Chapter 6 - THE BETRAYAL
The gunfire in the courtyard slowly began to die down, replaced by the heavy, measured footsteps of Carlo's private guards stepping into the ruined foyer.
Nico held his rifle tight, but three laser sights immediately settled onto his chest from the upper balcony.
"Carlo," Nico said quietly, his eyes locked on his uncle. "Eleven years."
"Eleven years I worked as your underboss," Carlo said, stepping over the shattered marble pieces on the floor. "Eleven years I listened to a twenty-five-year-old boy give orders while I did the dirty work in the streets!"
"You helped my father fake his death," Nico realized, the pieces locking into place with sickening clarity. "You were the one who leaked our shipping routes to the Morettis eleven years ago."
"Vittorio was weak!" Carlo spat, his face twisting with long-buried rage. "He wanted to go legitimate! He wanted to take our family's money and put it into software, hotels, and legal real estate! He was going to destroy everything our grandfather built!"
Carlo walked closer, stopping ten feet away. "So I made a deal with Sofia Moretti. We used Vittorio to set up the Vanguard account—a hidden slush fund containing two hundred million dollars. But Vittorio was smarter than I thought. He knew I was going to double-cross him, so he locked the account behind that ridiculous eleven-year promise with your mother!"
"He knew you'd monitor her," Nico said, understanding everything now. "He knew that if Margaret cut her hair, it meant you were moving to claim the account."
"And now I have it," Carlo smiled triumphantly, pulling a satellite phone from his pocket. "The moment your mother cut her hair today, my bankers in Zurich received the verification code. The Vanguard ledger belongs to me now. By morning, I will control every captain from New York to Chicago."
Carlo gestured to his guards. "Take him down to the wine cellar. Bring his father out. I want Vittorio to watch his empire burn before I put a bullet in his head."
Before the guards could reach Nico, a heavy explosion ripped through the ceiling of the upper balcony.
Debris rained down as Elena Vance dropped from the ventilation shaft above, firing two heavy pistols, taking down the guards on the balcony instantly.
"Nico! Move!" Elena screamed.
Nico reacted instantly. He lunged forward, grabbing Carlo by the collar and driving his knee hard into his uncle's ribs.
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Carlo gasped in pain, dropping his pistol as Nico slammed him against the stone pillar.
"You forgot one thing, Uncle," Nico growled into Carlo's ear as alarm sirens blared across the estate. "You built a business on money. I built a business on loyalty."
