Chapter 4 - SECRETS OF THE FIVE FAMILIES
The silence inside the subterranean vault was suffocating.
Adrian stood completely motionless. His breath hitched in his chest as his eyes traced the ink lines written by Elena's father eleven years ago.
August 14, 2015. Tonight, Anthony Moretti was poisoned during the summit at the harbor. It was not a heart attack as the doctors claimed. The poison was administered by his closest lieutenant—Marco Vance—on the direct order of the Russian syndicate leader, Nikolai Volkov.
"My father..." Adrian murmured, his hands gripping the metal edge of the safety box until his knuckles turned white. "My father thought Marco was his brother."
"And my father knew," Elena wept softly, touching Adrian's arm. "He found out three days after your father died. But Volkov threatened to murder me—I was fourteen years old—if my father ever spoke the truth."
"So your father kept the secret," Adrian said, his voice dropping into a horrifying quiet tone. "He wrote everything down, hid the evidence, and waited eleven years until he knew I was strong enough to protect you."
He pulled the encrypted USB drive out of the box and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
"The USB drive contains the original audio recordings from the harbor summit," Elena said, reading the marginal notes in the journal. "My father bugged the VIP suite. Volkov's voice is on that tape confirming the hit."
Suddenly, the heavy bronze door of the vault room swung shut with a loud metallic crash!
The lights went dark!
"Adrian!" Elena gasped in the total pitch-blackness!
A cold voice echoed through the ventilation grates above them.
"How touching," Marco's voice sneered over the intercom speaker. "The young lord finally learns how his father died."
Adrian drew his pistol, pulling Elena behind a row of steel deposit boxes. "Marco. You brought Volkov's men into my city."
"Volkov pays better than your father ever did, Adrian!" Marco laughed dryly. "Your father was weak. He wanted peace with the unions. He wanted clean shipping ports. Volkov understands that real money is made in the dark."
Metal boots clattered on the iron catwalks directly above the vault ceiling.
"You're locked inside a vault built six feet beneath the subway line, Adrian," Marco added coldly. "In ten minutes, my men will drop tear gas through the ventilation shafts. Hand over the USB drive, and I'll make sure Elena dies quickly."
Adrian looked up at the steel vent grate. He saw the gleam of a gas canister being fitted into the ductwork.
"Elena," Adrian whispered, leaning close to her ear. "Do you trust me?"
May you like
She looked into his dark, blazing eyes in the shadows. "Yes."
"Hold your breath when I tell you," Adrian said. "Because we aren't going out through the door."
