CHAPTER ONE
1557 Words
The Night Everything Changed
The first thing Elias Moretti noticed was the rain.
It had been falling for almost three hours.
Not the gentle kind that made people want to stay in bed with a cup of coffee.
This rain was violent.
It slammed against the windows of the small restaurant like it was trying to break inside.
Elias stood behind the counter, staring through the glass doors at the empty street.
The clock above the kitchen read 11:47 p.m.
He sighed.
His uncle was late.
Again.
“Where the hell is he?”
Elias picked up his phone for the fifth time.
No missed calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
He dialed his uncle's number.
The phone rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then it went straight to voicemail.
Elias frowned.
His uncle, Marco, never ignored his calls.
Especially not this late.
He tried again.
Nothing.
A strange feeling settled in his stomach.
He looked around the restaurant.
The chairs had already been placed upside down on the tables. The kitchen was clean, the lights were dimmed, and the cash register was locked.
He should have gone home thirty minutes ago.
But Marco had told him to wait.
"I'll be back before midnight."
Those had been his exact words.
Elias rubbed his tired eyes.
“Where are you?”
A loud crack of thunder shook the building.
He flinched.
Then
BANG!
Elias jumped.
Something had hit the back door.
His heart immediately began beating faster.
He stared toward the kitchen.
Silence.
Another BANG.
He slowly stepped away from the counter.
“Uncle Marco?”
No answer.
He reached beneath the counter and grabbed the only thing he could find.
A wooden rolling pin.
It wasn't exactly a weapon, but it was better than nothing.
Elias walked carefully toward the back door.
His footsteps sounded unusually loud in the empty restaurant.
He stopped.
The handle moved.
Once.
Twice.
Someone was trying to open it.
Elias tightened his grip on the rolling pin.
“Who's there?”
Nothing.
Then the door suddenly swung open.
Elias raised the rolling pin.
“Don't—”
He stopped.
A man stumbled inside.
Blood covered the front of his shirt.
“Uncle!”
Elias dropped the rolling pin and rushed toward him.
Marco collapsed against his nephew.
Elias caught him before he hit the floor.
“What happened?”
Marco was breathing heavily.
His face was pale.
His right hand pressed against his stomach.
“Lock... the door.”
“What?”
“Elias...” Marco grabbed his arm. “Lock the door!”
Something in his voice made Elias obey.
He kicked the door shut and locked it.
Then he rushed back.
“Who did this to you?”
Marco didn't answer.
“Uncle!”
Marco looked toward the windows.
Fear flashed across his face.
Real fear.
Elias had never seen that expression on him before.
His uncle had always been the strongest person he knew.
Even when things went wrong, Marco never panicked.
But now...
He looked terrified.
“They found me,” Marco whispered.
“Who found you?”
Marco reached into his coat.
His hand trembled as he pulled out a small black envelope.
He pushed it into Elias's hand.
“Take this.”
Elias stared at it.
“What is it?”
“Don't open it here.”
“Why?”
“Because they're watching.”
Elias's blood ran cold.
“Who?”
Marco grabbed his wrist.
“Listen to me carefully.”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
“If I don't make it through tonight, you have to leave.”
“Stop talking like that. I'm calling an ambulance.”
“No!”
Marco's sudden shout made Elias freeze.
“Don't call anyone.”
“Why?”
“Because you don't know who you can trust.”
Elias stared at him.
His uncle's breathing became weaker.
“Go to Adrian.”
Elias blinked.
“Who?”
“Adrian De Luca.”
The name meant nothing to Elias.
“Who is Adrian De Luca?”
Marco's expression changed.
For the first time, Elias saw something that looked almost like regret.
“You were never supposed to know his name.”
A loud sound came from outside.
A car.
Then another.
Headlights appeared through the rain.
Three black vehicles stopped across the street.
Elias looked through the window.
His stomach dropped.
Men were getting out.
All dressed in black.
“Uncle...”
Marco pushed him away.
“Go!”
“What?”
“Back door. Now!”
