CHAPTER TEN: THE STRONG MESSAGE
324 Words
Chapter 10: A Bloody Message
Isabella had no idea that what waited outside would change everything.
Dante stormed through the mansion’s corridors, his pulse pounding like war drums. The guard, Marco, waited by the front entrance, his face pale and tight.
“What is it?” Dante barked.
Wordlessly, Marco pointed to a package sitting on the marble floor — small, square, and wrapped in brown paper, with Dante’s name scrawled in blood-red ink.
The air thickened.
Dante crouched, examining it without touching. A sickening feeling twisted in his gut. It wasn’t just a message — it was a warning.
“Who delivered this?” he demanded.
“No one saw,” Marco muttered. “Security cameras cut out for exactly three minutes. Someone’s inside, boss.”
Dante’s jaw tightened. He drew his pistol, motioning for two more men to follow.
He peeled open the package carefully.
Inside was a flash drive… and a severed finger.
The room fell deathly silent.
Dante clenched the drive in his palm, fury and unease gnawing at him. There was only one person sick enough to send a message like this — Viktor Moretti, his so-called business partner and silent rival.
“I want every room in this house searched,” Dante growled. “Nobody leaves, nobody enters. You hear me?”
Marco nodded and vanished down the hallway.
Meanwhile, back in the room, Isabella’s mind raced. She knew she had to warn Ethan. She pulled out a burner phone she kept hidden in her vanity drawer and texted him.
“We’re compromised. Get out if you can.”
Seconds later, a reply flashed across the screen.
“Meet me at the old chapel. Midnight.”
Isabella’s hands shook. The noose was tightening around their necks, and now with Viktor involved, it was no longer about money — it was about survival.
A sudden noise behind her made her spin around.
And standing in the doorway… was Dante.
- Writer
