Chapter Fifteen: The Devil's Son
1065 Words
Darkness swallowed the safe house. The sound of footsteps echoed through the hallway like the ticking of a clock counting down to something inevitable.
"Bring me my son."
The voice was calm, cold, and powerful. Dante had heard men speak with authority before mafia bosses, politicians, generals, killers. All of them carried a certain presence when they entered a room.
This was different. The man outside didn't need to raise his voice to command fear.
The lights flickered back on. Every corrupt police officer in the room immediately lowered their weapons and stepped aside. Gabriel Russo smiled faintly.
"He's finally here."
The man who entered looked no older than sixty. He wore a black suit without a single wrinkle and carried himself with effortless confidence. His silver hair was neatly combed, and his piercing gray eyes landed directly on Dante.
For several seconds, neither man spoke. It was like looking into a mirror twenty-five years into the future. The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
Valentina's grip tightened around her pistol.
"Luciano De Luca," she whispered.
The legendary crime lord smiled slowly. "You must be Valentina Cruz," he said politely. "The woman foolish enough to make my son fall in love."
Dante stepped forward. "I'm not your son."
Luciano chuckled softly. "Denial is usually the first stage."
"Alessandro Moretti was my father."
"No," Luciano replied calmly. "He was simply the greatest friend I ever betrayed."
The room fell silent. Even Gabriel seemed uncomfortable hearing those words.
Dante's fists clenched. "You killed him."
"No. I gave the order. There is a difference." "There isn't."
Luciano's expression hardened slightly. "You still see the world in black and white. Alessandro warned me you would."
"Don't speak his name."
Luciano ignored him and walked toward the large window overlooking Raveno City's harbor. "Do you know why Alessandro adopted you?" he asked.
"Because he was a better man than you."
"Precisely." The unexpected answer caught Dante off guard.
Luciano smiled sadly. "Alessandro was always the better man. That was both his greatest strength and his greatest weakness."
Gabriel poured himself a drink before speaking. "The truth is far more complicated than you imagine."
Luciano turned back toward Dante. "When you were two years old, I disappeared."
"You abandoned me." "No. I sacrificed everything to keep you alive." "That's convenient."
Luciano laughed. "You sound exactly like your mother."
The mention of her immediately captured Dante's attention. "You knew my mother?"
Luciano's expression softened for the first time. "She was the only woman I ever loved." The room grew quiet. "Her name was Isabella Romano," he continued.
"She was one of the original founders of The Circle, and the woman who convinced us that organized crime could become something more than bloodshed and greed."
"What happened to her?"
Luciano's face darkened. "We failed her."
Gabriel lowered his eyes in silence.
"When Isabella discovered that several members of The Circle were secretly trafficking weapons and assassinating political rivals, she threatened to expose us."
"And you killed her?" Dante asked.
"No." Luciano's voice turned colder than ice. "Someone else did." "Who?"
Luciano looked directly at Gabriel before answering. "We still don't know."
Everyone in the room froze. "What?" Sofia asked. "Your mother's murder remains unsolved."
Dante frowned. "That makes no sense. Gabriel said you ordered her execution."
Gabriel finally spoke. "Because that's what everyone believed."
Luciano sighed heavily. "The Circle needed someone to blame. I let the world believe I killed her because it protected something far more important." "Me?"
Luciano nodded. "Someone wanted our entire bloodline erased. Your mother's death was only the beginning."
The pieces of the puzzle were becoming even more complicated.
"You've been hunted since the day you were born," Luciano continued. "Alessandro and I spent twenty-five years hiding you in plain sight." "Why?"
"Because you are the last legitimate heir of The Circle."
Valentina frowned. "What exactly does that mean?"
Luciano smiled. "The original founders created something far greater than a criminal organization. The Circle controls governments, corporations, intelligence agencies, and financial institutions across the world.
The entire empire legally belongs to Dante, through his mother's bloodline."
Silence filled the room.
Dante almost laughed. "You're telling me I inherited the world's most dangerous criminal organization?"
"No," Luciano corrected him. "You inherited the power to destroy it."
Those words caught everyone's attention.
"What do you mean?" Dante asked.
Luciano slowly opened an old leather case and placed several ancient documents onto the table.
"Your mother created something called The Covenant." "The Covenant?" Sofia asked.
"It is a legal agreement signed by the original founders. If the legitimate heir rejects The Circle, every hidden account, political alliance, and criminal enterprise will automatically collapse."
Valentina's eyes widened. "She built a self-destruct mechanism."
Luciano nodded. "She knew absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Dante suddenly understood why everyone had been hunting him. He wasn't merely the heir to The Circle. He was its greatest weakness.
"The moment your enemies learn the truth," Gabriel said quietly, "they will stop trying to recruit you."
"What will they do instead?"
Luciano's expression turned grim. "They will kill you."
Suddenly, the safe house's emergency alarm began screaming. Everyone reached for their weapons.
"What is that?" Sofia asked.
Gabriel checked the security monitors and went pale. "Impossible." "What?" Dante demanded.
Gabriel slowly turned toward him. "The Circle's inner council has arrived."
Luciano's expression darkened. "They found us already?"
"There are twelve vehicles surrounding the building."
The security camera showed heavily armed soldiers in black tactical uniforms unlike anything Dante had ever seen. Their masks carried a single symbol: a silver serpent eating its own tail.
Luciano recognized it instantly. "No..."
Valentina frowned. "Who are they?"
For the first time since his arrival, Luciano De Luca looked afraid.
"The Thirteen." "The Thirteen?" Dante asked. "They are the true rulers of The Circle."
The room fell silent. Gabriel slowly lowered his weapon. "We've all been hunting the wrong enemy."
A sniper's bullet shattered the window beside Dante's head. Then a voice echoed through every speaker in the safe house.
"You have protected him long enough." The voice continued. "Luciano De Luca, Gabriel Russo surrender the heir immediately."
Dante's heart nearly stopped when the stranger spoke his next words.
"Or we will execute his mother."
Silence. Dante slowly turned toward Luciano. "My mother is dead."
Luciano's face had gone completely pale. "No," he whispered. "She has been alive this entire time."
TO BE CONTINUED…
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