Chapter Ten: The Raven's Invitation
1072 Words
The private jet cut through the morning clouds, heading south toward Sicily.
Lorenzo sat silently beside the window.
Across from him, Isabella watched him carefully.
Since receiving the mysterious phone call, he hadn't said much.
Marco sat nearby with two armed guards.
"This could be a trap," Marco said.
Lorenzo didn't look away from the window.
"I know."
"Then why are we going?"
"Because whoever called knows something about my father."
"And if it's Rafael?"
"Then I'll deal with him."
Isabella reached across the small table and placed her hand over Lorenzo's.
He looked down at their hands.
"You don't have to come," he said.
"I know."
"Then why are you?"
She smiled.
"Because I'm your wife."
His expression softened.
"You're not afraid?"
"Terrified."
He raised an eyebrow.
"You're not showing it."
"I've had practice."
Lorenzo laughed quietly.
It was the first genuine laugh he'd had since waking from the accident.
Marco looked away with a small smile.
For a moment, everything felt normal.
Then the pilot's voice came through the speakers.
"We'll be landing in twenty minutes."
Lorenzo looked back toward Sicily.
Something about the island made his stomach tighten.
He had been here before.
He could feel it.
But he couldn't remember why.
---
They arrived at an old villa overlooking the sea.
The property belonged to the De Luca family but had been abandoned for years.
The moment Lorenzo stepped through the gates, a strange feeling washed over him.
He stopped walking.
"Have you been here before?" Isabella asked.
"I don't know."
He looked around.
The stone walls.
The olive trees.
The old fountain.
Everything seemed familiar.
Then he noticed a small wooden bench beneath an enormous tree.
He walked toward it.
A memory flashed.
He was younger.
His father sat beside him.
"Lorenzo, one day everything I built will belong to you."
Young Lorenzo laughed.
"I don't want it."
His father smiled.
"You will."
Another flash.
His father's expression suddenly became serious.
"But never trust your uncle."
Lorenzo's eyes opened wide.
"Uncle Vittorio."
Isabella stepped closer.
"What?"
"My father warned me about him."
Marco immediately became alert.
"Are you sure?"
Lorenzo nodded.
"I remember his voice."
Marco looked troubled.
"We need to investigate."
Before they could move, the villa's lights suddenly switched on.
A voice came through the speakers.
"Welcome home, Lorenzo."
Everyone raised their weapons.
Lorenzo stepped forward.
"The Raven."
A distorted laugh echoed through the villa.
"You finally came."
"Show yourself."
"Not yet."
A large screen descended from the ceiling.
A video began playing.
Lorenzo's father appeared.
He was alive.
But the footage was clearly recorded years ago.
Lorenzo stared at the screen.
His father was sitting behind a desk.
"If you're watching this, Lorenzo, I'm probably dead."
Isabella covered her mouth.
Lorenzo remained completely still.
His father's voice continued.
"There are people inside our family who want this empire."
The video showed several documents.
Bank accounts.
Property deeds.
Names.
One name stood out.
Vittorio De Luca.
Lorenzo's breathing stopped.
His uncle.
His father's brother.
The video continued.
"Vittorio has been stealing from the family for years."
Lorenzo clenched his fists.
"He knows about my plans."
His father looked directly into the camera.
"If anything happens to me, don't trust him."
The screen went black.
Silence filled the villa.
Marco stared at Lorenzo.
"Boss..."
Lorenzo didn't answer.
Isabella stepped closer.
"Are you okay?"
He shook his head.
"No."
He looked at her.
"My entire life..."
His voice cracked.
"I trusted him."
Suddenly, the villa doors slammed shut.
The guards rushed toward them.
Locked.
A timer appeared on the screen.
05:00
Isabella stared at it.
"What is that?"
Marco's face went pale.
"A bomb."
---
"Move!"
Lorenzo grabbed Isabella's hand.
Everyone rushed toward the back exit.
The doors wouldn't open.
Marco tried another.
Locked.
"Four minutes!"
The timer continued counting down.
04:12
Lorenzo searched the room.
"There has to be another exit."
Isabella noticed something.
"The fireplace."
"What?"
"Look."
She pointed toward the old fireplace.
There was a narrow gap behind it.
Lorenzo immediately moved toward it.
He pushed against the stone.
Nothing happened.
Isabella remembered something from the video.
"The painting."
"What painting?"
"Your father had a painting behind his desk."
She pointed toward the wall.
"There."
Lorenzo pulled the painting down.
Behind it was a hidden mechanism.
He pressed it.
The fireplace moved aside.
A secret tunnel opened.
"Everyone inside!"
They rushed into the tunnel.
The moment the last guard entered, the villa exploded behind them.
The blast shook the tunnel.
Isabella screamed.
Lorenzo pulled her against him.
Dust filled the air.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head.
"No."
He checked her carefully.
"I'm fine."
He pressed his forehead against hers.
"Thank God."
Then a gunshot echoed through the tunnel.
One of the guards fell.
"Ambush!"
Men emerged from the darkness.
Lorenzo immediately fired.
Marco and the guards returned fire.
The tunnel became chaos.
Isabella ducked behind a stone wall.
Lorenzo fought through the attackers.
One man lunged toward Isabella.
She grabbed a fallen weapon and pointed it at him.
"Don't move!"
The man froze.
She fired into the ceiling.
The sound startled him long enough for Lorenzo to tackle him.
"Good shot."
Isabella's heart pounded.
"I missed him."
"You didn't need to."
He smiled.
"You just needed to scare him."
---
After several minutes, the attackers retreated.
Marco checked the fallen guard.
"He's alive."
Lorenzo looked down the tunnel.
"We need to keep moving."
They eventually emerged near the coastline.
The sea stretched endlessly before them.
But waiting on the rocks was a black car.
A man stood beside it.
Tall.
Dressed entirely in black.
His face was hidden beneath a hood.
Lorenzo raised his weapon.
"Raven."
The man slowly removed the hood.
Isabella gasped.
Lorenzo froze.
It wasn't Rafael.
It wasn't a stranger.
It was someone they knew.
Someone they had trusted.
Someone who had been standing beside Lorenzo's family for years.
Don Vittorio De Luca.
Lorenzo stared at his uncle.
"You."
Vittorio smiled.
"Hello, nephew."
His voice was calm.
Almost affectionate.
"You finally remembered."
Lorenzo's face hardened.
"You killed my father."
Vittorio shook his head.
"No."
He smiled.
"I did something much worse."
He looked at Isabella.
"I made sure you married the wrong woman."
Lorenzo's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Vittorio laughed.
"You really don't remember, do you?"
He raised his gun.
"Let me remind you."
A single gunshot rang across the coastline.
And Lorenzo fell to his knees.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD