Red Sunrise...
797 Words
Florence was a city that wore its sins in silk.
Behind the elegance of ancient cathedrals and golden domes, blood pulsed in the shadows—hidden behind warehouse walls and high society façades. Lena and Matteo stepped off the train wearing anonymity like armor.
She wore black jeans and a beige hoodie. He donned a long coat, collar raised, eyes alert. Their weapons were hidden, but their energy was unmistakable: wolves in a den of unsuspecting sheep.
Warehouse 91 was tucked in the industrial outskirts. Empty shipping crates surrounded it like a graveyard. The morning sun bled across the horizon, casting everything in red.
Lena exhaled slowly. “Looks deserted.”
Matteo scanned the rooftops. “They want it to look that way.”
They approached carefully, steps synchronized, breaths quiet. Matteo picked the lock on the side entrance, and Lena slipped inside first, gun drawn.
The air was thick with dust and diesel. Shafts of sunlight broke through holes in the roof. Rows of crates towered around them like forgotten tombstones.
A voice echoed from above. “I was wondering when you’d come.”
They turned in unison, weapons raised.
From the shadows stepped a young man—late twenties, well-dressed in slacks and a leather jacket. His resemblance to Matteo was eerie: same sharp cheekbones, same piercing eyes.
“Luca,” Matteo growled.
The half-brother he never knew existed.
---
Luca descended the stairs with a calm too rehearsed to be natural. Lena kept her aim steady.
“You look like him,” Matteo muttered.
“Our father?” Luca asked. “Unfortunately.”
Matteo stiffened. “Why now?”
“Because I’m tired of hiding.”
“You dropped a grenade in a market.”
Luca smiled. “I dropped a message. A signal. The real war hasn’t started yet.”
Lena narrowed her eyes. “And you think you’re fit to lead it?”
“No,” Luca replied. “I think I’m fit to burn it all down. And I need you to help me do it.”
---
They tied Luca to a metal chair.
“You’re insane if you think we’ll join you,” Matteo said.
“I’m sane because I survived,” Luca replied. “He kept me locked away. Enzo. Our father. Said I was a shame. A secret. I was raised by guards and ghosts.”
Lena crossed her arms. “So this is revenge?”
“No. This is evolution. The families are weak. You ended one empire, but others are waiting to rise. I’ve seen the files. I know where they are. You don’t want thrones? Fine. Then be the storm that destroys them.”
Matteo stared at him.
“What do you want from me?”
“Not loyalty. Just truth.”
He nodded to Lena. “And from her? I want protection.”
“Why me?” she asked.
“Because you’re the only one who doesn’t lie to herself.”
---
They didn’t trust him.
But they also didn’t kill him.
That night, they took Luca to a safe flat in the countryside. Matteo slept lightly with a gun on the nightstand. Lena took first watch.
Luca sat by the window, staring at the stars. “Do you love him?” he asked Lena.
She didn’t look at him. “Yes.”
“Then protect him. Even from himself.”
---
The next day, Luca revealed the list: names of surviving heirs, crime lords, and sleeper cells tied to the Ricci and Moretti bloodlines. There were six in total, scattered across Europe.
“Take one each,” Luca said. “Leave the worst for me.”
“No,” Matteo replied. “We do this together.”
Lena drew a red circle around one name. “We start in Berlin.”
---
Berlin was ice and iron.
The target: Sacha Mikhailov, a ruthless trafficker who once served Alessandro and betrayed both families for power.
They tracked him to an underground club—a fortress of steel and smoke. Lena posed as bait in the VIP lounge while Matteo watched from the catwalk.
Sacha noticed her instantly. “You look like trouble.”
“I get that a lot,” she said, sipping her drink.
He moved closer. “Who sent you?”
She smiled. “Your sins.”
Gunfire erupted seconds later. Matteo fired from above. Panic exploded through the club. Sacha tried to flee, but Lena tackled him to the ground.
She whispered, “This is for every girl you sold.”
Then she pulled the trigger.
---
Back at their hideout, Luca added a line to the list: Sacha – Eliminated.
“We’re not heroes,” Lena said.
“No,” Matteo agreed. “We’re the ending they deserve.”
- Writer
