Chapter 9: The Traitor
1207 Words
"SNIPER!"
The shout echoed through the storage facility.
Gunfire erupted from outside.
Aria's heart slammed against her ribs as Luca pulled her behind a stack of heavy crates.
Another bullet tore through the metal wall.
Sparks exploded into the air.
Someone screamed.
Then another gunshot followed.
Chaos consumed everything.
"Stay down."
Luca's voice was calm.
Too calm.
As if people weren't actively trying to kill them.
Aria crouched beside him.
Her entire body trembled.
"Who are they?"
"The Serpents."
The answer came immediately.
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Another burst of gunfire echoed outside.
One of Luca's guards returned fire.
The sound was deafening.
Aria covered her ears.
Luca pulled out his phone.
"Marco."
A voice answered instantly.
"Boss."
"Status."
"We have three shooters."
Luca's eyes narrowed.
"Locations?"
"Two on the rooftops."
A pause.
"The third disappeared."
That wasn't good.
Not good at all.
Luca knew it.
The tension in his face made that obvious.
"Find him."
"Already trying."
The call ended.
Aria swallowed hard.
"You do this often?"
Luca looked at her.
"No."
"Could've fooled me."
A corner of his mouth twitched.
Almost a smile.
Then another bullet crashed through the unit.
The moment vanished.
Luca immediately became serious again.
"Can you move?"
"What?"
"If we need to leave quickly."
Aria nodded.
"I think so."
"Good."
The answer should have reassured her.
Instead it made her nervous.
Because Luca clearly expected things to get worse.
Much worse.
---
Ten minutes later, the shooting stopped.
An uneasy silence followed.
Nobody relaxed.
Nobody celebrated.
Because everyone knew silence could be just as dangerous.
Luca exited first.
Weapon drawn.
Guards surrounded him immediately.
The area looked like a battlefield.
Broken glass.
Bullet holes.
Blood.
One of the guards sat against a wall receiving medical treatment.
Another stood nearby with a bandaged shoulder.
Aria felt sick.
This was all because of her.
Or rather—
Because of whatever her mother had left behind.
"What happened?" she asked quietly.
Marco approached.
A tall man with dark hair and sharp features.
Luca's head of security.
"The attackers escaped."
Luca's expression darkened.
"All of them?"
"Yes."
That answer clearly irritated him.
Marco handed over a spent bullet casing.
Luca examined it.
Then his eyes hardened.
"What is it?"
Marco looked uncomfortable.
"The marking."
Luca turned the casing over.
A black serpent had been engraved into the metal.
A message.
A warning.
The Serpents wanted them to know exactly who was responsible.
Victor arrived moments later.
His face was pale.
"Everyone okay?"
Aria nodded.
Barely.
The older man sighed with relief.
Then his eyes landed on the journal.
"Did we lose it?"
"No."
Aria held it tightly.
The journal suddenly felt more valuable than gold.
People were willing to kill for it.
That meant it contained answers.
Important answers.
Dangerous answers.
And she intended to find them.
---
Back at Luca's estate, security doubled.
Then doubled again.
By sunset, the property looked more like a military base than a mansion.
Aria sat inside the library.
The journal rested open before her.
She had spent hours reading.
Searching.
Looking for clues.
Most entries were personal.
Stories.
Memories.
Confessions.
Nothing that explained the attacks.
Nothing that explained the key.
Until she reached the final section.
The handwriting changed.
The letters became rushed.
Uneven.
Fearful.
As if Elena had written them under pressure.
Aria read carefully.
If they find me, everything will be lost.
Her pulse quickened.
The key must remain hidden.
She turned the page.
More writing appeared.
Trust no one. Not even those closest to you.
Aria frowned.
That sounded ominous.
Very ominous.
Then she found something strange.
A series of numbers.
Written repeatedly.
13
27
41
13
27
41
Again and again.
The sequence filled an entire page.
"What does it mean?"
She whispered the question aloud.
"What's what?"
Aria jumped.
Luca stood in the doorway.
She hadn't heard him enter.
"Don't do that."
His eyebrow rose.
"Do what?"
"Appear out of nowhere."
His lips twitched.
"I used the door."
Despite herself, Aria laughed.
The sound surprised both of them.
For a brief moment, neither spoke.
Then Luca approached.
His attention shifted to the journal.
"What did you find?"
She showed him the page.
Luca studied it carefully.
Several seconds passed.
Then his expression changed.
"What?"
"I've seen these numbers before."
Aria immediately sat upright.
"Where?"
Luca looked at her.
"The shipping yard."
Her heartbeat accelerated.
"The one on the map?"
"Yes."
He pointed at the sequence.
"Warehouse thirteen."
Another point.
"Dock twenty-seven."
Then another.
"Container forty-one."
Silence.
Heavy silence.
The realization hit them simultaneously.
These weren't random numbers.
They were directions.
Coordinates.
Instructions.
A trail.
Elena had left them behind intentionally.
Aria's excitement grew.
"We finally have something."
Luca didn't look excited.
He looked concerned.
"What?"
His gaze remained fixed on the page.
"This is exactly what the Serpents want."
The truth struck her immediately.
If they followed the clues—
They'd be walking directly into danger.
Yet if they ignored them—
They'd never find the key.
Neither option felt safe.
---
Later that night, Luca gathered his security team.
The atmosphere inside the conference room was tense.
Everyone understood the stakes.
The journal lay at the center of the table.
Marco spoke first.
"It's a trap."
Several guards nodded.
"I agree."
"So do I."
Luca remained silent.
Listening.
Thinking.
Then he looked toward Aria.
"What do you think?"
The room immediately became quiet.
Aria was surprised he asked.
Even more surprised he seemed interested in her answer.
"If we don't go," she said carefully, "we learn nothing."
Nobody argued.
Because she was right.
"But if we do go," Marco countered, "they'll be waiting."
Also true.
The room fell silent again.
Then one of the guards spoke.
A man named Carter.
"We have another problem."
Everyone looked at him.
"The attackers knew exactly where we were today."
Aria felt a chill.
The same thought had haunted her since the attack.
Someone had leaked information.
Someone close.
Very close.
"The storage unit location wasn't public."
Carter's voice remained steady.
"Only a handful of people knew about it."
The implication hung heavily in the room.
A traitor.
Someone inside Luca's organization.
Someone feeding information to the Serpents.
Luca's expression hardened.
Dangerously.
"Are you accusing my men?"
"No."
Carter hesitated.
"I'm saying we should consider the possibility."
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone was thinking the same thing.
Luca slowly rose from his chair.
His gaze swept across the room.
Cold.
Calculating.
Deadly.
"If there is a traitor..."
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"I'll find them."
Nobody doubted him.
Not for a second.
Then suddenly—
A phone buzzed.
Marco checked the screen.
His face immediately lost color.
Luca noticed.
"What is it?"
Marco swallowed.
"Boss."
The room went still.
"A body was found."
A strange feeling settled in Aria's stomach.
"What body?"
Marco looked up.
The answer froze the room.
"The sniper."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Luca frowned.
"Dead?"
Marco nodded.
"Execution style."
Aria's pulse accelerated.
Someone had killed the sniper.
Why?
Then the answer became obvious.
To silence him.
To keep him from talking.
Which meant the Serpents weren't cleaning up a loose end.
They were covering tracks.
And that meant something far worse.
The enemy wasn't just watching them.
The enemy was already one step ahead.
- Writer
