May you like
A voice on the other end spoke a single sentence that made Damian's blood run completely cold.
"Damian," the voice hissed, "if your mother leaves that cellar alive, I will detonate the bomb strapped to your father's chest."