“But you—”
“Elias!”
The desperation in his voice broke something inside Elias.
He ran.
He grabbed the envelope and shoved it into his jacket.
Then he stopped.
“I can't leave you.”
Marco looked at him.
“I'm already dead.”
“No.”
“Go!”
Elias's eyes filled with tears.
He turned and ran toward the back door.
But before he could reach it—
CRASH!
The front window shattered.
Elias screamed and ducked behind the counter.
Glass flew across the floor.
Marco pushed himself upright.
“Run!”
Elias didn't wait this time.
He opened the back door and ran into the alley.
The rain immediately soaked through his clothes.
He didn't care.
He ran.
He didn't know where he was going.
He didn't know who was chasing him.
He only knew one thing.
His uncle was in danger.
And somehow, his quiet life had just become a nightmare.
---
Elias ran for almost ten minutes before stopping beneath the roof of an abandoned building.
His lungs burned.
His clothes were completely soaked.
He looked behind him.
Nobody.
For a moment, he thought he had escaped.
Then his phone rang.
Elias nearly dropped it.
Unknown Number.
He stared at the screen.
The phone continued ringing.
He answered.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice came through.
Deep.
Cold.
“You have something that belongs to me.”
Elias froze.
“Who is this?”
“You know exactly what I'm talking about.”
“I don't know you.”
“You will.”
The call ended.
Elias stared at the phone.
Then he heard footsteps.
Slow footsteps.
Coming from the end of the alley.
He turned.
A tall man stood beneath the rain.
Black suit.
Black coat.
An umbrella in one hand.
His face was partially hidden by the darkness.
Two other men stood behind him.
Elias stepped backward.
“Stay away from me.”
The stranger didn't move.
“Elias Moretti?”
Elias's heart stopped.
“How do you know my name?”
The man stepped closer.
“We've been looking for you.”
“Who are you?”
The man reached into his coat.
Elias immediately stepped back.
But instead of a weapon, he pulled out a photograph.
He held it toward Elias.
Elias looked at it.
His entire body went still.
It was a photograph of his uncle.
Standing beside a younger man.
A man Elias had never seen before.
But there was something strange about him.
The younger man looked terrifying even in a photograph.
His eyes were cold.
His expression emotionless.
“Who is that?” Elias asked.
The stranger lowered the photograph.
“Adrian De Luca.”
Elias remembered his uncle's final words.
Go to Adrian.
His heart began pounding again.
“You know him?”
The stranger gave him a hard look.
“Everyone in this city knows him.”
Elias swallowed.
“Where is my uncle?”
The man's silence was enough.
Elias's face changed.
“No.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No.”
He stepped backward.
“He was alive when I left.”
The man didn't answer.
Elias shook his head.
“You're lying.”
“He was shot.”
Elias's knees almost gave out.
“No...”
“He died twelve minutes ago.”
The world seemed to stop.
The rain continued falling.
Cars moved somewhere beyond the alley.
But Elias heard none of it.
His uncle was dead.
The man who had raised him.
The man who had protected him.
Gone.
Elias looked down at the black envelope hidden inside his jacket.
“What was inside this?”
The stranger's eyes immediately shifted toward his jacket.
“Give it to me.”
Elias stepped back.
“No.”
The man's expression hardened.
“You don't understand what you're carrying.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because if Adrian finds out you have it, he will come for you himself.”
Elias stared at him.
“And why should I be afraid of him?”
The man gave a humorless smile.
“You should be afraid of everyone.”
A gunshot suddenly echoed through the alley.
BANG!
The stranger dropped to the ground.
Elias screamed.
The two men behind him pulled out their guns.
“Run!”
Elias ran without looking back.
He didn't know where he was going.
He didn't know who was shooting.
He didn't know why everyone seemed to want him.
But as he disappeared into the darkness, one thought remained in his mind.
Adrian De Luca.
The name his uncle had whispered before dying.
The name of the most dangerous man in Italy.
And somehow...
Elias knew their paths were about to cross.
Very soon.
To be continued...
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